Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré

The Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré stands on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River, about 30 kilometres northeast of Québec City, drawing around 1.5 million pilgrims annually — making it one of the most visited sacred sites in North America. The current structure, completed in 1923 in a Romanesque Revival and Beaux-Arts style, is the fifth church built on a site where sailors and settlers have sought the intercession of Saint Anne since the 1650s. The basilica's most striking interior detail is its votive chapel entrance lined with hundreds of discarded crutches, canes, and braces left by pilgrims who reported miraculous healings — a tradition stretching back centuries. Designated a Canadian National Shrine, the twin-towered facade dominates the small town of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré and is visible across the broad St. Lawrence. The feast day of Saint Anne on July 26 draws the largest annual crowds.