December 1979 Print

By Matthew Roper

In the history of the Church, pilgrimages have always taken place to sites which most arouse fervor in the hearts of the Faithful. In the Middle Ages, pilgrims sought the tomb of St. Thomas à Becket at Canterbury and the reliquary of St. James the Apostle in Spain. Today's pilgrims also yearn to visit sites where they can find the most visual expression of their Faith. For traditional Roman Catholics these sites are the Society of St. Pius X Seminary in Ecône, Switzerland, and St. Nicholas du Chardonnet in Paris. The Angelus Pilgrimage in June, 1979, provided a rare opportunity for people from all parts of the United States to visit these and other sites sacred to our Faith.

 

A TRADITIONALIST Catholic traveling alone in Europe faces the prospect of arriving at a shrine or historic cathedral only to find the Novus Ordo in a language and format completely foreign to him. He must content himself with private prayer and meditation and frequently leaves feeling deprived of total spiritual benefit. Having traveled in Europe several times in the last few years, I knew that the only way to assure a spiritually fulfilling trip was to travel with a group led by a traditional priest.

On the Angelus Pilgrimage we were fortunate to have two religious—Sister Mary Grace of Dickinson, Texas, and Father Terence Finnegan, a priest of the Society of St. Pius X, who served as spiritual director, offering Mass everyday for those wishing to attend. The opportunity to receive the sacraments in the holy places of Europe made this trip unlike any other I had ever taken.

First Blessings by the newly-ordained priests, 29 June 1979. In the foreground, Father Regis Babinet of France, an English-speaking priest who has been assigned to the South-West District of America.

Our group arrived in Geneva on Thursday, June 28th. We boarded a bus which was to be our home for the next two weeks, and after a prayer for the road we were off to Lausanne. Anxious to see Ecône we set off that evening through the magnificent Alpine countryside, arriving at Ecône just in time to hear the last notes of Vespers coming from the chapel. Everything was in preparation for the next day's ordination ceremony.

Father took us to the small oratory in the oldest part of the seminary for our first Mass together in Europe.

On Friday, June 29th, the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, we arrived at the Seminary a half hour before the ordination was to begin and were fortunate to find seats in the area reserved for relatives of the new priests. Sister Grace was seated with other nuns near the altar. The sight of so many and varied traditional habits gladdened our hearts!

The site of the ordinations, an Alpine meadow below the Seminary, was crowded with faithful from all over the world, united in their love of the Church and its sacred traditions. The service began with the deacons to be ordained processing down from the Seminary, followed by over one hundred priests and monks from around the world who had come to participate on this most sacred day. The sun-drenched Alps provided a spectacular background for the ceremony. Loud speakers enabled every one on the mountainside to hear every word spoken by the Archbishop. Beginning with the Kyrie and Gloria, all the singing was done by the choir and the entire congregation. It was thrilling to hear thousands of people from many countries united in singing Gregorian chant and the wonderful Latin hymns such as Veni Creator Spiritus and Adoro Te Devote. Nearly everyone in attendance received Holy Communion.

After the ordination ceremony, the newly-ordained priests gave their first priestly blessing to family and friends. Small groups of people knelt on the hillside between the outdoor altar and the Seminary as the new priests, still in their resplendent scarlet chasubles, blessed them, touched their heads and then permitted the newly consecrated hands to be kissed reverentially by the faithful. The people went from priest to priest, and grass-stained clothes were a small sacrifice to pay for the many special graces received.

Upon conclusion of the ceremonies, our little pilgrimage group broke up for the day, with some returning to Lausanne and others staying for the Vesper services. Preferring to spend the day at Ecône, I walked around the grounds, meeting traditionalists from throughout Europe. In the afternoon, while waiting for Vespers to begin, I sat behind a group of French pilgrims who recited the Rosary and sang several beautiful Marian hymns. Soon the clergy, the newly-ordained priests and the seminarians, processed back down for the Solemn Vespers and Benediction. Again , everyone—no matter what their mother tongue—could participate fully in the sacred Latin chants. Truly, this was an example of Church unity.

