Gregory Lloyd, director of the Pilgrimage for Restoration, has announced the theme for the fifteenth annual pilgrimage, which takes place September 22 to 25, 2010. This year’s theme is “Restoration of True Devotion to Mary, Queen of Missionaries and the Reconquest of America.”
The Pilgrimage for Restoration begins at the Lake of the Blessed Sacrament (a.k.a., “Lake George”), New York, and ends at the Shrine of Our Lady of the North American Martyrs, in Auriesville, New York. Pilgrims walk, sing, and pray along the paths traversed by the North American Martyrs — venerating as they go the places these heroes of God sanctified by their blood witness to Christ and His Church. High Mass in the traditional Roman Rite (forma extraordinaria) is offered daily, and priests are available for confession and spiritual guidance throughout the pilgrimage. The journey terminates in a beautiful Solemn Mass offered at the Shrine of the North American Martyrs on Saturday, September 25.
Pilgrims can go the entire distance — seventy miles over four days — or come for the last day’s seven-mile walk, which starts at the Shrine of Blessed Kateri in Fonda, and terminates at Auriesville. Transportation for weary pilgrims is provided throughout, as are a safety escort and trained medical personnel. In addition, there is a “modified pilgrimage” for seniors and parents with young children. This lends a Catholic family atmosphere to the pilgrimage.
Explaining the significance of this year’s theme, Gregory Lloyd said, “In view of the recent unmistakable collapses of our own inventions, Catholics in America are daily becoming more acutely aware of the wisdom of St. Paul’s teaching in the letter to the Romans: ‘Without faith it is impossible to please God.’ The Jesuit and Native American missionaries and martyrs brought the Light of Faith to Huronia and other indigenous American Nations many moons ago. It is high time the new phase of evangelization called for by Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI enlighten all Americans, not only those whose minds are eclipsed by life-long ignorance of Christ, but also many of the baptized.”
He concluded with a broad invitation to the Pilgrimage. “We invite all men of good will to pray with us to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Son of God, to obtain from her Son the grace of conversion and Catholic Faith for all Americans; to obtain for the Church in North America victory in the struggle against the tyranny of relativism, Satan’s latest futile tactic; and, finally, to expel again the forces of darkness from our Lands, and to resurrect the culture from death.”
To register online, or to obtain more information, interested parties are referred to the web site of the National Coalition of Clergy and Laity: www.national-coalition.org/pilgrim/. Inquiries may be directed to the Pilgrimage Director, Gregory Lloyd at lloydg@national-coalition.org, or:
National Coalition of Clergy & Laity
621 Jordan Circle
Whitehall, PA 18052-7119
Tel. 610-435-2634
