Holy Hill Pilgrimage Led by Prior General

With the fatherly presence of the Founder and Prior General of the Institute, Monsignor Gilles Wach, many hundreds of faithful and friends of the Institute participated in a pilgrimage to the National Shrine of Our Lady Help of Christians at the Basilica popularly known as “Holy Hill” near Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Saturday, June 2.

Large chapters of faithful from St. Stanislaus Oratory in Milwaukee, from St. Joseph’s Oratory in Green Bay, from St. Mary’s Oratory in Wausau, St. Mary’s in Cashton, from St. Mary Oratory in Rockford, and from the Shrine of Christ the King in Chicago, as well as some pilgrims from the East and the West coasts, all converged on Holy Hill in thanksgiving to the Blessed Virgin Mary for the many graces received by the Institute.

The large crowd of pilgrims walked in procession through the woods and up the hill praying the Rosary and singing Marian hymns. Inside the crowded Basilica Monsignor Gilles Wach was the celebrant of a beautiful Solemn High Mass of Ember Saturday in the Octave of Pentecost with Canon Andreas Hellmann serving as deacon and Canon Michael Stein as subdeacon. Many members of the choirs of the participating apostolates joined together to provide the beautiful choral music and Gregorian Chant.

In his sermon Monsignor Wach underscored the persecutions which the Church had endured ever since the first days following Pentecost, as its Divine Founder had foretold to the apostles. We benefit today from those many tempests which the Barque of Peter has weathered throughout each chapter of the history of the Church. Today we should not then be surprised or despondent by the hostility of a society which is no longer Christian. We should rather be grateful for the confidence which God gives to us who have the opportunity to live in times which are tragic for the world, but which are also truly blessed for those who persevere in faith through the grace of God.

After the outdoor picnic lunch which followed Holy Mass, the faithful gathered for Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament offered by Canon Benoit Jayr, Rector of St. Stanislaus Oratory in Milwaukee. The Consecration of the Institute to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception was also fervently renewed by the numerous good souls present. A wonderful manifestation of the family spirit of the Institute, this pilgrimage expressed the power of charity to unite the faithful in the sacred Liturgy of Holy Mother Church.