The Marian Pilgrimage to St. Mary's

by Mary Gentges

FOR SIX YEARS pilgrims have been coming from around the country to St. Marys, Kansas, for the annual Assumption Pilgrimage at St. Mary's College. At this year's Pilgrimage, which was one of the best ever, they came from many states, from coast to coast, and from Canada, to pay homage to Our Lady. While at St. Mary's, parents had the opportunity to see the boarding schools—Academy and College—and become acquainted with the priests, administrators and faculty. A number of first-time visitors this year who liked what they saw wished they could move their families to St. Mary's—and some of them have since done so!

The get-acquainted dinner on the first evening always officially opens the Pilgrimage. In his welcome address St. Mary's Rector, Father Herve de la Tour, explained that "a pilgrimage is a journey made to a holy place with the object of giving honor to God, and His saints, and also as a means for our personal sanctification."

Explaining how pilgrimages have been made by Catholics since the beginning of the Church, Father went on to show how St. Mary's as a place of pilgrimage fulfills the first requirement of being a holy place. Our first thought would be that any place where the Holy Mass is offered is a hallowed spot. But Father gave us some additional reasons. One of these is St. Mary's century-long past history under the Jesuits before it was acquired by the Society of St. Pius X. "St. Mary's is a holy place by the many holy religious who lived and died here," Father pointed out, noting the heroism of the early missionaries who came to work among the Indians and had to brave winter cold, summer heat and frontier conditions.

Next, Father explained what we do on a pilgrimage: "The first reason of your pilgrimage is to honor Our Lady, to sing her praises, to rejoice in contemplating the beautiful mystery of her Assumption. Like children who want to offer a beautiful present to our Mother on her feast day, our gift to Our Lady will be our pilgrimage—our prayers, our sacrifices, devotions, processions, Masses."

As many spiritual functions as possible are packed into the three days of the Pilgrimage—Masses, spiritual exercises, talks, opportunities for confession. Visitors derive great spiritual joy from being able to participate in these activities that were once practiced everywhere and are now so very rare.

Father pointed out that the Pilgrimage is an opportunity to pray to Our Lady for Holy Mother Church and for our own special intentions—for graces we seek for ourselves and our loved ones.

And finally, as Father said, the Pilgrimage is an opportunity to enjoy the company of other Catholics—a treasured experience. Pilgrims make new friends and can be seen all over campus getting acquainted, or chatting as they browse in the Immaculata Bookstore, or visiting while enjoying the air-conditioned "hospitality room" where parish ladies keep the homemade goodies coming!

That evening, as soon as darkness extinguished the long summer daylight, the Stations of the Cross were followed outdoors in the campus quadrangle. At the base of each of the fourteen large crosses two candles glowed in the grass. As Father de la Tour and the altar boys halted at each station, a portable spotlight was directed at the white plaque that adorns each cross, and the meditations of St. Alphonsus Ligouri were read. With darkness all round, distractions seemed to be fewer! Under a canopy of stars we moved from station to station singing the Stabat Mater while a choir of humming bugs and chirping crickets accompanied us in the grass. At the last station we sang three times, each time on a higher tone, the beautiful Parce Domine, parce populo tuo: ne in aeternum irascaris nobis—"Spare your people, Lord; be not angry with us forever."

The next morning, Tuesday, after a High Mass for the Vigil of the Assumption, Father Stephen DeLallo, assistant rector of St. Mary's, gave a conference on devotion to the Blessed Virgin. Father explained her role in our redemption, her perfection among creatures, and why we owe her our veneration. Our Lord gave us the example: He was formed in her, dependent on her, perfectly obedient to her—and we should follow His example. He praised her; He commended St. John to her. We should commend others to her intercession in their trials.

Next, Father Francois Laisney, Superior of the Society of St. Pius X in America, presented an enlightening and instructive conference about "The Role of Mary in the Old Testament." Father showed that many prophecies concerning Our Lady occur in the Old Testament, and he enabled us to ponder deeply and draw fruit from passages that were previously obscure to us.

In the afternoon, pilgrims gathered in the chapel for the singing of Solemn First Vespers of the Feast of the Assumption. The singing of Sunday and feastday Vespers has become a frequent practice at St. Mary's, reviving what was once a traditional practice in parishes.

Sisters and girls on one side of the chapel alternate with priests, brothers and boys on the other side in singing in Gregorian Chant the verses of the Psalms that make up the Divine Office of the Church—which priests and religious must say each day. In Vespers, we lend our voices to the liturgical prayer of the Church, adoring and thanking God sheerly for the love of Him, and expressing the sentiments of the soul—its needs, penitence, joy—as the incense rises to the throne of God.

