Item: i79924

Authentic

Vatican City
Pope Saint John Paul II – Pope: 1978-2005
Circa 1978 (undated) Souvenir Token / Medal 33mm (13.90 grams) by A CONSONNI
JOANNES PAVLVS II PONTIFEX MAXIMVS, Bust of Pope John Paul II.
SAINTE ANNE DE BEAUPRE, “Mary and Jesus” at Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré

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Joseph-Émile Brunet (1893-1977) was a Canadian sculptor based in Quebec. His output includes more than 200 monuments in bronze. Many of his sculptures depict national figures and events in Canada. He was born in Huntingdon, Quebec in 1899^{[contradictory]}. He was educated at archbishop school, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the national superior École des Beaux-Arts of Paris.

Joseph-Émile Brunet sculpted the bas reliefs and ornamental façade of the Gérard-Morisset building, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec in Quebec City which depict historical scenes and events in Canadian History: “Fishing”, “Fur Trading”, “Maple Sugar Making”, “Farming”, “Logging”, “Missionaries”, “Landing Immigrates”, “Buffalo Hunt”,” Jacques Cartier”,” Death of Wolfe”,” Death of Montcalm”,”William Dollard”, “Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye” and “The First Settlers”.

He was granted commissions for granite sculptures of key figures in the province of Quebec’s history at the Parliament Building (Quebec): “François de Laval”, “Marguerite Bourgeoys”, “Jean-Jacques Olier” and “Marie de l’Incarnation” completing the façade by 1965. He was also granted commission for two large bronze doors depicting animals native to Canada: “The Young Bear” and Cubs,” “Canadian Moose”, “Otters”, “Elk with wolves”, “Polar bear”, “Beavers”, American Bison”, “Deer” and a “Great white Whale”.

He sculpted a bronze War Memorial at Longueuil, Quebec (1924) in front of the city hall just across the river from Montreal.

He sculpted a statue of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye in Saint Boniface, Manitoba.

He sculpted the Canadian Pavilion for the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne in Paris which included a 28 foot (8.5 m) sculpture of a bison (1937) and panels on the outside of the structure. Paintings and a show inside the Canadian pavilion depicted aspects of Canadian culture. Mr. Joseph-Émile Brunet designed twenty-four capitals (1948) for the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, which depict 52 religious subjects reflecting the life of Jesus. Joseph-Émile Brunet sculpted 14 “Stations of the Cross” lining the walls of the Cathedral. Stone statues of Saint Anne and Saints at the entrance of the Cathedral. Joseph-Émile Brunet created the fountain in front of the Basilica and the stone 7 feet 6 inches (229 cm) high sculptures in niches as you enter the basilica, “Marie de L’Incarnation”, “Saint Joseph”, “The Virgin with Jesus”, “François de Laval”, and “St. Joachim”. Joseph-Émile Brunet also sculpted Kateri Tekakwitha in bronze, 6 feet 4 inches (193 cm) high.

Joseph-Émile Brunet’s “Mary and Jesus” Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré

The Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré is a basilica set along the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada, 30 kilometres (19 mi) east of Quebec City, and one of the five national shrines of Canada. It has been credited by the Catholic Church with many miracles of curing the sick and disabled. It is an important Catholic sanctuary, which receives about a half-million pilgrims each year. Since 1933 they have included members of the Anna Fusco Pilgrimage from Connecticut, United States of America. The peak period of pilgrimage is around July 26, the feast of Saint Anne, the patron saint of Quebec.

St. Anne is believed, by the pious, to obtain miracles through her intercession. People from all around the world come to visit the basilica. Pillars in the front entrance are covered in crutches from people who are said by the parishioners to have been miraculously cured and saved.

 1901 photochrom print of original church

History

The basilica in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré was initially a shrine to honour Saint Anne. On March 8, 1658, settler Etienne de Lessard donated two frontal acres from the west end of his property to the Catholic Church, so that a chapel could be built. This chapel eventually became the site of the modern-day basilica. The chapel was built to provide a place of worship for the new settlers in the area ^[4] and to house a miraculous statue of St. Anne.^[5] The first reported miracle at the site happened during the shrine’s construction. A man named Louis Guimond was hired to help build the shrine even though he suffered from rheumatism. After placing three stones upon the shrine’s foundation, Guimond was cured of all his ailments.^[4] This was followed by other testimonies of healed people, and the shrine soon grew in popularity. Many pilgrims came to the shrine hoping to receive a miracle while others, like Anne of Austria, wife of Louis XIII and Queen of France, supported the shrine from a distance.

