So maybe I’m cheating a little – today’s post isn’t exactly a church, just the land surrounding one (St. Michael’s). Flatrock is a little town just outside St. John’s, where some of my nephews grew up, and is home to the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto, the biggest in eastern Canada. Pope John Paul II prayed here in 1984.
After that prayer, the Pope also went to a neaby lookout to offer a homily and bless the boats in the harbour. The Blessing of the Fleet site is marked by this plaque below. 