Havre-Saint-Pierre, 1939 – In the privacy of his study, Napoléon-Alexandre Labrie, vicar apostolic of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, is bent over a letter he has been diligently working on. He stares blankly at his typewriter as his thoughts wander to one of his growing concerns.

The choice of Saint Amélie as patron of Sainte-Amélie Church in Baie-Comeau has raised doubts in Labrie’s mind. Although he recognizes the legitimacy of the decision to honour the late Amy McCormick, wife of the city’s founder, he is aware that, strangely enough, this saint has remained widely unknown. And to add to the confusion, there was more than one Saint Amélie, something that could potentially confound the faithful. What could be done to foster devotion to such an unfamiliar saint?

A glimmer of hope, however, emerged from his racing thoughts. His painstaking research had led him to Clarke City, where he had discovered a fascinating biography of Saint Amélie, carefully recorded in publications of the Bollandists. While the biography was in no way comprehensive, Labrie was relieved to have found an element of truth that he could share.

With renewed determination, he starts typing: “In Clarke City, I found a very nice life story of Saint Amélie by the Bollandists. This life isn’t very long…”