Auriesville, NY - The eighth annual Pilgrimage for Restoration drew enthusiastic Catholics from across the US, Canada, and beyond to the Shrine of Our Lady of the North American Martyrs in Auriesville, central New York State, from Wednesday, September 24 through Saturday, September 27,
2003.
On the final day of the four-day pilgrimage - commemorating the 361st anniversary of the martyrdom of Saint Rene Goupil, first of the Jesuit martyrs - about 800 pilgrims walked the last seven miles along the banks of the
Mohawk River to Auriesville, starting at the Shrine of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha in Fonda, NY.
Saturday's participants, which included senior citizens and many young parents pushing
infants in strollers, were joining those pilgrims who began the pilgrimage for the sixth straight year from the shores of
the Lake of the Blessed Sacrament (commonly called Lake George, NY) on the previous Wednesday.
With the number of participants
again increasing, 225 pilgrims prayed, sang and walked 68 miles to the Fonda Shrine in three days to meet up with the pilgrims
walking the last leg to Auriesville Saturday. This year again many families with small children joined the ranks of those
pilgrims walking more than one day.
Pilgrims walking from the Lake of the Blessed Sacrament were assisted by volunteers
of the Company of St. Rene Goupil, a lay apostolate named after the first of the North American Martyrs. Spiritual Father
of the Company is Christopher Lexow of Silver Cliff, WI, who is assisted by Executive Officer Jack Fraker of Bear Creek Lake,
PA.
Rev. Fr. Andreas Hellmann of the Institute of Christ the King with (American) headquarters in Wausau, WI, served
the pilgrims as chaplain. He was assisted by Rev. Fr. Bro. Gabriel Francis of the Servants Minor of St. Francis of Scranton,
PA and Rev. Frs. Thomas Longua & Neal Nichols both with the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter from Scranton, PA. The priests
heard confessions, preached sermons, and offered Holy Mass each day. Friar Dominic of the Servants Minor also accompanied
the pilgrims.
On each of the three days en route to Fonda, and in Auriesville on Saturday, Holy Mass was offered according
to the traditional Roman Rite revived by Pope John Paul II in his 1988 motu proprio, Ecclesia Dei. In all, 13 traditional
Latin Masses were offered during the pilgrimage.
Leading the pilgrims, and celebrant and homilist of the Latin Mass
on Saturday, was Fr. Edmund Castronovo, pastor at St. Joseph's Parish in Oneida, NY. (Sermon available on request.)
Fr. Castronovo was joined Saturday by numerous diocesan and religious priests who heard confessions en route and at the shrines.
LaSalette Fr. Jeffrey L'Arche of Altamont, NY led services for pilgrims Friday evening.
The New York Catholic Chorale directed by Mr. Thomas F. Savoy of Albany provided music for the high Mass, Saturday. The Chorale's praise included a magnificently performed
Mass for voice and instrument by Leo Hassler.
The general intention of the annual event is the restoration of grace.
Two specific intentions are the restoration of the Catholic family and of the ancient Roman liturgical and spiritual
patrimony. The theme of this year's pilgrimage was Restoration of True Devotion to Mary: Queen of Peace and of the Holy Rosary.
Sponsors
of the event, the National Coalition of Clergy & Laity, say the annual pilgrimage is a spiritual exercise of penance and
reparation for sins committed against the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the salvation of souls,
and with the intention of cooperating in the work of the Martyrs to convert our lands to Christ Our King - ad majorem Dei
gloriam.
Inspiration and model for the pilgrimage comes from the ancient Chartres pilgrimage, newly rehabilitated,
which draws thousands of Catholics to France each Pentecost. Organizers of the French pilgrimage, the apostolate Association
Notre-Dame de Chretiente, again sent greetings and prayers to their American counterparts. (Copy available on request.)
Saturday's
ceremonies began in the early morning with prayers at the Shrine of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha in Fonda where the "Lily of the Mohawks" was baptized and lived. On Saturday, as on all four days, pilgrims
sang hymns and recited the Holy Rosary and other prayers, while priests heard confessions. The column arrived early in the
afternoon Saturday at the Coliseum Church of Our Lady of Martyrs where the final Latin Mass was offered. The church stands
at the site where Saints Isaac Jogues, Rene Goupil and John de LaLande were martyred in 1642 and 1646, at the Iroquois village of Ossernenon.
Following
Holy Mass many pilgrims venerated the holy grounds of Ossernenon, including the ravine where St. Rene, the first of the martyrs
and a layman, was buried by St. Isaac.
Organizers consider the pilgrimage an opportunity for North American Catholics
to celebrate the Church's glorious history of evangelization on this continent and to resolve to continue the work of the
missionaries and the Church in a spirit of restoration, the same spirit which animates the pilgrimage to Chartres.
They
anticipate more Catholics to join the pilgrimage next year to pray for the reform so urgently needed in our lands. The ninth
annual Pilgrimage for Restoration is scheduled to take place September 15-18, 2004.
A recording on CD and cassette
of the many traditional hymns sung during the pilgrimage is available for a suggested donation of $30 to the National Coalition.
The companion pilgrims' prayer book - 65 pages of lyrics and prayers, including the texts of the 1962 Roman missal in Latin
and English - is also available, and comes with the recording, on request.
For more information contact the Company
of St. Rene Goupil or the National Coalition of Clergy & Laity.
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