It was Canada's worst maritime disaster.
This week descendants of those lost in the Empress of Ireland took part in late-night vigils including the ringing of church bells in Rimouski and Sainte-Luce-sur-Mera. A group gathered at the Pointe-au-Père Marine Historic Site was astonished as a cruise ship passed at exactly the same time and location as the Empress of Ireland had, a century before.
Cruise the Saint Lawrence identified the ship as Oceania Cruises' Marina, which sailed from the Port of Québec on the evening of May 28, just as the Empress of Ireland had done in 1914.
One hundred years on, the water was calm and the night was clear for Marina's passage.
The bell-ringing and Marina are captured on a YouTube video.
