Chartres 2024 Complet! (Full)!!

 For the second year in a row, the Pilgrimage to Chartres is completely full!  Pilgrimage logistics (campsites, coaches, security) have reached their capacity to cope!

Chartres 2024. Chartres Sonne!

 

We are delighted to invite you to the 42nd Chartres Pilgrimage. We hope you are able to join us for this unforgettable pilgrimage in honour of Our Blessed Mother. The theme of this year’s pilgrimage is “I want to see God”.

There will be a British group leaving Westminster Cathedral, London on a coach on Friday, 17 May 2024. Please aim to arrive for 6.45am to load bags on the coach. We plan to have a Mass of Departure in the Cathedral Crypt at 7am prior to departure at 8am pending permission (TBC). The coach returns back to London on 21st May 2024 around 8pm.

The cost of the pilgrimage is £325 (plus £75 for a single room supplement, subject to availability). Children under 12 are £162. This cost includes hotel accommodation in Paris (B&B) on Friday night and in Chartres on Tuesday night (DBB). Please note all under 18s need to be accompanied by a parent or a responsible older relative.

We are now accepting registrations via this link: Registration Form. This year we have added the option to pay online through the form via card (for a 2.1% fee). You may of course pay by bank transfer if you prefer. Details are in the payment section of the form. The deadline for the applications is 29th March 2024. Please apply quickly as we expect places to sell out fast!

If you wish to travel independently and join the group in Paris on Saturday morning to walk with our chapters, please use the link to register with us for £50. This includes the registration fee, booklet and receiver (to hear the meditations etc. during the pilgrimage). Unfortunately there is not enough space in our hotels to accommodate pilgrims joining us separately.

Please note that there will be no refunds possible within 3 weeks of the pilgrimage.

We will have 2 adult/youth chapters and a family chapter.  If you require additional information or have any questions, please contact us on email Chartres@duc-in-altum.co.uk

 

 

Chartres 2023! Open to Register!

 We are delighted to announce that registrations are now open for the 41st Pilgrimage to Chartres.  As in years past, a coach will leave London on 26 May 2023 to join the international throng on the road to Chartres!  The theme this year is "The Eucharist, Salvation of Souls".  Unfortunately, costs have risen during our Covid-enforced absence and therefore the cost this year will be £310.00 per adult and £155.00 for chidren (under 12) (double occupancy).  Still great value for a fantastic weekend and very good for the soul!  The deadline for applications is 7 April 2023 and this should be done online at Register for Chartres.  Please contact Chartres@duc-in-altum.co.uk for further information.  

Two Pilgrimages!

Pilgrims at the Cross of St. Augustine (photo: Richard Windsor)

Pilgrims in Chartres (photo: Raja Wolstenholme)

Pilgrims from England made their way to France and to Kent over the Pentecost weekend to take part in the annual Chartres Pilgrimage.  United in prayer and spirit, the two groups kept in contact throughout the weekend and both Pilgrimages ended with the singing of Chez Nous Soyez Reine practically simultaneously!  Oddly, the weather was better in England as storms battered the area around Paris.  The SSPX (going in the opposite direction) had to abandon their Pilgrimage as the weather was so bad.  The Pilgrims travelling to Chartres fared better with the weather only requiring the cancellation of the midday Mass on Pentecost Sunday (the Mass was moved to the campsite at Choisel prior to departure as far as the pilgrims were concerned).  By a happy co-incidence, this meant that the two High Masses for Pentecost (in France and in Kent) took place at roughly the same time -- 6 am English time!  The Pilgrimage in England was a little different to the previous year's version as the Convent at Minster was open allowing access to the Abbey grounds, and we stopped at St. Anne's Convent in Sturry where there is a shrine to an incorrupt Servant of God (Adele-Euphrasie Barbier).  The Sisters made us very welcome and were delighted when we sang the Regina Caeli!  All Night Adoration and veneration of the relic of St. Thomas Becket was planned in Canterbury on the Vigil of Pentecost ending with the High Mass at 6 am on Pentecost Sunday.  This allowed time for a quick breakfast before the group set off for the Church at Boughton under Blean, an interesting Church with an extensive graveyard where we stopped for lunch.  As we were a bit behind schedule, our dinner planned in a pub in Doddington was cancelled at short notice, but the proprietor of the George in Newnham came to the rescue with sandwiches, chips and samosas at short notice!  A happy crew therefore rolled into Palace Farm hostel where we stayed the night.  The last day of Pilgrimage started early with departure at 6 am with breaks at Bredgar and Thurnham before a good lunch at a pub in Boxley.  Thus fortified, we marched the remaining miles to Aylesford Priory just in time for the 3 pm scheduled High Mass celebrated by Father Tom Lynch assisted by Fr. Faustinus and Brother Peter of the Marian Friars of Gosport and Portsmouth.  

To Chartres; or not to Chartres?

 This has proved a difficult question!  While COVID restrictions continue to be eased, it is still the case that unvaccinated pilgrims would not be permitted to travel to France without a "compelling" reason.  We have therefore decided to repeat the very successful pilgrimage from Ramsgate to Aylesford Priory which was organised a little quietly last year.  So, please join us!

For further information, and to register your interest, please email Chartres@duc-in-altum.co.uk.  The Pilgrimage will start with Mass for the Vigil of Pentecost on Saturday, 4 June 2022 and end with Mass for Pentecost Monday in the afternoon of Monday, 6 June 2022.  

Christendom Rising!