After Vespers Father Finnegan introduced me to several of the American seminarians at Ecône and I was given a brief tour of the buildings. Invited to remain for supper with the seminarians, I marveled at the efficiency with which meals in the refectory were handled and the spirit of friendship with which all the visitors were treated. The Archbishop led the prayers before the meal.

ON SATURDAY, June 30th, the group returned for their final visit to Ecône. That morning I was able to attend three Masses. The first in the Seminary Chapel was the First Mass of a French priest. As is the French custom, the congregation participated fully throughout the Mass and at the end everyone joined in singing the Magnificat to celebrate this solemn occasion. The second Mass was said by Father Finnegan for four members of the pilgrimage in a small, private chapel where the only sound was of an Alpine waterfall outside the window. Here one could truly sense the appropriateness of having this Seminary in a secluded mountain location far from worldly distractions for at that moment it was hard to think of the problems of everyday life.

The Mass at which everyone on our pilgrimage participated was the first low Mass celebrated by the newly-ordained American, Father Boyd Antony Cathey. It was held in the main chapel of the Seminary where the main altar is framed on either side by jewel-like nineteenth-century stained-glass windows. During this Mass, one could hear the chanting from the outdoor altar below the seminary chapel where a Solemn High Mass was taking place in the presence of the Archbishop and the seminarians.

Sadly leaving Ecône, we began the first of the many long bus rides necessary to cover the vast distances between shrines. These long periods provided the pilgrims with time to relax, talk, read and most importantly, to pray. Each day on the bus, Father Finnegan made sure that we recited the fifteen decades of the Rosary, prayed the Angelus, and had some other form of spiritual nourishment, such as Stations of the Cross or readings translated from the Breviary concerning the particular feast day celebrated by the Church. Efforts to organize "choir rehearsal" on the bus sometimes met with success—sometimes with something less than success. It was decided that American Catholic education was somewhat lacking in terms of hymn memorization, which is something in which European Catholics excel. However, within our limited repertoire and with Father's wonderful voice, we did manage to emulate the pilgrims of the past and raised our voices to God in song.

Lest our minds become distracted by worldly sights during prayer on the road, Father refrained from devotions on the bus whenever we traveled through particularly breathtaking scenery such as the trip through the St. Bernard Pass from Switzerland to Italy. Driving up the Pass, we were able to see the hospice where the Canons of St. Bernard still reside with their famous dogs.

Spending the night in Milan, we were off again on Sunday, July 1st, to celebrate the Feast of the Most Precious Blood in Assisi, Italy. During the drive down the Autostrada del Sol we were faced with the reality of the gasoline shortage as long lines formed for fuel. Arriving in Assisi in late afternoon we proceeded to the Church of Santa Maria Degli Angeli for Mass.

This splendid baroque church was built at the express will of St. Pius V between 1569 and 1679 after a design by G. Alessi. It was constructed over two tiny structures which played an important part in the life of St. Francis. The "Portiuncula Chapel" under the central dome was the ancient chapel restored by St. Francis and was where he founded his Order of Friars Minor in 1209. In 1211 in this small chapel, St. Clare received the religious habit from St. Francis, thus founding the Order of Poor Clares. In another part of this huge church is the Chapel of the Transitus, the room which served as the infirmary of the original friary and the room in which St. Francis died. After venerating these sacred sites we proceeded to the crypt where Father celebrated Mass before a wonderful terracotta altarpiece by Andrea della Robbia, executed about 1490, portraying St. Francis receiving the stigmata, the Coronation of the Virgin, St. Jerome in the grotto of Bethlehem, the Annunciation, the Nativity and the Adoration of the Magi. With so much of the great sacred art removed from churches in Europe, we were blessed to have before us one of the great Renaissance masterpieces. In 1909, Saint Pius X elevated this church to the rank of Patriarchal Basilica with Papal Chapel so it was appropriate that our first Mass after leaving Ecône should take place in a church with a direct connection to the Society's patron.

After ascending the hill to the ancient city, several of us walked immediately to the Basilica of San Francesco to venerate the tomb of St. Francis before retiring for the night. Walking the narrow streets as the sun was setting and church bells were chiming, it was difficult not to be filled with a sense of spiritual well-being.

