Luxury getaways to the ocean's edge
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. 
I’ve been using my Sundays posts to highlight churches in different communities, and today I’m going slightly off-island with the Saint-Pierre Cathedral, in St. Pierre, which I love. This cathedral was rebuilt after a fire in 1905, on land which had housed a church since the 1600s. In researching this post I learned that this Roman Catholic church is built in the Basque style. I especially like how the stain glass windows and door handle celebrate Saint Pierre’s connection to the sea and fishing – just like ours.
Saint Pierre is a short ferry ride from Fortune, Newfoundland, which itself is about a 4 hour drive from the cottages. It’s a really fun way to soak up a little bit of French culture in between your Newfoundland road trips!
