The Pentecost pilgrimage from Paris to Chartres remains the leading event for Traditionalists worldwide: a unique combination of penitence, prayer, Traditional liturgy and cultural appreciation. As a participant on four previous occasions, I wanted to discover how the pilgrimage is faring in this third year of Summorum Pontificum. The number of participants (10,000 – 15,000 depending on who is counting)seems about the same. And once again Michal Matt, the editor of The Remnant, leads around 50 members of the American chapter of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the grueling 3-day 72-mile pilgrimage.
Liturgically speaking, the services this year were certainly correct and complete. Their masses, however, do seem on the dry side both in terms of ceremony and music compared to what can be routinely experienced nowadays at least in the New York area. That shows how far Summorum Pontificum has altered the landscape.
Some distinctive elements have been eliminated or eroded in the course of time. For example, the former lengthy French sermons always circling back to a fiery political critique have been abandoned in favor of a more purely “spiritual” message. The musical scouts pledge, one of the highlights of the entire pilgrimage, has been dropped for political reasons of some kind. The chanting of the main pilgrimage hymns at the final liturgy lacked the almost mystical conviction of earlier years. Not all changes, however, have been for the worse. The “singing bishop” attempting to warm up the pilgrims at the final mass has mercifully not reappeared. And the intrusive personality cult of the late John Paul II which had started to emerge has likewise vanished.
What follows is a selection of images from each day – a supplement to the official photographic record.
5:30 Saturday morning before the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris.
The American Chapter assembles.
The Virgin of the Pilgrimage which is always borne before the marching column of pilgrims. There are several other such statues.
The initial service and blessing. It is quite a contrast with the chilly reception and “misunderstandings” on the part of the Paris Archdiocese 15 years ago.
Through Paris and out into the countryside.
The site of the first mass.
Confession is heard everywhere along the pilgrimage route and during mass.
The Mass on the first day.
Related Articles
No user responded in this post