On Monday morning, the Feast of the Visitation, Father Finnegan said Mass in a small chapel in the Chiesa Inferiore (lower basilica) of San Francesco. Unlike most of the chapels in the basilica which have walls covered with late Gothic and early Renaissance frescoes, our chapel was bare except for a lovely eighteenth-century polychromed statue of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception with an illuminated halo of stars. After correcting the Novus Ordo altar to conform to Tridentine rubrics, the Mass began. As we knelt during the Mass, the Franciscan who had assisted us returned, demanding that we use the Mass of the Second Vatican Council. Father replied that we were, since the Tridentine Mass was in use during the Second Vatican Council. The Franciscan proceeded to remove the altar cards which we had brought with us. We proceeded with the Mass under the questioning gaze of several Franciscans. Upon completion of the Mass, we left, having encountered our only open hostility toward the celebration of the Tridentine Mass. Several of the pilgrims were ready to remember their Confirmation vows and fight for their Faith but Father Finnegan's wisdom and rational action taught us how to react without creating a confrontation situation. The fact that we could be persecuted at this sacred shrine disturbed us but strengthened our resolve to pray with greater fervor for the unity of the Church.

LEAVING ASSISI after Mass we traveled to Rome. The first church we visited was San Paolo Fuori le Mura (St. Paul's Outside the Walls), begun by Constantine in 314. Here, beneath the main altar, is the body of St. Paul. This ancient basilica was destroyed by fire in 1823 but was completely restored according to its original appearance including the rare fifth-century mosaics in the apse. A frieze of mosaic medallions running around the inside of the church above the columns contains portraits of all the popes from Saint Peter. The Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, one of the four transcept chapels, was the only one to survive the fire unharmed. In it, one finds the miraculous crucifix which spoke to St. Bridget. It is a sad commentary on our times that with all the many wonders within the basilica, a recent guide to Rome listed as the most important fact about this church that it was the sight chosen by John XXIII to announce his decision to hold the Second Vatican Council. Leaving St. Paul's we traveled out the Via Appia, over the same stones which the Apostles Peter and Paul walked on their way to Rome. Arriving at the Catacombs of San Calliso we were escorted through the underground maze by a pious old gentleman whose reverence for those sacred tombs was evident in his manner and actions. This series of catacombs—only one of many outside Rome—was named after Callistus, a deacon who later became a pope. Here we were shown the crypt of St. Sixtus and St. Cecilia which contains a marble statue of Cecilia's body as it appeared when it was discovered incorrupt in the sixteenth-century. We were also shown the crypt of St. Eusebius and the tomb of Pope Cornelius. At these tombs of the holy martyrs we were lead in prayer by Father Finnegan.

Returning to the city, we passed many of the ruins of Imperial Rome, stopping at the Colosseum, begun by Emperor Vespasian and completed in A.D. 80, the site of many Christian martyrdoms.

The Altar of Saint Pius X at Saint Peter's in Rome

On Tuesday, July 3rd, we were honored to have Father celebrate our first Mass in St. Peter's Basilica. The Lord was surely showing His love for us that day by enabling us to have our Mass at the Altar of St. Pius X in the Chapel of the Presentation. Over the altar is a large mosaic representing the Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple, after a painting by Romanelli. Beneath the altar, and clearly visible for all to venerate, is the incorrupt body of St. Pius X. How appropriate that after visiting the headquarters of the Priestly Society of St. Pius X that we should have Mass at his tomb in St. Peter's! The server provided in the sacristy of St. Peter's adjusted to the Tridentine Mass with little problem. As usual, one of the young men on our pilgrimage assisted Father at Mass. So many people came to the Mass that Father was forced to break the hosts so that all could receive Holy Communion. After Mass the pilgrimage group broke up for the day, permitting those who wished to go off and explore the Holy City. A majority of the pilgrims remained together, climbing the dome of St. Peter's for a spectacular view of Vatican City and Rome. The statues which line the colonnade had appeared small from the Piazza, but upon reaching the roof of St. Peter's, one realizes their immenseness. After the difficult climb, Father served as our guide as we reverently explored the interior of the basilica. Our knowledge of religious iconography was tested as we tried to recognize the sacred images and scenes depicted. We entered the crypts to venerate the tombs of the saints and popes. Although we were unable to say Mass at the tomb of St. Peter, we were able to pray at this most sacred spot. Directly opposite the tomb of St. Peter is the tomb of St. Pius XII, which we also venerated. At each of the tombs we stopped to pray—either in veneration of or for the repose of the soul of the departed. 

