PRELIMINARY INFORMATION 2016
Welcome to the 34th Chartres Pilgrimage (2016)! Briefly, we walk from
Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris, to Notre-Dame Cathedral, Chartres, involving 70
miles in three days. This involves long hours of walking, early morning starts,
arriving at the campsite late in the evenings and requires a reasonable level
of fitness.
The British Pilgrimage starts on
Friday 13 May 2016 with the Holy Mass in Westminster Cathedral Crypt at 7.00am
and the coach leaves for Calais at 7.30am. Each day on the Pilgrimage the Holy
Sacrifice of the Mass will be celebrated and we will also meditate on the Holy
Rosary. Also, confession and spiritual
guidance will be available throughout the day. On Tuesday 17 May 2016, there is
Mass in the Crypt of Chartres Cathedral before the coach takes us back to
England via the Eurotunnel arriving at Westminster Cathedral at 8.00pm.
What is the Chartres Pilgrimage ?
Chartres is at the
centre of the religious history of France. Since Roman times, when the
"Virgo Paritura" was venerated here, to the present day, the shrine
has not ceased to attract pilgrims from the most distinguished (all the kings
of France) to the most humble.
The Chartres pilgrimage is a very old tradition in
France, and has been given new vigour by the association Notre-Dame de
Chrétienté‚ which has organised it for over 30 years. The president of the
Association is Jean de Tauriers and
the new Chaplain is Abbé Alexis Garnier.
The pilgrimage is a walk of prayer and penance, and
has both an individual and a social character. Encouraged by Saint John Paul
II, Pope Benedict XVI, and numerous bishops, over 8,000 pilgrims take part,
with about 750 coming from 20 foreign countries. All are united in prayer to
Our Lady during a three-day walk of 70 miles, making this the largest
pilgrimage of its kind in Western Europe, both in the distance covered and in
the number of pilgrims. Each day, Mass is celebrated in the most beautiful way,
according to the Roman Missal of Pope John XXIII. The liturgy is the
traditional Latin one: magnificent instrument of prayer, stressing the
universal character of the Mass.
The spirit of the Pentecost
Pilgrimage
The pilgrimage is organised in a dynamic spirit, as a
reaction to the materialism of our times. We place ourselves within the
traditional doctrine taught by the Church. Wishing to work for the Social Reign
of Our Lord, we want our Faith to overflow into our personal lives, our family
lives, our working lives, and into the very life of our country. Following
Huysmans, Psichari, Peguy and other illustrious converts, the Chartres pilgrims
walk for Christendom, "that sunny side of a civilisation where the
Kingship of Christ spreads over the lives and works of men, over the families
and over the nations, searching obstinately amidst the cultures and earthly
battles, for an uncompromising balance between nature and grace, wishing, by
heroism and holiness, to trace already on earth the avenues of the
Kingdom."
A call to conversion, a public act of reparation to
the Sacred Heart, this pilgrimage is a homage to Christ the King and to the
Blessed Virgin Mary.
The pilgrims walk in ‘chapters’. The
Chapter of Our Lady of Walsingham (all ages) is led by Francis Carey and Jamie
Bogle. The Chaplains, Fr Edwards and Fr Byrne, will accompany us all along the
walk, hearing confessions, providing meditations, prayers and teaching the
Catholic Faith. Our
Juventutem (Youth) Chapter is under the patronage of Saint Alban. This is led
by Andrew Plasom-Scott and the Juventutem Chaplains are Frs. Withoos and Redman.
THEME FOR THE YEAR 2016 :"Come, Holy Ghost!"
This is the final theme on the three year
programme dealing with the mystery of the Holy Trinity. Therefore, after our themes meditating on God
the Father and on Jesus Christ, we now meditate upon the third Person of the
Holy Trinity. As the Pilgrimage is
always at Pentecost, this is a very fitting theme indeed. For the Saturday, our Patroness is St
Catherine of Siena and our subtheme is “The Holy Ghost, Spirit of Holiness”;
for Pentecost Sunday, our Patron is St Pius X and our subtheme is “The Holy
Ghost and His gifts for the Church”; and on Pentecost Monday, under the
Patronage of the Martyrs for the Holy Name of Jesus, we meditate on “The Holy
Ghost, Soul of the Mission”.
It is highly recommended that pilgrims consecrate
(or reconsecrate) themselves totally to Our Lady after the manner of St Louis
de Montfort at the campsite at Gas before the Blessed Sacrament exposed on
Pentecost. The preparation for this takes
33 days and, therefore, you should start this on 11 April 2016 (to finish on the day we leave England for the
Pilgrimage). Previous pilgrims wishing
to renew their Consecration should start on 23 April 2016, the Feast of St.
George. Further details can be found on
the Website.
Food during the pilgrimage
Notre-Dame de Chrétienté
supplies bread and water at lunch throughout the walk and at the evening campsite. At the campsite, hot soup is available in the
evenings and a very basic breakfast (coffee, hot chocolate and bread and jam)
is available in the mornings. Pilgrims
should, however, bring with them their own food, enough for three cold picnic
lunches and to supplement the evening soup and morning breakfast. These should be organised in England as there
are very limited opportunities to buy anything during the pilgrimage.
