Sherbrooke: Don Bosco Bicycle Camp

By Fr. Branden Gordon, SDB

(Sherbrooke, QC – July 18) – Here in Sherbrooke, we’ve completed the first two weeks of Don Bosco Bicycle Camp (Bosco Bicycle). This year’s route—Le Trajet des Lacs—takes us south and west of the city toward the region’s beautiful lakes: Massawippi, Magog, Memphremagog, and Brompton. Campers and monitors cycle about 50 km (or 30 mi) per day, which is no easy feat.

Throughout the day, campers receive spiritual formation. Each day begins and ends with a brief reflection on a Gospel theme, in the style of the Salesian Good Night. In the morning, campers are invited to reflect on the theme of the day in notebooks that are provided to them. There are also moments for prayer, which culminate in a Mass at a Benedictine monastery and a Penance service at a farm toward the end of the week.

Every stop in a town or at a church is an opportunity for students to discover the Catholic and Loyalist history of the Eastern Townships. Each monitor is assigned a pause culturelle, during which they discuss the cultural significance of the place. Legends of lake-dwelling monsters, dragons, gargoyles, flying baboons—and even a witch who works as a mail carrier during the day—are woven into these talks for the entertainment of the campers.

The highlight of the first two weeks was a surprise visit by the ninth successor of St. John Bosco, Fr. Pascual Chávez Villanueva, who was accompanied by Frs. George Harkins and Tito Iannaccio. The presence of the Rector Major emeritus and our confrères at our camp Mass was a great blessing.

We’re grateful for this and the many other graced moments of the first two weeks. We look forward to weeks three and four, entrusting them to the motherly intercession of Mary Help of Christians.