Dear Pilgrims,

Christendom Rising is an initiative of EWTN to promote the Latin Mass, Catholic Tradition and Lanherne Convent in Cornwall where they celebrate the Traditional Carmelite Rite.  This particular issue is of great interest as it promotes the Pilgrimage to Chartres (using footage from the 2013 Pilgrimage).  It is wonderful to see Notre Dame de Paris in all its glory.  Christendom Rising is hosted by Sophie Oliver, a Chartres veteran.

A Different Pentecost!

Pilgrims leave Canterbury

As the Chartres Pilgrimage went ahead with vastly reduced numbers (see ND Chretiente), the English chapters had need of an alternate route to keep alive the Pentecost spirit.  Thanks to the inspiration of Tim O'Callaghan, we determined to undertake the 50 mile journey from the Shrine of St. Augustine in Ramsgate, Kent, to the Shrine of Our Lady of the Assumption and St. Simon Stock at The Friars (aka Aylesford Priory).  And so it came to pass that an enthusiastic band of 90 pilgrims of all ages (oldest 80+; youngest -1) set off on the morning of Saturday, 22 May, fortified by High Mass at the Shrine celebrated by Father Christopher Basden who was for many years National Chaplain to the British chapters to Chartres.  3 miles away we reached the Cross of St. Augustine marking the spot where Augustine met King Ethelbert and gave his first sermon on English soil.  We passed by Minster Convent which is the oldest continuously inhabited dwelling in England currently occupied by Benedictine Nuns (the remnants of German immigrants who took over the convent shortly before the Second World War).  Eventually, we made our way to the centre of Medieval Christianity, Canterbury, where we had time to visit St. Martin's Church, the first Church used by St. Augustine when he began his ministry, before concluding the day with Benediction at St. Thomas of Canterbury Church where we were also privileged to be able to venerate the relic of the martyred saint.  In the morning, Pentecost Sunday, a Missa Cantata took place in the Chapter House at Canterbury -- perhaps the first ever Catholic Mass to be said in this building which was built for the monks of the former monastery to conduct their formal business.  Our goal on the second day was a Hostel/Campsite at Doddington (near Sittingbourne) where we would spend the night before embarking for our final destination of Aylesford Priory.  In addition to setting off late after Mass, we encountered a deal of mud which made the going heavy, so the decision was taken to take a straighter, if less picturesque, route to the campsite.  We had an appointment at the local pub for dinner at 6:30 pm and arrived 20 minutes late.  The refreshment was welcome and we made our way to the campsite thereafter.  Unfortunately, the weather really set in and the scheduled All Night Adoration had to be cancelled as a result.  As Father Faustinus had celebrated Mass earlier and put one of the consecrated Hosts in the tabernacle in preparation for the Benediction, Our Lord was present with us overnight and Friar Deo Gratias stayed up all night to keep Him company.  Several of the pilgrims paid a visit during the night despite the conditions.  The next morning dawned clear and sunny and a wonderful smell of May greeted us as we began the final leg of the journey.  This was mainly cross-county through some very beautiful countryside.  There is a reason why they call Kent "the Garden of England."  At times it was quite breathtaking.  There were also a surprising number of horses enroute and a few were very nervous of the flags we were carrying.  While we were half an hour late leaving the campsite, we made good time to our first stop at the pleasant village of Bredgar, arriving just in time for the local post office/shop/cafe to open to rather more clients than I think they were expecting!  We were aiming to stop for lunch at the Black Lion at Thurnham, where we had taken the precaution of advising them that a large group would be passing through.  However, our advance guard of vehicles soon advised us that the pub was not prepared for such a group and, initially, they refused to welcome us at all!  This set off a semi-comical scouring of the countryside for pubs which would accept our business while we tried to make our way thither.  In the meantime, our Juventutem-style chapter, St. Alban, managed to lose the end of the other chapter and the phones were ringing to say that they were in the middle of the field!  Poor Tim was trying to plot our route through open countryside while his phone was ringing with various messages and this resulted in his phone running through its charge.  As we were following GPS on the phone, this could have been a disaster!  Fortunately, he had had the foresight to bring a reserve charge, so we decided to proceed to Thurnham ignoring the subsequent phone calls and, when we arrived, we found that the pub had, perhaps on seeing business directed to the competition, changed its mind and would accept the group scattered around various parts of its outdoor premises.  St. Alban also managed to find their way there, so all was well!  On to Aylesford!  The weather forecast for the afternoon had been pretty poor, and we were treated to a number of showers and increasingly grey skies as we travelled the remaining 6 miles to Aylesford.  As the Mass at Aylesford was to be outdoors, we prayed very hard for a break in the clouds for the duration of the Mass.  Mass was scheduled for 4:30 pm and we were expected to arrive an hour earlier at 3:30pm.  However, we were behind schedule, so there was increasing concern that we would not be there by 4:30 pm and we also received a phone call from the Prior to say that the gates were locked at 5 pm!  We ploughed on; a little quicker than hitherto.  In the event, we arrived on the dot of 4:30 pm.  High Mass began at 5 pm celebrated by Canon Martin Edwards with Fr Basden as Deacon and Fr. Tim Finigan as Subdeacon.  Fr. Finigan also preached.  The weather held until the singing of the Gospel when there was the most extraordinary hail shower!   Poor Fr. Basden hurried through the singing of the Gospel with the hail pelting down (as the Gospel was sung in the open air) and the procession scurried under cover at its conclusion.  By the time Fr. Finigan began his sermon, however, the hail had stopped -- the only evidence being a very wet ground!  Thereafter, it was a very fair May evening.  Our prayers had been answered -- no rain!  It was a wonderful Pilgrimage, full of incident, and a fitting honour to Our Lady, to the Sacred Heart, and to the Holy Ghost as the Pilgrimage to Chartres took a detour through the Kent countryside!