That afternoon we visited another of the four major basilicas, Santa Maria Maggiore (St. Mary Major's), the first church in Rome built to honor Mary. This church is also referred to as the Basilica Liberiana because the Virgin appeared to Pope Liberius on the night of August 5, 352, ordering him to build a church on the sight where snow would be found the next day. The present basilica contains relics of extreme importance. The mosaics in the triumphal arch over the altar date from the fifth century, while the imposing apse mosaic depicting the Triumph of the Virgin dates from 1295. In the confession below the main altar is a silver reliquary containing five pieces of the Manger in which the Christ Child was placed at His birth. The high altar contains relics of St. Matthew the Apostle. To the right of the main altar is the Sixtine Chapel, Containing the monumental tombs of Sixtus V and St. Pius V. Again we were privileged to venerate the tomb of the saint who promulgated, for all time, the Tridentine Mass. Father was able to get the sacristan to open the tomb so that we could venerate the incorrupt body of St. Pius V. The bronze relief panel showing the recumbent figure of the Pope was unlocked and lowered revealing the Saint's body robed in red vestments. On the other side of the main altar is the Pauline Chapel which houses a painting of the Madonna and Child attributed to St. Luke the Evangelist, who was named patron saint of artists because of this image.

Several of us made a short side trip to the Church of San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains) to venerate the chains used by Herod to bind St. Peter. This sacred relic was brought to Rome by the Empress Eudoxia in 422. This church also contains Michelangelo's monumental figure of Moses commissioned for the tomb of Pope Julius II.

On Wednesday, July 4th, we had our last Mass in Rome at the altar of SS. Marziale and Valeria in the left transept of St. Peter's. A number of the pilgrims then went to view the famous Sistine Chapel with its frescoes by Michelangelo while others explored the many wonders of the Vatican museums. It seems a strange juxtaposition that to enter the Sistine Chapel you must make your way through the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art built under Pope Paul VI, containing some of the most sacrilegious depictions of sacred scenes. These works were produced by artists whose faith is easily called into question. These abstract and distorted images were more conducive to arousing disgust than arousing a spiritual fervor in anyone. It clearly represents the Church as the servant of art rather than the glorious tradition of art as the servant of the Church.

LEAVING ROME, we faced another long ride but our goal—the sacred shrine of Lourdes—made the journey less difficult. We were able to stop at Pisa to view its architectural wonder, the Leaning Tower. However, this tower was not the only reason to stop here. Pisa has one of the great Romanesque cathedrals of Italy built between 1068 and 1118. Inside is a glorious dome fresco of the Assumption. The separate baptistry building, of which only a few from the Romanesque period remain in Europe, shows what importance the sacrament held in the Middle Ages. Next to the cathedral is the Campo Santo, or cemetery. This "sacred field" was founded in the twelfth-century, built on earth from the Hill of Calvary brought back by the Crusaders. Within the Campo Santo are the famous Triumph of Death frescoes by an unknown master depicting the brevity and vanity of worldly pleasures. These works date from the period of the Black Death and make one contemplate the mystery of eternal life as one wanders over the graves of saints and prelates dating from the Middle Ages to the present day.

After spending the night in Nice, France, we were off—driving along the Mediterranean coast through the Provence region of France to the Pyrennes. Seeing this beautiful countryside, Father spoke of how God had blessed Europe in so many ways.

The Basilica at Lourdes

We arrived at Lourdes on the evening of July 5th. Words cannot describe the feelings we had as we approached the grotto just in time to see the evening candlelight procession. Even before one reaches the actual basilica and grotto, the sound of voices raised in hymns to Mary greet your ears. Certainly this is one of the most sacred shrines in all the world. While Father arranged for a place to say Mass, several of us proceeded immediately to the grotto. Nowhere else in Europe is there a holy place where the rule of silence is so strictly followed. Everywhere one looked there were people on their knees, Rosary in hand, in reverent prayer. Lines moved silently up to the rock of the grotto where hands gently touched or lips kissed this most holy place. Stands for burning candles stretched the length of the grotto and in the evening light all worldly thoughts were forgotten and all minds turned toward Mary. The only sound which interrupted the night was the bell tower chiming the Lourdes Hymn on the quarter hour. We were able to have Mass in a room of the infirmary office through the kindness of some French nuns.

