A friend of mine went on the Chartres pilgrimage this year. Having now returned he wrote the following account of it. Apparently, young people don't want all those "old-fashioned" ways - apart from these 10,000!
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Chez nous, soyez Reine,
Nous sommes à vous;
Régnez en souveraine
Chez nous, chez nous.
Soyez la madone
Qu'on prie à genoux,
Qui sourit et pardonne
Chez nous, chez nous.
O Queen of our Country
We are all thine own;
Reign over us in glory
In this our home.
Be thou our sweet Lady!
We kneel at thy throne,
Who smiles on us so kindly
In this our home.
This year I was fortunate enough to be able to
take a short break from my daily routine of working in central London to join
the Juventutem chapter for the Pèlerinage de Chartres (a three-day, 100km walk from
Notre-Dame de Paris to Notre-Dame de Chartres). As with all pilgrimages both
spiritual and physical preparations are essential and, whilst I had some
understanding of what to expect, it soon became apparent that this would be
quite an experience.
At 6.30am on Friday we joined together under the banner of Our Lady of Walsingham outside Westminster Cathedral. The British Chapter drew its number from all around the UK and further afield. Each person brought their own intentions, expectations, and varied exposure to the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. We were so broad a group, but would soon be unified and strengthened by our experience together.
At 6.30am on Friday we joined together under the banner of Our Lady of Walsingham outside Westminster Cathedral. The British Chapter drew its number from all around the UK and further afield. Each person brought their own intentions, expectations, and varied exposure to the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. We were so broad a group, but would soon be unified and strengthened by our experience together.
With an air of excitement and slight
trepidation we began our pilgrimage with low Mass in the beautiful Cathedral Crypt. After receiving
several words of encouragement, and dedicating ourselves to Our Lady we loaded the coach, gathered last minute
supplies and headed off to join over 10,000 other pilgrims in France, the
eldest daughter of the Church.
Pilgrims entering Notre-Dame de Paris
The start of the ‘pilgrimage proper’ was
heralded by the bells of Notre-Dame de Paris. The piazza infront of this imposing gothic Cathedral was
engulfed in a sea of flags and banners, pilgrims and well-wishers who waited in
jubilant anticipation for the Missa
Solemnis Coram Episcopo, which would truly begin our spiritual journey. The
Mass itself was a magnificent spectacle, with the various groups sardined into
Cathedral, and others overflowing onto the streets. Our flags were blessed, our
bodies and souls fortified by the rites of the Church and, remembering the Lord’s
commandment “Go into all the world and proclaim the
gospel to the whole creation”, we set off on our journey.
Pilgrims were divided in to regional divisions led by a distinctive banner
The route to Chartres has been well trodden by
centuries of Catholic faithful who answered this same call, offering their sufferings
and sacrifices for the intentions of the Church, the Holy Father, loved ones
and in reparation for the multitude of sins committed against God. This year in
particular we were asked to think about “Education, as a path to holiness” - a theme well suited to respond to the virulent attack on marriage and family life which has dominated European politics of late.
The procession reduced central Paris to a one-lane zone
The procession of excited pilgrims wound its
way through the wide avenues of Paris, at some speed, and then suddenly we escaped the
hustle and bustle of the city to join the narrow tracks of the sun-kissed French
countryside for the remainder of the pilgrimage. Each morning the rapelle “Good morning Pilgrims, it is
time to wake up!” ensured that we rose at 5am to make preparations for the day’s
walk. A quick freshen-up was the best that one could hope for in the pouring rain,
but our spirits remained high as we began each day with a rousing rendition of 'Faith of
our Fathers'.
The route moved into the woods
In a brief dry period the pilgrims head through the farmlands
The long days of walking were punctuated by well planned spiritual exercises which aimed to help us to focus on what it is to bear whitness to our faith. These ranged from singing hymns and chanting the rosary, to listening to a
meditation/talk and having the opportunity to attend confession. On this last point, we were immensely
privileged to have inspiring team of young clergy to assist us during our walk. Within the procession of happy pilgrims each priest
or seminarian was unmistakable in their attire; cassock, cotta, purple stole,
rosary and strong walking boots – even during the torrential rain they managed
to maintain their composure, continue the walk and freely offer their spiritual
guidance to anyone who needed it.
