Looking for Mary

Halifax, N. S. -- Because I never thought I’d ever set eyes on it again, it was something of a miracle when I saw the Statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary at St. Catherine's Church, in Indian Brook, Nova Scotia this afternoon. “Many tears have been spilled; many sorrows have been brought before this statue,” Rev. Fr. Tom Kurudeepan OMI (Oblates of Mary Immaculate) told me as I stood before the long-missing statue. The Halifax Archdiocese archivist had traced the statue, which many years ago had stood on the crest of a hill at Camp Villa Maria, to St. Catherine's Catholic Church, and Fr. Kurudeepan confirmed in a subsequent telephone call that it was there. The two hour drive from Mahone Bay to the Shubenacadie area was more than worth it. Finding the statue was important for me as it was the one I saw every day in summer at Camp Villa Maria, the summer camp of St. Joseph’s Orphanage. There were wild roses growing nearby and I would patiently fashion a wreath/crown for the statue by fastening the flowers beneath a covered elastic.

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One of the nuns from the Sisters of Charity tasked with looking after us came looking for me one day, more to ensure my safety than to stop me from my secret mission. When she saw how the little thorns from the wild pink roses had pricked my fingers, she quietly gave me a pair of scissors in order to continue making my wreaths. Aware I was unsure about whether my mission could continue, she told me it was a good thing to do adding, “She (the Blessed Virgin) will follow and bless you all of your days.” As the years passed, I always meant to go back to Herman’s Island to search out Camp Villa Maria, even once collecting a favour from a young intern journalist who had come to stay with me over the Christmas holidays when I was a reporter at the Kingston Whig Standard. When the intern returned home, he managed to find some pictures of the camp he had photocopied at the Archdiocese to send to me. Last week I was thrilled to discover that the chalet in which I was staying and had found on the Internet was only two miles away from Herman’s Island. The Archdiocese sold the land where Camp Villa Maria existed in 1996. But touring what we could of the island by car, Brian Thompson and I saw only grand new homes. I returned to the chalet discouraged. Then, in a casual conversation, the chalet owner told me in passing that he remembered the white statue on Herman’s Island. Next day we telephoned the Archdiocese for help. Standing before the statue this afternoon fulfilled my long held yearnings. It’s a lonely place where the statue now is, with no joyful cries of children at play nearby. Indian Brook is a First Nations Community, three miles down the road from Shubenacadie. “Many adults who remembered the statue as children come looking for Her, some even sleeping at the foot of the statue overnight,” said Fr. Kurudeepan. “They have come from broken homes and sad lives. They are looking for solace and answers to their prayers.” The statue is chipped, but the Bishop told Fr. Kurudeepan “It is an important statue and it is important to keep it as it is.” On the day of my visit, his church was planning to run its own Internet-based and broadcast radio station, (Supekne’kati Radio CIPU 97.5,) whose logo is “In touch With All Nations” and tower of which only went in yesterday. Fr. Kurudeepan said he could use CFP’s help in setting up the station’s website, and a certain Someone close to the Someone else who scripted this Nova Scotia trip will see that it gets done. In an email sent after our meeting, Fr. Kurudeepan said he “hoped to meet sometime somewhere” again. Meanwhile, this is my prayer for all of those who have come to find the Camp Villa Maria Statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary: May God answer all your fervent prayers by blessing all of your days.