Saint-Sylvestre, Quebec

Saint-Sylvestre (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ silvɛstʁ] ^ⓘ) is a municipality in the Lotbinière Regional County Municipality, in Quebec, Canada. It is part of the Chaudière-Appalaches region and had a population is 989 as of 2009. It is named after Pope Sylvester I.

Saint-Sylvestre
Municipality
Principale street (route 216).
Location within Lotbinière RCM.
Saint-Sylvestre Location in southern Quebec.
Coordinates: 46°22′N 71°14′W[1]
Country	Canada
Province	Quebec
Region	Chaudière-Appalaches
RCM	Lotbinière
Constituted	December 4, 1996
Government [2]
• Mayor	Mario Grenier
• Federal riding	Lotbinière— Chutes-de-la-Chaudière
• Prov. riding	Lotbinière-Frontenac
Area [2][3]
• Total	148.10 km2 (57.18 sq mi)
• Land	146.41 km2 (56.53 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[3]
• Total	1,035
• Density	7.1/km2 (18/sq mi)
• Pop 2006-2011	6.4%
• Dwellings	480
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Postal code(s)	G0S 3C0
Area codes	418 and 581
Highways	R-216 R-269
Website	www.ville. saint-sylvestre.qc.ca

"Miracles"

In 1948-1949, the Bélanger family of Saint-Sylvestre found fame in performing "healing miracles." Visitors from Canada and the United States came to be cured by one of the four Bélanger children, aged 8 to 12. The children allegedly acquired healing powers after they had seen their deceased sisters dressed like angels and escorted by the Holy Virgin.

Visitors would leave money to the children for their curing deeds, and they received the support of Reverend Emile Bourassa, from neighbouring Saint-Patrice-de-Beaurivage. The priest of Saint-Sylvestre, Reverend Edmond Pelletier, preached against the "miracles," and in 1949, Archbishop Maurice Roy, in the name of the Archdiocese of Quebec, ruled the affair as a hoax. The Bélanger home soon closed to visitors soon afterward.^[4]

Royal Canadian Air Force Station St. Sylvestre

From 1953 to 1964, Saint-Sylvestre hosted a Pinetree Line radar station on Mont Saint-Marguerite, just five miles southeast of the village. Construction started in 1952, and the station opened on 15 September 1953, as RCAF Station Ste-Marie. It was renamed RCAF Station St. Sylvestre in 1955 and closed in 1964.^[5][6][7]