Saint Catharines Diocese

This Marian Shrine, the Canadian National Shrine to Our Blessed Mother, has been entrusted to the care of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate since 1902. The original stone parish church, now known as the Little Old Shrine, was opened for worship in 1720. It is the oldest church preserved in its integrity in the whole of Canada.

Mesoamerica, the New World, 1521: The capital city of the Aztec empire falls under the Spanish forces. Less than 20 years later, 9 million of the inhabitants of the land, who professed for centuries a polytheistic and human sacrificing religion, are converted to Christianity. What happened in those times that produced such an incredible and historically unprecedented conversion?