The Little Church

St. Mary Magdalen

Eaglais Bheag Mairi

    The St. Mary Magdalen Memorial Chapel in West Mabou was built in the early summer of 1929 under the supervision of Thomas Burke. Known as "the Little Church" it was built on the cemetery lot near the site of the first little chapel of worship for the pioneer Catholic settlers. Construction was completed and the chapel was blessed and dedicated on July 22 for the feast day of St. Mary Magdalen. A week later on the feast of St. Martha, its doors opened to the public for the first time in the new church. Mass was celebrated by Rev. Leo J. Keats, a friend of the Mabou pastor, Father MacMaster. The sermon, in both Gaelic and English, was preached by Rev. Stanley P. MacDonald of Judique, former teacher of Mabou. At 8:00 o'clock the sound of the bell mingled with the stirring notes of the bagpipe played by Angus "The Black Piper" MacDonald. By nine o'clock half of those attending had to remain outside. Long after the services were over, the parishioners strolled through the cemetery, a model of neatness.

    Father MacMaster and the people of Mabou at home and abroad had reason to be proud of the cemetery chapel's fine architectural details and arresting simplicity. The parishioners had given freely of their time, money and building material to push the work to completion. Thomas Burke had built the altar in his shop on the main street of Mabou.

    In September, 1967, Father John Allan Gillis, the pastor of Mabou parish, made arrangements with the Brothers of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows to have the church moved 6 km to the property at Mary's Hill where it now stands on a grassy knoll. On the 10th, the church was moved through Hunters Road because the bridges along the West Mabou Road were an obstacle, and therefore it traveled 14 km before it came to its final home. 

    The chapel was repaired and restored to its original design to preserve its historical character. Dedicated as a place of devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows, the interior of the shrine resembles a miniature cathedral with walls of douglas fir tongue and groove. The upper part of the chapel is a small choir loft which now overlooks a replica of Michelangelo's Pieta. The Mother of Sorrows Pioneer Shrine officially opened on July 28, 1968 and it is visited by nearly 7,000 people annually.