The
following excerpt is taken from the memoirs of Archbishop Vachon
pages 136 -137
`The solemn consecration to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary took place at 5 o`clock. No previous ceremony at the
Repository had been so imposing. The sun still seemed to be at its zenith. It beamed down its heat upon this open air cathedral.
Nine cardinals including the Cardinal legate took up their positions on the central
section of the Repository. All the Archbishops and Bishops present in Ottawa,
Monsignori, Canons and thousands of priests, dignitaries of all ranks occupied
the two long wings spreading out from the central section of the Repository.
The crowd was immense. It was estimated to surpass 500,000. The 85,000 seats in
front of the Repository were occupied. Thousands and thousands of persons stood
in the aisles. The greatest number of Congressists, those who could not gain
admittance to the overcrowded Stadium, open sky seats and aisles listened
religiously from all parts of the park to his impressive ceremony which was
brought to them by means of loud speakers installed throughout the grounds and
in the various buildings.
The words of the consecration, read
in English by the Honourable James J McCann, Minister of National Revenue and
in French by the Honourable Louis Saint Laurent, Secretary of State for
External Affairs, Members of the Federal Government, were heard through the
loud speakers and by radios by the people in the Park, in the city and
throughout the country. In a great silence, all eyes and all hearts tended with
ardour toward the Mother of God and of men. It was with profound emotion that
the people listened to the words of the Dominion of Canada to Mary in the text which
had served as the prayer of the Congress for months past, and which was an
extract of the consecration of mankind to the Immaculate heart of Mary written
by Pope Pius XII. Here is the text:
O Queen of the Most
Holy Rosary, Help of Christians, who art
victorious in all God`s battles, we humbly prostrate ourselves before thy
throne, confident that we will receive mercy, grace and bountiful assistance and
protection in the present calamity, not through our own inadequate merits, but
solely through the great goodness of thy Maternal Heart
`It is in Thine Honour that we
prepared the Great Congress to celebrate the centenary of the erection of this
Diocese with the hope that you will be moved to pity by the sight of the
widespread material and moral ruin. O Mother of Mercy, obtain peace for us from God, and above all, procure
for us those graces, which prepare, establish and ensure the peace! O Queen of
Peace, give to the world the peace for which all men long, peace in the truth,
justice and charity of Christ.
“Obtain for the Holy Church of God
peace and complete freedom ; stay the rising flood of modern paganism; enkindle
in the faithful the life of purity, the practice of Christian virtues, and an
apostolic zeal, so that the servants of God may increase in holiness and in
number.
“Lastly, as the Church and the entire
human race were consecrated to the Sacred Heart of thy Divine Son, so that by
placing all hope in Him, He might become for them the pledge of Victory and Salvation,
so do we now and forever consecrate ourselves to thy Immaculate Heart, O
Blessed Mother and Queen of the World, that thy love and thy protection may
hasten the triumph of the Kingdom of God, and all nations, at peace with one
another and with God may proclaim thee blest and chant with thee from pole to
pole, the eternal Magnificat of glory ,
love and gratitude to the Heart of Jesus, in Whom alone may be found the
blessings of truth, of life, and of
Heavenly Peace, Amen “
