Divine Mercy feast at Canadian Wilno.

Wilno and neighboring Barry's Bay are located in the unspoiled region of Renfrew County, Ontario. The first settlers of these lands were Kashubians, who received land grants along the so-called Opeongo Road. Far from civilization, surrounded only by forests, they created a community that not only survived, but thanks to which the first Polish parish community in Canada was established in 1875.

The current church, dedicated to Our Lady Queen of Poland is a beautiful brick church, built on a high slope from which you can see the panorama of Canadian Kaszuby. The construction of this church began in 1936.

Currently, there are relics of St. Faustina and a copy of the image of the Merciful Jesus brought from Vilnius. This painting was painted by an artist who had no hands, so she painted with her foot.

In 2002, the Conference of Polish Priests began organizing an annual pilgrimage of the Polish diaspora in Ontario on the occasion of the Feast of Divine Mercy. Hundreds of pilgrims come here every year, most of them from Toronto and Mississauga, 330 km away.

This year our pilgrimage took place on Saturday, April 6. The church was completely filled with pilgrims from Polish parishes in Ontario. The Mass was presided over and a beautiful homily was given by Fr. Daniel Biedniak OMI, a missionary from Poland. Among the concelebrants present were Fr. Janusz Blazejak OMI, Fr. Pawel Pilarczyk OMI, Fr. Jan Kobzan OMI, Fr. Jerzy Kotowski OMI, Fr. Jacek Cydzik CSsR,  Fr. Pawel Ratajczak OMI and the parish priest in Wilno, Fr. Roman Majek OMI.

Also present were scouts from the Polania troop from Oshawa, as well as altar servers from Toronto and Brampton.

(Fr. Janusz Błażejak OMI/DJ; photos: facebook.com/janusz.blazejak; wilno.com)