Argentina: Pilgrimage travels 100 kilometers to recover the tradition of the Church

“SOS: Sacrifice, Prayer, Sacraments”, are the three fundamental pillars of the pilgrimage to Our Lady of Christianity, which on the weekend of October 11, 12 and 13 will bring together more than 1,800 faithful on the way to Luján (Argentina ), with the purpose of restoring Christianity in the Homeland.

This is the 15th edition of this act of popular piety in which, for three days, pilgrims travel 100 kilometers of rural roads, passing through some cities, from the Buenos Aires town of Rawson to the National Sanctuary of Our Lady of Luján.

During the days of pilgrimage, they celebrate daily Mass under the traditional rite, offering prayer, meditations and Eucharistic adoration, in a penitential atmosphere, but at the same time, of true joy.

What is the purpose of the pilgrimage?

“Pope Leo XIII said: ‘There was a time when the philosophy of the Gospel governed the States,’ and that is Christianity. So, this pilgrimage is three days where you can breathe an air of Christianity, where the philosophy of the Gospel reigns in the atmosphere. You go to that pilgrimage and you really breathe that,” Martín Stier, one of its organizers, explained to ACI Prensa.

“The pilgrimage is in a penitential spirit and seeks, through prayer and sacrifice, to reach God, to reach the feet of the Virgin to ask her for all our needs, our desires, our concerns. Leave everything at her feet, fundamentally through prayer, sacrifice and the sacraments. We could say SOS: Sacrifice, Prayer and Sacraments. Reaching God through that side,” he explained.

The young Argentine assured that they seek to make “the tradition of the Church known and loved.” “We seek to return to Christianity in our country, and for that we want each group to carry throughout the world what they received by the grace of God in those three days, wherever they have to be: at work, in the family, in the town where he lives. That’s kind of the idea,” he added.

Among the ultimate purposes of this activity, Martín identified, on the one hand, “the personal sanctification of each one, through sacrifice, prayer and the sacraments.” And on the other hand, that each one “be a good person wherever he or she happens to be.”

Finally, he highlighted “the importance of the group—called a chapter—because Christianity and the transformation of society is carried out by Christian communities, and not each one on his own.”

“That is the importance of life in community and that each one can develop this: an integral Christian life in a community, even if there are just a few people, that is later transmitted to the rest,” he said.

A body made up of cells: the chapters

As a fundamental requirement, those who wish to participate must be part of a chapter. Each chapter is like a “cell”, of at least seven members, who can be friends, family, or be grouped geographically.

“The chapter is a natural group, a group of people, which can be a group of friends, a school, it can be a study group. There must be at least seven people and a boss, a leader, who will be the link between the organization and the pilgrims,” he explained.

Each chapter is dedicated to a Marian devotion or a patron saint. “The pilgrimage is not a mass of people walking towards Luján, but rather they are all groups, Christian cells, whose idea is that they then return to their homes and continue functioning as Christian cells within the space where they have to be,” Stier summarized.

“This year there are already 36 adult chapters and four family chapters confirmed. The idea of ​​this pilgrimage is that these groups continue to grow throughout the year and that there are more and more people who gather under the same spirit,” he added.

Can the traditional Mass be celebrated?

From the motu proprio Tratidionis custodes published by Pope Francis in 2021, some restrictions were introduced to the celebration of the Eucharist in the extraordinary form, that is, with the Missal prior to 1970.

“Today it is not allowed; the Archbishop of Mercedes-Luján does not allow the traditional Mass to be prayed inside the basilica,” explained Stier. “That is why, for three years, the pilgrimage has celebrated a field Mass,” he clarified.

“We met with him twice and, unfortunately, since Pope Francis’ motu proprio, he is quite restricted. In some places it is not allowed and in others it is, it depends on the bishop,” he said. What they did receive authorization for was to worship the Blessed Sacrament inside the sanctuary.

In addition, “during the three days, the traditional Mass is prayed, in Latin, which was commonly prayed everywhere until the Second Vatican Council, then it decreased a lot because the Mass that we know began to be prayed,” said Stier.

What is Our Lady of Christianity?

Since this year, Our Lady of Christianity is a civil association, which allows it to better manage resources and expenses. “We have a lot of expenses for renting chemical toilets, renting trucks, food for the pilgrims, a health team, pilgrim books,” she listed.

The books contain meditations, the guide to following the Mass in Latin, songs to do during the walk, the guide to praying the rosary, and a series of recommendations so that people can live the pilgrimage better.

Although “there is no congregation behind this, nor a political group,” but rather it is an initiative of lay people who belong to the Catholic Church, they are accompanied by priests, “especially for confession, because there are 2,000 pilgrims who in those three days of penance are confessed,” Stier pointed out.

For more information, to form chapters or to participate in the October pilgrimage, write to ns.cristiandad@gmail.com or enter www.nscristiandad.com.