Assistance during the walk
Permanent medical assistance is assured by the doctors
and hospitallers of the Order of Malta, who have an outdoor hospital at each campsite.
At each halt, shuttle buses provide transport for
pilgrims who can no longer walk or, in case of emergency, to take them to
hospital.
During the pilgrimage it is
important to look after one's feet as walking with blisters is not a lot of
fun. Along with the usual precautions of
wearing good walking boots (well worn-in) and wool or cotton socks (not synthetic), experienced walkers
have found that the application of "Elastoplaste", a very sticky
medical tape available in French chemists (there is one near our Paris hotel),
to the sole and heel of the foot results in no blisters! It costs about £5 for a box, but is well
worth the investment. A foot/hand cream
is also recommended. While the services of the Order of Malta are always
available en-route and at the campsites, they are no longer there to treat
blisters and other minor injuries.
Clothing for walking, particularly
boots or good walking shoes (synthetic fibre socks are not advised). Here is the
list of essentials:
a small backpack to
carry throughout, containing :
·
Food: lunch for the day and
energy-giving snacks (dried fruit, salty nuts, etc.). Tins of
tuna salad, cheese, salami, glucose tablets etc.
·
Waterproof raingear (heavy rain possible!)
·
pullover
·
water bottle (water supplied) and
knife/fork/spoon
·
cup for tea/coffee/soup (contents supplied,
bring tea bags if tea required)
·
hat, to protect against the sun
(and sun cream)
·
Pilgrim’s Booklet (supplied,
containing all the Mass texts, hymns, and other prayers)
·
Small plastic bag/cover for
Pilgrim’s Booklet
·
plasters and general simple
medication (for blisters, headaches, dehydration etc.)
·
rosary
a larger bag,
which will be taken in the special pilgrimage lorries and which is retrieved
each evening, containing :
·
food reserves (for remaining meals)
·
torch
·
warm jumper/garment (cold early mornings)
·
change of clothing (a pullover, shirts,
trousers, pants, vests, socks)
·
light shoes for the evening (good boots
recommended for the walk)
·
toiletries and toilet paper (not essential)
·
night-clothes
·
warm sleeping bag
·
personal tent (if you have one) or Groundsheet and mat (for
collective tents)
(When
packing your luggage, make sure that that you line it with a plastic bag. Luggage is left in the open at the campsite
and, if it rains, clothes may get wet.
Especially, make sure that your sleeping bag is in a waterproof bag.)
Itinerary (subject to alteration)
Friday, 13 May 2016
07:00 Mass
in Westminster Cathedral Crypt (Ambrosden Avenue)
07:30 Coaches
pick up outside Cathedral
11:10 Coach
boards ferry at Dover
18:00 Coach
arrives at Hotel near Paris
Saturday, 14 May 2016 (Vigil of Pentecost)
05:00 Breakfast
05:30 Coach to Notre Dame Cathedral
07:00 Mass
in Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris
08:30(est.) Leave
Notre Dame towards Chartres
13:30 Lunch
at Bièvres (les
Damoiseaux)
20:00 Arrive
at Ferté-Choisel for dinner and bed (“Veillée amicale” at 21:00)
Sunday, 15 May 2016 (Pentecost Sunday)
06:15 Prayers of
Departure
07:00 First
Chapters leave Campsite
13:00 Solemn Mass of Pentecost
& Lunch at Sonchamps (les Courlis)
20:00 Arrive at
Gas Campsite
21:00
Benediction, Consecration to Our Lady and All Night Exposition
Monday, 16
May 2016 (Pentecost Monday)
06:30 Load
Luggage onto London Coach or
Lorry at Campsite at Gas
07:00 Leave
Gas for Chartres
10:30 Lunch
at Gasville-Oisème
15:30 Solemn
Mass in Chartres Cathedral
20:00 Dinner
in Chartres
???? Bed!
Tuesday, 17
May 2016 (Pentecost Tuesday)
08:30ish
Breakfast
10:00 Mass
in Chartres Cathedral Crypt—Notre Dame de Sous Terre
12:00
Depart Chartres by
coach for London
18:20 Board
Eurotunnel (not Eurostar!)
20:00
Arrive London Victoria
Railway Station
Important Requirements of Pilgrims
to Chartres
1.
Live the
spirituality of the pilgrimage in your chapter
2.
Welcome and
support new and lone pilgrims
3.
March to the end
of each stage, unless unable to do so for serious reasons
4.
Adopt appropriate dress and behaviour, in conformity with the pilgrim spirit: immodest
clothing is prohibited, especially dresses which are too short, cropped tops,
paramilitary paraphernalia. The use of
drugs is strictly forbidden. Alcohol and
tobacco use should be discrete and moderate.
Young people will be particularly supervised in this regard.
5.
Respect silence
when it is requested. Mobile phones and
electronic devised are not to be used while walking, except in an emergency.
6.
Avoid wasting any
food or drink, and help to maintain cleanliness;
it is a basic responsibility not to drop litter of any sort
7.
Help the
logistics teams when asked, and respect their instructions (in particular,
pitching tents in the appropriate marked spaces).
The
organisers reserve the right to exclude from the pilgrimage any person who does
not respect these instructions or who refuses to followthem.
The Registration Form should be completed and returned with a deposit of £50 per
person to reserve your place. Payment in full by 25 March 2016, please.
