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XVIIIth ANNUAL CHARTRES PILGRIMAGE 6th-8th May 2000
FROM NOTRE-DAME CATHEDRAL, PARIS What is the Chartres Pilgrimage? Chartres is at the centre of
the religious history of France. Since Roman times, when the Virgo
Partitura was venerated there, to the present day, the shrine has not ceased
to attract pilgrims from the most distinguished (including every King of France)
to the most humble. The Chartres pilgrimage is a very old tradition in
France, and has been given new vigour by the association Notre-Dame de
Chrétienté which has organised it for the last 17 years. The association president
is a layman, Mr Vaquié, and its chaplain is Father Pozzetto of
the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter. The pilgrimage is a walk of prayer
and penance, and has an individual and a social character. Encouraged
by Pope John Paul II and numerous bishops, more than 15,000 pilgrims take
part, with about 850 coming from twenty foreign countries. All are united in
prayer to Our Lady during a three-day walk of 105 kilometres, making this
the largest pilgrimage of its kind in Western Europe, both in the distance
covered and the number of pilgrims.
The spirit of the Pentecost Pilgrimage. The pilgrimage is
organised in a dynamic spirit, as a reaction to the materialism of our
times. We place ourselves within the traditional doctrine taught by the
Church. Wishing to work for the social reign of Our Lord, we want our
Faith to overflow into our personal lives, our family lives, our working
lives and into the very life of our country. Following Huysmans,
Psichari, Peguy and other illustrious converts, the Chartres pilgrims walk
for Christendom, "that sunny side of a civilisation where the Kingship of
Christ spreads over the lives and works of men, over the families and over
the nations, searching obstinately amidst the cultures and earthly
battles, for an uncompromising balance between nature and grace, wishing,
by heroism and holiness, to trace already on earth the avenues of the
Kingdom." A call to conversion, a public act of reparation to the Sacred
Heart, this pilgrimage is a homage to Christ the King and to the Blessed
Virgin Mary. It lies fully within the scope of the "new evangelisation" called
for by Pope John Paul II, particularly at this moment, at the dawn of a
new millennium, when moral values and respect for life are ridiculed
daily.
Prayer during the Pilgrimage. The pilgrims walk in "chapters"
(groups of 20 to 50 people), under the patronage of a saint, and are led
by a layman who, with the help of a chaplain, organises the chapter hymns,
meditations, rosary and prayers. The pilgrims live in a spirit of Christ's
presence: friendship and prayer sustaining each pilgrim on his spiritual
journey. Chaplains, priests and religious from various communities
accompany the pilgrims all along the walk, hearing confessions, and
teaching the Catholic Faith. Each day, Mass is celebrated in the most
beautiful way, according to the 1962 Ordo, with the consent of the local
bishops (fulfilling the Pope's instruction Ecclesia Dei). The liturgy is
in Latin: a magnificent instrument of prayer, stressing the universal
character of the Mass. This point is of particular importance in France,
where excesses following the liturgical reforms have caused great damage.
We hope in this way to show our attachment to the tradition of the Church
and to the riches it contains, not with the aim of restoring an ancient
order, but rather of drawing benefits from the former sources and putting
them to work in the world of today.
THEME FOR THE YEAR 2000: "The Holy Mass, Heart of Christendom"
"The year 2000 will be an intensely Eucharistic year. In the sacrament
of the Eucharist, Our Saviour, God made Man, born of Mary 20 centuries
ago, continues to offer Himself to mankind as a source of divine life"
(John Paul II, Tertio Millennio Adveniente)
Christendom is the temporal realisation of the Gospel in our
societies, in which institutions and lifestyles, far from being
obstacles to man's fulfilment, should be aids to that fulfilment,
in harmony with God's Order.
The Holy Mass is the expression of our Faith, of our adoration of God
- Father, Son and Holy Ghost. It is the Sacrament of our salvation, the
food of our souls, the aid to our hope and to our love for one another.
It is thus that we march this year, soldiers for Christ, Christians
resolved that the social reign of Our Lord shall become reality, as only
His reign can take us out of the culture of death that is menacing all our
societies, only His reign can give us full life in the Third Millennium.
It is the Mass that is the source of our strength. The venerable
traditional Roman liturgy, this liturgy that spans the millenniums, is the
perfect prayer. Its beauty fills us with the sense of the sacred, it
fortifies our faith and inspires our adoration. Our three-day march, of
feet and souls, is accompanied by the rhythm of the Mass. It is from
the Mass that we draw our love of the Church, our faithfulness to the
Magisterium and to its teachings. It is the Mass that enkindles in us the
fire to give to the world what we have received ourselves.
Material Aspects. Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris to Notre-Dame
Cathedral, Chartres: The pilgrims walk the full distance between the two
cathedrals, approximately 105 kilometres (70 miles) in three days. This
involves considerable effort, long hours of walking, early mornings; excellent physical fitness is therefore necessary.
Food during the pilgrimage. Notre-Dame de Chrétienté supplies
bread, red wine, water and sugar at each halt throughout the walk and at
the evening camp site. At the camp site, hot soup is available in the
evenings and breakfast (tea, coffee, hot chocolate and rolls with jam) is
available in the mornings. Pilgrims should, however, bring with them their
own food, enough for five cold picnic meals.
Pilgrims' equipment.
Pilgrims should bring suitable clothing for walking, particularly boots or
good walking shoes (synthetic fibre socks are not advised). Here is the
list of essentials:
a small backpack to carry throughout, containing :
ï lunch for the
day a larger bag, which will be taken in the special pilgrimage lorries and
which is retrieved each evening, containing :
ï food reserves (remaining
meals) Luggage transportation. Pilgrims may leave their heavy luggage
with the special pilgrimage lorries' teams as soon as they arrive at
Notre-Dame in Paris on the Saturday morning. The luggage will be
transported by these special lorries to the evening campsite where they
can be retrieved under a large black sign marked ÉTRANGERS
(foreigners). Pilgrims should not forget to label their bags with their names and
to attach a black ribbon to them to identify them as "étrangers"
(ribbons are available in the lorries). They are also advised to label all
belongings. Pilgrims coming to France for a longer stay are asked not to bring
all their bags with them to Chartres but
to leave them in their coaches, as the logistics teams cannot take charge
of too much cumbersome luggage.
Assistance during the walk. Permanent medical assistance is
assured by the doctors and hospitallers of the Order of Malta, who have an
outdoor hospital at each campsite. All along the walk, shuttle buses
provide transport for pilgrims who can no longer walk or, in case of
emergency, to take them to hospital.
Evening bivouacs. Notre-Dame de Chrétienté supplies a campsite
equipped with wash-basins (cold running water only), toilets,
electricity supply and some collective tents. On arrival at the campsite,
pilgrims retrieve their large bags, and go to the area that has been
reserved for them to set up their tents. Pilgrims who do not have a
personal tent should make their way to the tent marked with their national
flag. There are separate tents for men and women, and pilgrims are asked to respect
this.
Latest news. A website at www.nd-chretiente.com
has recently opened. Although it is not yet complete, it already provides
some very important and helpful news.
Rendezvous: Pilgrims should rendezvous at 6 a.m. on
Saturday 6th May in front of Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris. There, pilgrims
should take their large bag to the lorry marked ÉTRANGERS, and
keep their little backpack with them. Then they should join the chapter of
their country, grouped under their banners in front of the Cathedral.
Their chapter leader will give final instructions, and will signal when to
enter the Cathedral: departure point for three days of a great spiritual
adventure !
Irish co-ordinators: Eamonn Gaines Nick Lowry Ciarán Mac Guill Welcome, and have a good and holy pilgrimage !
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