Rose Prince pilgrimage to draw hundreds to Lejac, B.C.

Hundreds of pilgrims across Canada are expected to gather in the B.C. community of Lejac this weekend for the annual Rose Prince pilgrimage.

Rose Prince, a young First Nations woman and devout Catholic who attended the Lejac Indian Residential School, died in 1949. The soil of her grave is believed by some to have healing powers.

Many pilgrims, including Vancouverite Susan Hauck, refer to Prince as a saint. Hauck, who will be traveling to Lejac on Thursday, says she first visited Prince's grave site 12 years ago after seeing the woman in a dream.

"I said to her [in my dream], 'OK, I am going to come. I'm going to give you 500 roses,'" Hauck told Radio West.

"So that was the start. I went to her grave site with my husband and I've been bringing 500 roses ever since."

Hauck says the Rose Prince pilgrimage usually includes prayers, meditation and a procession towards Prince's grave site. She says she usually brings some soil home to give to family and friends.

According to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Prince George's website, Prince was born in 1915 and started attending the Lejac Indian Residential School in 1922. She was buried there in 1949.

Two years later, when the school decided to move a number of graves to a nearby plot of land, Prince's casket broke open and workers found her body in pristine condition. Among Catholics, incorruptibility of a dead body is seen as a sign from God.

Listen to the audio: Rose Prince pilgrimage.