Sept. 26 is the feast day of Canada’s martyrs — St. Jean de Brebeuf, St. Noel Chabanel, St. Antoine Daniel, St. Isaac Jogues, St. Jean de Lalande, St. Charles Garnier and St. Gabriel Lalemant — who worked among the Huron-Wendat people in the 1600s. They were canonized in Rome by Pope Pius XI on June 29, 1930, but the occasion also drew large crowds to Martyrs’ Shrine in Midland, Ont. The Register recounted the scene of that special day in this excerpt from the July 3, 1930 issue:

Mystics, missionaries and martyrs helped found the Church in Canada. Their lives of faith, their dreams, their failures and successes set the template for who we are meant to be. Which is why a summer pilgrimage to the Martyrs’ Shrine in Midland, Ont., can be more than a pleasant Sunday outing.

While official, political debate over plans to put an outdoor recycling yard across from Canada’s national shrine has been delayed until Feb. 1, ongoing discussions among lawyers may lead to a new home for the industrial facility before the end of this month.

Midland, Ont., Mayor Gord McKay told The Catholic Register he believed lawyers for the Jesuits, Recycling Specialties Inc. and the Town of Midland may be able to find an agreement on how to get out of plans to recycle metal, wood, cardboard, plastics and other materials on the banks of the Wye River within sight and earshot of pilgrims to Martyrs’ Shrine.

“All three parties are talking to one another through their lawyers. There’s something happening there,” said McKay. “It’s one of those things where if we’re not coming to meetings I think good things are happening.”