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\nThe youngest (8 to 11) were asked to choose a person for whom they were undertaking the walk and saying their prayers: “They could choose a person who was ill or who had passed on, someone elderly or lonely, or simply someone who was in need of prayer,” explained a leader in charge of the Cub Scout girls (8-11). During their walk, the children were encouraged to enjoy the beauty of nature, appreciating the moments of silence, observing their surroundings and strengthening their trust in God.
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\nFor the older youngsters (12 to 17), activities included meditating on the rosary and reading a Gospel passage. “When we walk, it makes our bodies move, but it also moves our hearts and souls,” reads the little booklet given to each youngster for the pilgrimage. <\/p>\n\n
![\"scout-2-867x485_0.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/scout-2-867x485_0.jpg\")
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Archbishop L\u00e9pine talking with Blandine, Jeanne and Ad\u00e8le, company leaders (for Guides 12 to 17)<\/span><\/span><\/span> Parents too had their own activities to finish before arriving at the Basilica: rosary, songs, readings and prayers. Everyone was very glad to be back together after two years of missing out on the scouting experience, which had been badly impacted by the pandemic. <\/p>\n\n After lunch, the group walked together towards the Basilica, praying and singing as they followed Archbishop L\u00e9pine and the \u2018Unilys\u00e9,\u2019 the Scouting association\u2019s standard. Passers-by watched in amazement and walked away smiling to see these young people singing the glory of God at the tops of their voices.<\/p>\n\n Aline, who volunteers at the Sanctuary, declared in admiration, “It has been such a long time since I saw so many people in the Basilica – so many young people – and heard such beautiful songs!” And indeed, throughout the Mass, the Basilica was filled with the voices of the youngsters and of their parents raised in song with the music of two flutes and a guitar accompanying them. <\/p>\n\n After a brief word of welcome from Claire-Marie and Fran\u00e7ois Sabbagh, the young couple who lead the Scout pack, Louise Girard spoke to those assembled about the story of St. Marguerite d’Youville. Born in Varennes, she was canonized in 1990 by Pope John Paul II for her devotion and for her compassion for the most vulnerable. The younger children were impressed to learn that her tomb was in this same church, while the older children realized that she represents an example to be followed, having faith in God’s goodness and trusting in his justice for all. <\/p>\n\n Following the proclamation of the Gospel by parish priest and rector of the Basilica of Sainte Anne de Varennes Father Mario Desrosiers, Archbishop L\u00e9pine addressed the Scouts. He began by thanking the leaders and parents for “their generosity and dedication,” before speaking about the Baden-Powell Scouts’ flag. “I would be proud to have a flag like yours showing the cross and the fleur-de-lys. The cross is God, who is Love, embracing all humanity, big and small (…) the fleur-de-lys is purity, and having a pure heart is so precious.” The Mass ended with the singing of the Scout\u2019s Promise which echoed beyond the doors of the Basilica. Aline the volunteer went home with “her head and heart filled with beautiful things: it was very moving to see so many young people and children so involved and disciplined and prayerful. The choir and the instruments were thrilling.” For his part, Guy Trad, a member of the High Command for over 10 years, having been a member of the team who revived the Scouting group, smiled proudly as he reflected, “Our Archbishop has given us his encouragement. After this first pilgrimage, this first step, he has encouraged us to take the second step. And always be prepared!”<\/p>\n\n At the end of the Mass, the Cubs, Guides and Scouts returned to their families, all satisfied with this beautiful day that holds so much promise for the rest of the Scouting year. Dismissal, exit to the Promise Song<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Beginning on Saturday, the older children (Guides and Scouts) had started out on their pilgrimage to the Basilica. On Sunday,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6720,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nouvelle"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6721"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6721\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6724,"href":"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6721\/revisions\/6724"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nArchbishop L\u00e9pine then asked the group to think reflect what could help us have a pure heart, help us “grow and be purified.” He emphasized two important points for all the Scouts present: first, “having an inner code to live up to every day, and that code for you is the Scouting code.” The second “is your Scouts\u2019 salute (the three middle fingers of the right hand extended and the thumb crossing the little finger), with the strongest protecting the weakest and the weakest helping the strongest. When you receive the call to purity, you receive a strength made to dwell within you, regardless of the circumstances.”
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\nTaking St. Marguerite d’Youville as an example, Archbishop Lepine urged the scouts to learn to ground themselves in Christ. “He will give you his support, your code of conduct, your faith in Providence.” He concluded by stressing the importance of the family; “With God, your family and the Scouting family, you have everything you need to grow and become a saint!”<\/p>\n\n
\n <\/p>\n\n![\"scout-3-867x485_1.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/diocesemontreal.wp.vortexdev.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/scout-3-867x485_1.jpg\")
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