Because of the popularity of the shrine, the building was enlarged several times to accommodate all the pilgrims. In the late nineteenth century, a basilica was constructed around the shrine. In 1876, the first basilica opened for worship. This was destroyed in a fire on March 29, 1922. The present-day basilica was built in 1926 on the site of the prior church.

Architects Maxime Roisin, Louis N. Audet and Joseph-Égilde-Césaire Daoust collaborated on the project from 1923-1931. After the end of the Great Depression, work on the interior resumed in 1937, and was finally completed in 1946.

Pilgrims are attracted from across Canada and the United States. Miracles are still believed to occur at the basilica. Two pillars near the entrance are filled with racks of crutches, canes, braces, and other signs of disabilities. Each item has been left by a pilgrim who reports being healed at the basilica.

The wooded hillside next to the basilica has a memorial chapel and a Way of the Cross, with life-sized Stations of the Cross. Higher up the hill the Convent of the Redemptoristines can be found. Built in 1906 and declared a historic site in 2001, it no longer operates as a convent and has essentially been abandoned in the early 21st century.

Interior

Joseph-Émile Brunet designed twenty-four capitals (1948) for the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, which depict 52 religious subjects reflecting the life of Jesus. He sculpted 14 “Stations of the Cross” lining the walls of the Cathedral, with stone statues of Saint Anne and Saints at the entrance of the Cathedral. Joseph-Émile Brunet also created the fountain in front of the Basilica and the 7′ 6″-high stone sculpture in niches that can be seen on entering the basilica, “Marie de L’Incarnation”, “Saint Joseph”, “The Virgin with Jesus”, “”François de Laval”, and “St. Joachim”, in addition to a bronze sculpture of Kateri Tekakwitha, 6′ 4″ high.

Pope Saint John Paul II, served as Pope from 1978 to 2005.

He was elected by the second Papal conclave of 1978, which was called after Pope John Paul I, who was elected in August after the death of Pope Paul VI, died after thirty-three days. Cardinal Wojtyła was elected on the third day of the conclave and adopted his predecessor’s name in tribute to him. In the years since his death, John Paul II has been canonised as a saint by the Catholic Church. He is referred to by Catholics as St. John Paul the Great, for example as a name for institutions.

John Paul II is recognised as helping to end Communist rule in his native Poland and eventually all of Europe. John Paul II significantly improved the Catholic Church’s relations with Judaism, Islam, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion. He upheld the Church’s teachings on such matters as artificial contraception and the ordination of women, but also supported the Church’s Second Vatican Council and its reforms.

He was one of the most travelled world leaders in history, visiting 129 countries during his pontificate. As part of his special emphasis on the universal call to holiness, he beatified 1,340 people and canonised 483 saints, more than the combined tally of his predecessors during the preceding five centuries. By the time of his death, he had named most of the College of Cardinals, consecrated or co-consecrated a large number of the world’s bishops, and ordained many priests. A key goal of his papacy was to transform and reposition the Catholic Church. His wish was “to place his Church at the heart of a new religious alliance that would bring together Jews, Muslims and Christians in a great religious armada”.

He was the second longest-serving pope in modern history after Pope Pius IX, who served for nearly 32 years from 1846 to 1878. Born in Poland, John Paul II was the first non-Italian pope since the Dutch Pope Adrian VI, who served from 1522 to 1523. John Paul II’s cause for canonisation commenced in 2005 one month after his death with the traditional five-year waiting period waived. On 19 December 2009, John Paul II was proclaimed Venerable by his successor Pope Benedict XVI and was beatified on 1 May 2011 (Divine Mercy Sunday) after the Congregation for the Causes of Saints attributed one miracle to his intercession, the healing of a French nun from Parkinson’s disease. A second miracle attributed to John Paul II’s intercession was approved on 2 July 2013, and confirmed by Pope Francis two days later (two miracles must be attributed to a person’s intercession to be declared a saint). John Paul II was canonised on 27 April 2014 (again Divine Mercy Sunday), together with Pope John XXIII. On 11 September 2014, Pope Francis added John Paul II’s optional memorial feast day to the worldwide General Roman Calendar of saints, in response to worldwide requests. It is traditional to celebrate saints’ feast days on the anniversary of their deaths, but that of John Paul II (22 October) is celebrated on the anniversary of his papal inauguration.