Priests pray during a solemn vespers and benediction service in the extraordinary form at the Church of the Holy Trinity of the Pilgrims in Rome in January 2010. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
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An interview with Guillaume Ferluc, an organizer of the second pilgrimage for traditional Catholics to Rome, about the promising future he sees for the “people of Summorum Pontificum”
The “people of Summorum Pontificum”—that
is, those who find the pre-conciliar liturgy, liberalized by Pope Benedict XVI with
his 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum,
to be better suited to their spiritual needs—are fully mobilizing for a second
pilgrimage to Rome, to take place October 24-27. The first pilgrimage was held last November,
in commemoration of the fifth anniversary of the motu proprio and culminated in
a pontifical high Mass in the extraordinary form celebrated in St. Peter’s
Basilica.
To learn a little more about this year’s event, I spoke with its coordinator and international spokesman, Guillaume Ferluc, a journalist for the well-known web portal Paix Liturgique. He also discussed at length the signs of hope he sees today in the worldwide community of traditional Catholics.
How are things unfolding in preparation for this second pilgrimage?
Guillaume Ferluc: We are proceeding according to schedule. Thursday, October 24, there will be the first Pontifical Vespers in the Church of Santissima TrinitÀ dei Pellegrini, while on Friday morning, October 25, there will be a recitation of the Rosary…[then] we will all rally under the Arch of Titus for the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) on the Palatine. [Later] there will be a Pontifical Mass in the Church of Pellegrini, celebrated by Msgr. Schneider, auxiliary bishop of Astana in Kazakhstan, with the choir of St. Cecilia from Paris.
Saturday 26 there will be a Pontifical Mass in St. Peter’s celebrated by Cardinal Dario Castrillón Hoyos, preceded by Eucharistic adoration at the Chiesa Nuova (Santa Maria in Vallicella) and a procession through the streets of Rome. The presence of Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos on the anniversary of his priestly ordination is a great joy and an honor for all the people of Summorum Pontificum. As president of the Ecclesia Dei Commission, the cardinal did not spare efforts for the rights of both the faithful and the priests tied to the traditional liturgy to be upheld and respected, by supporting with great enthusiasm and loyalty the promulgation of the motu proprio by Pope Benedict XVI. We will have a great opportunity to thank him for this.
The pilgrimage will wind up Sunday, October 27, with the celebration of the Solemnity of Christ the King by Msgr. Rifan, bishop of the apostolic administration of St. John Mary Vianney in Campos, Brazil, in the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. The pilgrimage will come to an end in tune with the official closing of the Year of Faith, which will take place in late November, on the same Solemnity of Christ the King but according to the reformed calendar. In addition, on Friday morning, October 25, there will be another important event, reserved only for the priests taking part in the pilgrimage, who will be briefed by Msgr. Fisichella, in his capacity as head of the new evangelization.
Are you noticing major differences between the organization of the pilgrimage last year and this year?
Continue reading on the CWR blog.
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