After Vespers, the Blessed Sacrament was carried in procession across the campus. The cross-bearer and servers carrying traditional banners of the Holy Eucharist were followed by this year's first communicants dressed in white and scattering rose petals along the path. Next came the altar boys incensing the Blessed Sacrament being carried in the monstrance by Father DeLallo, while men of the parish held a canopy overhead, and servers carrying lighted torches walked alongside. The sisters, choir, and pilgrims followed, singing traditional hymns in honor of the Blessed Sacrament.

As the procession wound its way through the campus, it stopped twice at outdoor altars, beautifully decorated with flowers. Here, Father led the hymns and prayers for Benediction and raised the Host for adoration. The golden monstrance holding the Sacred Host gleamed in the sunlight of the beautiful day as Father raised It in blessing over all.

At one stop, high overhead on the old bell tower an immense banner of Our Lady of Perpeptual Help seemed to look down from above as her Son was carried by in procession. This appliqued banner, a project of two young ladies of St. Mary's, is a perfect replica of the picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help—and is nine by twelve feet in size!

That evening at dark everyone participated in the outdoor "Living Rosary," a Pilgrimage tradition. Pilgrims, each representing one bead of the Rosary, donned special robes (blue for Hail Mary's and white for Our Father's) and carried lighted votive candles. When the procession reached the statue of Our Lady of Grace in the circular driveway, all candles were extinguished. At each Hail Mary of the Rosary, altar boys relit another candle until, at the end, a glowing string of "beads" encircled Our Lady.

On Wednesday, the great Feast of the Assumption, Father Laisney celebrated the glorious Solemn High Mass with Father de la Tour as deacon, and Father Christopher Hunter as subdeacon.

Later that morning after brunch, Father DeLallo presented a conference on the Sacred Heart of Jesus in which he showed many examples of Our Lord's love for us from His public life and passion. Father explained how we can imitate His love by the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, and he concluded with an explanation of the highly beneficial practice of the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart in the home.

That afternoon, the ceremony of Total Consecration to the Blessed Virgin according to St. Louis Marie de Montfort, was held in the chapel as is customary at each Pilgrimage. This was followed by the outdoor crowning of Our Lady. (At St. Mary's we don't crown Our Lady just once in May—we crown her in August too!)

The girls of the parish always have a special part in the crowning—a long line of young ladies, from tiny tots to high-schoolers, wear pastel-colored dresses and carry flowers, the crown and a huge gold-colored Rosary that is placed at the feet of the statue of Our Lady of Grace. This year was no exception—but a few days previous, head-server Todd Angele had been seen ushering a crowd of kindergarten and first-grade boys into the sacristy. His project was made known as the procession approached, for just behind the cross-bearers and ahead of the big servers were ten miniature servers in small-sized cassocks and surplices! They are too young to serve at Mass, but they did very well in the procession for Our Lady!

With the help of the older girls, one of this year's first communicants climbed the platform to crown Our Lady, as pilgrims sang, "O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today." The litany of Our Lady was then sung in Latin, and the pilgrims responded with "Ora pro nobis."

That evening, the Academy kitchen served up a delicious banquet for about 300 people. Fr. Laisney gave an encouraging talk about the Society of St. Pius X and its work—especially in the United States. He emphasized that we must not only be attached to the traditions of the Church and keep the Faith taught by the Apostles; but also we must keep the holiness of Our Lord—not only His teachings, but also His virtues, as the saints of the centuries have done. Father reminded us not to be proud because of the gift of Faith, but to be humble. God has had mercy on us sinners; we cannot boast of the Faith and despise those who do not have it; we have received mercy and must give mercy.

Father de la Tour thanked the pilgrims for coming and asked that they keep the afternoon's image of the crowning of Our Lady before their minds, for it is very inspiring—Our Lady should be Queen of St. Mary's, Queen of America, and Queen of our hearts.

Certainly at the crowning we had been reminded of her constant and motherly protection as we sang the concluding lines of the last hymn:

Solemn High Mass on the Feast of the Assumption at St. Mary's, in the Assumption Chapel. Father Laisney, U. S. District Superior for the Society of St. Pius X is celebrant, with Father Herve de la Tour as deacon, Father Christopher Hunter as subdeacon.

"Miniature servers" leading the procession to crown Our Lady. Though only kindergartners and first-graders, and too young to serve Holy Mass, they performed their role in the procession with the perfection of "big boys."

Father DeLallo raises the Blessed Sacrament for adoration during Benediction in the course of the outdoor procession. This outdoor altar on St. Mary's campus marks the site of the first cathedral between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, 1851.

Men of St. Mary's hold aloft the canopy as Fr. DeLallo carries the monstrance during the outdoor procession of the Most Blessed Sacrament.