to 22, 1947, hosted by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ottawa. Estimates of attendance vary from 100,000 to 250,000. A huge outdoor site was built for the religious spectacular. In front were benches enough to seat 75,000 people. There were also 110 exhibits on the site. Msgr. John O'Neill, assistant pastor at St George's Church was the prime organizer of the Congress. Its purpose was to celebrate the centenary of the Archdiocese of Ottawa and to pray for lasting peace in the world. Although now largely forgotten, in its day it was the largest religious conference in North America, with thousands of visitors coming from all parts of North America to witness this week of prayer. Many were locals but visitors arrived by car, bus, plane, and 66 special excursion trains. During the five-day Congress there was a procession of floats along the canal driveway. The Congress also featured the Dionne Quintuplets (age 13) singing hymns in both English and French. The event ended with an event called "the greatest fireworks display ever held in Canada" depicting scenes in the life of the Blessed Virgin. A message to the Congress from Pope Pius XII was broadcast during a Mass on June 19 and carried by major radio networks across the country. In April 1952, the fairground at the park was selected in an exercise by the federal civil defence organization as an assembly point where the survivors of a nuclear attack on Ottawa gathered to receive food and water. The City of Ottawa periodically reviews the use and state of the facility. Lansdowne was developed as a municipal fairgrounds, and somewhat rural in nature. Over time, permanent buildings were built on the site, and a majority of the site was paved, both for parking and for exhibition use. As the result of a review in the 1990s, the city demolished some of the buildings, and restored some parkland. The city restored the Aberdeen Pavilion at the time, using funds planned for a Central Canada Ex move, in exchange for allowing the Ex to continue to use the site. Lansdowne Park has long been the primary sports facility in Ottawa. The sports venues located on the site have played host to championships in curling, figure skating, Canadian football, ice hockey and association football. The Aberdeen Pavilion hosted Stanley Cup championship games in 1904 played by the Ottawa Silver Seven. The Civic