The annual St. Anne’s Mission this year is July 25-29, 2024.
This gathering of the M’ikmaq Grand Council and faithful on the island of Mniku is a sacred and cherished tradition.
We are all invited to hold the mission in prayer and offer a prayer to St. Anne, patron of the Mi’kmaq.
The mission this year includes daily Mass and prayers, First Holy Communion celebration on Friday evening, Eucharistic adoration on Saturday and Way of the Cross on Sunday.
On Sunday, the Mass of St. Anne will be celebrated by Bishop Wayne Kirkpatrick, followed by the Procession and Veneration.
Kuleyin Ma’li, sape’wuti’l waju’pinl,
Kji-saqamaw tekweyask, e’pijik pajiji-wuleynik aq wele’k ta’n ktlamiluk weji-manit Se’sus.
Pejili Sape’win Ma’li, wekwisin Westawu’lkw, nike’j alasutmelsewin, ejeleyek sa’q elue’wultiek aqq api’s wikwia’tiek alasutmelsewitesnen.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

About Sante’ Mawio’mi – Chapel Island Mission
By George Paul, Diocesan Communications Committee
The influence of the conversion to Christianity of Grand Chief Membertou along with 210 Mi’kmaq in 1610 can still be felt today on the island of Mniku (near Potlotek). Abbé Maillard was the first missionary priest to visit Richmond County and said the first Mass on the island on a boulder in 1742. His Mi’kmaw flock settled here and built the first chapel in 1754. The boulder still exists today. The present church on the island is the sixth church: the fifth one burned down on December 11, 1976.
Historically the island has been a meeting place for the Mi’kmaq of the maritime provinces since time immemorial. The Mi’kmaq Grand Council, which represented the Mi’kmaq leaders of the seven districts of Atlantic Canada, held their annual meeting to discuss their goals and aspirations and during time of war discussed their alliances. Today this annual meeting is referred to as Sante’ Mawio’mi and the missionaries incorporated this yearly event with the celebration of St. Anne.
Today many Mi’kmaq communities in Cape Breton and Nova Scotia do not have the opportunity to gather as often as they used to. The Chapel Island Mission reaffirms the greatest Mi’kmaq trait, the sense of community. The continuation of this cultural tradition reinforces the importance of being Mi’kmaq.
Mniku has been declared a National Historic Site. It is a part of Cape Breton’s rich history, your history.
Audrey MacIntyre - July 30, 2021
Love St. Anne.