Religious pilgrimages are on the rise everywhere. People are seeking spiritual journeys that will bring meaning and purpose to their lives. A pilgrimage provides the opportunity to reflect upon one’s life and grow in love and devotion to God and His saints.
They also help commemorate special occasions. On September 14, Catholics in France will hold some very special pilgrimages to mark the completion of the newly restored Notre Dame Cathedral. It will be a marvelous, traditional expression of Christian piety.
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After the devastating fire in 2019, Notre Dame is undergoing a meticulous restoration of the roof and other parts of the cathedral. The official reopening of the church will be on December 8.
The five arduous years of restoration included a battle to prevent a new modernized plan of renovation that would have destroyed the cathedral’s medieval character. Fortunately, the final decision was for an exact restoration faithful to the spirit of those who built it.
This accomplishment will now be celebrated with a symbolic act of gratitude to the Mother of God for whom the magnificent Gothic cathedral is named.
Seven groups of Catholic faithful are engaged in seven weeks of pilgrimage, and they will all converge at Notre Dame Cathedral to express their joy, consolation and devotion to this great centuries-old symbol of Christian civilization.
The movement’s name is Les 7 Routes Notre-Dame (The Seven Roads to Notre-Dame). Each group has set off from a different point on France’s border, bearing the name of a symbolic patron. One starting point was the famous abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel on an island off the coast of France. The pilgrims’ group names are Saint Michael the Archangel, Saint Anne, the Mother of Mary, Saint Martin, Saint James the Greater, Saint Joseph the Carpenter, Saint Joan of Arc, and the great pilgrim Saint Benoit-Joseph Labre. Each group is carrying a statue of its patron during the pilgrimage. Though the distances of the routes may vary, the pilgrims all intend to converge at the cathedral on September 14.
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Although Notre Dame will only open on December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the participants will still meet in front of the cathedral and hold a prayer vigil. The following day, Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris will celebrate a Mass for the pilgrims in the nearby Church of Saint-Sulpice. The event’s organizers expect thousands of pilgrims to arrive.
At the end of the commemorations, each group will donate its statue to those who worked more closely with saving the Cathedral and restoring it to its former grandeur. The list includes firefighters, stonemasons and others who worked on the cathedral.
The pilgrimage phenomenon continues to draw people with an impressive power of attraction. Eucharistic pilgrimages and pilgrimages to the tombs of saints and Holy Shrines are on the rise. The Seven Roads to Notre Dame initiative is a splendid example. May Our Lady of Paris bless the endeavors of so many who worked to restore this great monument of Christianity and those who continue to foster the outstanding pilgrimage tradition.
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