John M. Filion, provincial superior of Jesuits in Canada, decided to pursue the construction of a larger church closer to the mission.

Construction began that year, using some materials from the Waubaushene church and others donated by lumber companies in Northern Ontario.

Pews, stained glass windows, Stations of the Cross and an altar were donated by churches in London and Toronto.

The shrine houses the bones of St. Jean de Brébeuf, St. Gabriel Lalemant, and St. Charles Garnier.

[4] Pope John Paul II visited the Martyrs' Shrine in September 1984, and prayed over the skull of Brébeuf.