The next morning, Father and several of the pilgrims were back at the shrine at 5:00 a.m. to find a chapel in which to say Mass. Already the Faithful were returning to pray, drink the water, or to meditate. After visiting the lower basilica of the Rosary and the upper basilica, we were able to have Mass in the side chapel in the crypt of the upper basilica. This crypt is cut out of the very rock which forms the grotto. Our Mass was not far from a beautiful statue of St. Pius X giving Holy Communion to two children. Many returned to the bus loaded with containers of Lourdes water for friends and relatives back home.

The incorrupt body of Saint Bernadette at Nevers, France

 

It was appropriate that after visiting the shrine at which the Virgin appeared to St. Bernadette we should next visit the convent where she spent the remainder of her life and where one can view her incorrupt body. On Saturday morning, July 7th, we arrived at the Convent of St. Gildas in Nevers, France. With Rosaries in hand, we entered the chapel and knelt before the crystal reliquary containing the incorrupt body of Bernadette Soubirous who was canonized in 1933 by Pope Pius XI. Because of a Mass going on in the chapel we moved outside so that Father could give a special blessing to one of the pilgrims. As we stood there praying, the sound of the nuns singing the Morning Hours on the floor above us could be heard. Moments as moving as these are remembered all one's life!

The Church of Saint Nicholas du Chardonnet, Paris

ARRIVING IN PARIS on Saturday afternoon, our first thought was to have Mass at St. Nicolas du Chardonnet, the church occupied by the traditionalists of Paris. They certainly chose well! St. Nicolas, one of the most imposing baroque churches of Paris, contains art works by the greatest French artists of the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries, including works by Le Brun, Coypel, Natoire, and Gorot. The subway ride between our hotel and the church was to become a familiar one. As we walked into St. Nicolas for the first time, the congregation was singing one of my favorite hymns, the Salve Mater, Miserecordiae. As the pilgrimage progressed I realized more and more the power which sacred music has on people, and I was to remember many places as much by the sounds as by the appearances.

Father arranged for our Mass at a beautiful altar dedicated to the Virgin directly behind the main altar. We were once again in friendly territory, knowing that everyone is this church felt as we did about the Tridentine Mass. While Father was saying Mass the main organ began to play which immediately brought tears of happiness to the eyes of many in our group. Here was a setting most worthy of the Holy Sacrifice.

That evening I went with another member of our group to one of Paris's many Catholic churches, St. Severin, where an organ recital was taking place. Tourists in any manner of dress milled about and nowhere could one find an altar. Huge nineteeth-century religious paintings had been removed from the side altars and rested facing the walls, with signs of damage and neglect. It was only later that I learned that this church is one of the centers for modernist Catholic activity in Paris. It made the devout atmosphere at St. Nicholas seem that much greater.

On Sunday, July 8th, we all went to St. Nicholas for a private Mass said by Fr. Finnegan at 8:15. Some of our group then toured the city of Paris and the Palace of Versailles. Having been to Paris before I preferred to spend the day at this church, seeing what services Parisian traditionalists could attend.

The 9:00 high Mass completely filled the church with everyone joining the choir in singing the Gregorian chants. The 10:30 Mass was the First Solemn High Mass of one of the newly ordained priests from Ecône, Father Philippe Laguerie. The church was more crowded than at even the earlier Mass. The procession entered to the strains of a baroque organ and trumpet voluntary. First, a Knight Templar in full regalia, then acolytes in red soutanes, then priests, and finally, the celebrants in gold brocade vestments. Again, choir and congregation sang the Gregorian melodies. At the offertory, the choir sang the most beautiful Ave Maria I have ever heard. Mass ended with everyone singing the Salve Regina and the Te Deum followed by a Mozart organ and trumpet recessional. It was hard to imagine that Masses of this exquisite beauty once took place everywhere in the world, but today they are so rare that they must be treasured when one is fortunate enough to experience one.