As a young Catholic, in my mid-twenties, it is often
hard to remove myself from the bubble in which I live; which is, for the most part, a secular
work environment. My desire to take part in this pilgrimage was to surround myself with like-minded Catholics
with whom I had some spiritual connection, and could explore my faith further in a 'normal' way.
The Sacrament of Confession was available at any time
It has often struck me that, in the light of the ‘clerical scandal’ and the
increase of relativism across society, it has become more and more
difficult to honestly and effectively articulate the Catholic message, fulfilling our true
vocation as Catholics to “Go into all the world and
proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation”. The Chartres Pilgrimage is not one
for the faint-hearted. It is a tough, challenging, and difficult
struggle to reach the end. But it
offers a bright light of hope which not only brings people together – forging close
and, hopefully, lasting friendships – but it also refocuses our hearts to look
more intensely towards Christ as our Saviour and Lord.
At the heart
of this experience is the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. In this context it is easy to recognise that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is a glorious prayer when heaven bows down to earth, and
God descends to us. Particularly in the Extraordinary Form the voice of the Priest is no longer heard; even at the
Altar all is silence. “It was thus in the quiet of silence, and
while the night was in the midst of her course, that the Almighty Word came
down from his royal throne.” This pilgrimage was not about making the Mass political (as
some have tried to do), this was not some old fashioned eccentricity (there
were over 10,000 young people walking), this was about offering the fullness of
the Catholic faith, challenging the pilgrims both physically and spiritually to
redirect their lives towards God.
The ministers approach the altar
High Mass in a field!
The highlights
for me included the magnificent Missa Solemnis celebrated in a field for the
Feast of Pentecost, finding myself among rows of young people kneeling in the
rain in front of the Blessed Sacrament after the second day of walking, and the
approach to Chartres Cathedral as the rain poured ever harder; the bells
tolling ever louder to welcome the jubilant, if not a little tired, pilgrims. For
the last miles we sang with one accord Christus Vincit, Christus Regnat,
Christus Imperat! An unmistakable whitness to our Catholic Faith!
The statues and banners are processed into Notre-Dame de Chartres
The Sacred Ministers enter the Cathedral
Mgr. Michel Pansard, Bishop of Chartres, addresses the pilgrims
Notre-Dame de Chartres, priez pour nous!
The last night was spent in a local hotel, where we all took advantage of a hot shower, running water and a comfortable bed. Our final morning was filled with joy at completion of the pilgrimage and a sadness that our journey had come to an end - described as 'post Chartres blues' by the veterans of the walk. These mixed emotions did not, however, dampen our spirits too much and we headed to the Cathedral crypt for our last Mass together. A testimony of the diversity and generosity of the group was that we were able to participate in a Solemn High Mass; drawing on the talents of the Priests, servers and singers to make it a memorable occasion. Tired and elated, we ended by singing in full voice the words that we had started with:
Chez nous, soyez Reine,
Nous sommes à vous;
Régnez en souveraine
Chez nous, chez nous.
Soyez la madone
Qu'on prie à genoux,
Qui sourit et pardonne
Chez nous, chez nous.
Nous sommes à vous;
Régnez en souveraine
Chez nous, chez nous.
Soyez la madone
Qu'on prie à genoux,
Qui sourit et pardonne
Chez nous, chez nous.
I personally
learned a great deal about my faith and was able to place it in the context of
the wider Catholic family. Much more than my incredible experiences of being in
Rome, Walsingham or Lourdes, the Pilgrimage to Chartres opened up the
possibility that as Catholics we have an incredible role to play in society;
but with that we have the awesome responsibility of ensuring that the Catholic Faith,
the Faith of our Fathers, is not watered down, made weaker or changed to
respond to the zeitgeist, or whim of society: Jesus Christ is the
same
yesterday and today
and forever.
Special thanks should be given to the Priests and Seminarians who guided us on this journey of faith; to Francis and Julie Carey who organised the event for the British pilgrims; to George Steven who led the Juventutem Chapter; and perhaps most important of all to the friends and benefactors of the LMS who not only offered us spiritual assistance through their prayers and support, but also who were generous enough to give a £100 sponsorship to over fifteen pilgrims to defer at least some of the cost.
I would strongly
recommend that anyone interested in opening their hearts further to the Catholic
Faith should consider taking part in this pilgrimage – I will certainly be
there next year!
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