Record Breaking Chartres Attendance

The blog Catholicism Pure and Simple brought to my attention this great piece of news:

A Record-breaking Number of Participants Planning to go on the 2023 Paris to Chartres Pilgrimage

The information comes from a report from a French publication. It really made me think of Tertullian's words "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church". If, as I believe, the Holy Spirit leads the Church to the fullness of life, faith and truth, that same Holy Spirit will not lead us to falsehood apostasy and death. What greater sign could there be than that, in the face of the Synod on Synodality and all the other travesties of this papacy, in the wake of international clamp downs on the tradition of the faith, following Pope Francis constant insults to the faithful, we see the faith resurgent? Further, we know that Chartres was at the heart of the decision to restrict the Traditional Liturgy, coupled with a particular concern of the Italian bishops that they could no longer attract seminarians to their seminaries because any prospective priests wanted to go to the ICKSP, as discussed in this post, and, I quote:

It really does seem to me that this is a clear lead from the Holy Spirit, but instead of running with it, understanding it, cherishing it, Pope Francis decides to stamp it out in the most pastorally cruel act I can think of.

The secret oratory at Harvington Hall:

When I think that in 16th century England, priests would be arrested and killed for saying the Mass, yet Catholics built secret oratories, like the one pictured above, and risked everything for the Mass, it makes me so sad that the greatest threat to that same Mass today is not the state, but the Roman Pontiff! Indeed, it didn't go unnoticed when reflecting on the Coronation of King Charles III that the Anglicans can use Latin with impunity, but the Latin Church has had it restricted by the Roman Pope!

 

The response of the Holy Spirit to all this madness is to keep blowing where He will and where He will is more faith, more beauty, more reverence!

The European Conservative has a report on this here.

Le Forum Catholique reports:

Notre-Dame de Chrétienté, the association that organizes a large pilgrimage to Chartres every year at Pentecost, has recorded a participation rate in 2023 that has never been equalled in the past. No less than 16,000 pilgrims are preparing to travel from Paris to Chartres on May 27, 28 and 29.

Neither the motu proprio Traditionis custodes, nor even the rescript published on February 21, 2023 restricting the use of the Tridentine rite to which Notre-Dame de Chrétienté is attached, are holding back the faithful. On the contrary, pilgrims walking from Notre-Dame de Paris to Notre-Dame de Chartes at Pentecost 2023 have never been so numerous.

“Never before seen!” says Odile Téqui, head of communications for Notre-Dame de Chrétienté. The association, which celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, is attracting more and more pilgrims. If for the last seven years, the ranks have grown by 10% each year, as explained last year by Jean de Tauriers, the president of the association, 2023 shows an increase of 33%, forcing the organizers to close registrations a fortnight before the pilgrimage. 16,000 pilgrims are preparing to join Chartres on May 27, 28 and 29, compared to 12,000 last year.

If the number of priests and religious (300 people) and foreign pilgrims (1,400 from 21 different countries) remains stable, it is mainly adults (10,000) and families that will swell the column of pilgrims, whose average age this year is 20.5 years. And this is without counting the chapter of “Guardian Angels”, pilgrims who are not walkers and who are spiritually united to the pilgrimage, who increase from 5,000 to 6,000 this year.

“A totally historic participation”, notes Odile Téqui. “The traditional liturgy seems to respond to a thirst — perhaps increased in recent times — for transcendence, for a consistent catechism, for calm and depth. The new converts or reconverts who come to the pilgrimage also testify to the joyful and welcoming reality they find there,” she confided to Aleteia.

Catholicism Pure & Simple comments: This is wonderful news for all true Catholics! And what a snub to Pope Francis’ attempt to destroy Tradition! A massive tsunami of mostly young Catholics from all over the world have signed onto this tough 70 mile three day march between Our Lady’s two most famous cathedrals in France. Why? Because they love their Catholic Faith in all its sublime fullness, and they know that here modernist platitudes have no place. The only Mass celebrated on each day of the pilgrimage is the Mass of the Ages, the Tridentine Mass in all its traditional splendour. Confession, the Holy Rosary, beautiful hymns plus truly Catholic meditations given over microphones in each of the chapters of pilgrims participating on this long march through the lovely French countryside, all help lighten the challenge. The only bad news is that after 16.000 pilgrims had signed on the organisers of the pilgrimage have had no other alternative but to close registration.