This Mass was immediately followed by a low Mass with organ which again filled the church. One wonders with what jealous envy the priests in the neighboring churches must look at St. Nicolas—for no other church in Paris could possibly draw the faithful in such great numbers!

Later that afternoon, the faithful again returned to say fifteen decades of the Rosary, recite a Litany and then remain for Vespers and Benediction. During the Vespers, Father Finnegan was permitted to sing some of the antiphons. Following along in my missal which contained the Vespers for Sunday, I was amazed by those members of the congregation around me who were able to sing most of the verses from memory. It is a pity that this beautiful way to end a Sunday is not more popular in American churches.

The day was not yet over! Many of those who attended Vespers stayed for the weekly half-hour lecture on Catholic doctrine by the aged curate of St. Nicholas. This was followed by still another Mass for many faithful unable to attend the earlier Masses. A lovely custom at the end of each Mass was to sing the Salve Regina much as we recite the prayers after low Mass. By the end of the day I had learned this beautiful Latin hymn.

On Monday, July 9th, we returned to St. Nicolas where Father Finnegan celebrated Mass at the high altar. Afterwards, some of our group went to the Louvre while a number of us spent the day visiting the important churches of Paris. We toured the Cathedral of Notre Dame and visited its treasury where the Crown of Thorns is kept. We entered Saint Chapelle, the jewel-like chapel of the royal palace built by St. Louis.

A church which moved us by its splendor was St. Etienne du Mont near St. Nicolas in which we found the remaining relics and tomb of St. Genevieve, patroness of Paris. It is the only Gothic church in Paris to still preserve its rood screen, a lacy marble partition between the congregation and the main altar. Unfortunately, today a modern table erected directly beneath this screen serves as the new altar. One of the happiest moments of the day occurred when we entered the enclosed cloister of this church and discovered a wall of the finest seventeenth-century stained glass. Father translated the French and we all contributed to the identification of the various scenes. The artistic imagination which produced these pious aids to faith are sorely lacking in today's religious artists.

While Father went back to St. Nicolas to finish his Breviary, the remainder of our group traveled to the outskirts of Paris to visit the Abbey of St. Denis, the first great Gothic cathedral in France. Arriving late, the gates in the center of the church leading to the tombs around the altar had just closed. Remaining outside the gate we knelt to pray and were taken pity upon by the chatelaine who permitted us a few minutes among the tombs of the kings and queens of France. It was especially appropriate that we approach the altar to venerate the tomb of St. Denis, the patron saint of one of the pilgrims in the group. I'm sure that being in the presence of Sister Grace had something to do with our admittance into the sanctuary. At St. Denis the destruction of the French Revolution was most apparent. Almost all the exterior sculpture of the church was headless as a result of the rioters. Inside, all the tombs and reliquaries were empty, their contents thrown into the Seine River by fanatics in the so-called Age of Reason! One couldn't help thinking about the current vogue to strip bare the churches of today and know that someday these actions will be looked upon with the same disgust as the actions of the French revolutionaries.

ON TUESDAY, July 10th, we left Paris early, on our way to Brugge, Belgium. Traveling through the area containing many of the greatest cathedrals of France, we rode past Lyon Cathedral and stopped at Rheims to explore the cathedral which played such a vital role in the life of St. Joan of Arc.

Arriving in Brugge in early afternoon, we visited the Church of Our Lady where we came upon the Brugge Madonna, an early sculpture by Michelangelo. A chapel containing a reliquary of the Precious Blood was visited by Father. After Mass we drove to Ghent where we met for our last evening together, presenting Father with a small token of appreciation for all he had done on the pilgrimage.

Wednesday, July 11th, the Feast of St. Pius I, was to be our last day in Europe. Through the efforts of the hotel manager we were able to have our final Mass together in a lovely eighteenth-century church in a suburb of Ghent. The side altar which we used was decorated with a moving Ecce Homo below a crucifixion scene.

It was sad saying good-bye in New York as we hurried to make connecting flights back to our homes. Before we separated Father gave us his farewell blessing.

We each thank God in our prayers that we were able to participate in this sacred journey and that a traditional priest was with us.

Matthew J. Roper is a member of Our Lady of Fatima Chapel, Pittsburgh, Pa.