SSPX DISTRICT OF ASIA’S

ROME PILGRIMAGE
AUGUST 5-19, 2000
By Bonnie Pleier and Maria Salas-Selem
Photos by Dr. Lee Verzosa

Day 1: Saturday, August 5, Feast of Our Lady of the Snow

The meeting point for all the pilgrims of this two week long pilgrimage was Rome’s
Fiumicino Airport. The first ones to arrive, actually a day earlier, were a few Japanese,
then some Americans. The bulk of the group who had left separately from Manila and
Singapore and united in Bangkok, arrived on Saturday morning at 6.00 am after a 15 hour
flight.
Our two buses however would not leave until the only two more we could wait for
arrived, also from the USA, a couple of hours later. Others from the Philippines would
arrive at noon, others still, from Korea and Japan the following day. The start of our
pilgrimage shows the complicated coordination that was required for our international
group.

Holy Mass in the church of St Pudentiana at the beginning of the pilgrimage

Our Pilgrimage then began, after a bus trip to Rome in the rain, with the Holy Sacrifice of
the Mass at the church of St Pudentiana, the first ever Mass center in Rome, established
by St Peter, in the house of Senator Pudens. We learned later the story of this
extraordinary family who benefited from a relatively young St Peter, just arrived in Rome
in the 40s A.D. The grand-parents were Senator Pudens, one of the leading nobles of
Rome and a member of the Senate, and his wife, St Priscilla. Their son was St Pudens.
He married and had four children from Claudia Rufina, and all four became Saints: St
Pudentiana, St Praxedes, St Timotheus and St Novatus. They were all baptized by St
Peter. (From Pilgrims Walk in Rome, by P.J. Chandlery S.J., 1903)
We were on a pilgrimage for the Jubilee, so throughout our trip, there were regular
confessions, made easy by the presence of, usually, four priests, Fathers Couture, Griego,
Onoda and Wailliez. The confessions, on this first day, were followed by lunch at a
Chinese Restaurant and a visit to St. Mary Major. The highlights at St. Mary Major are
some wood from the cradle of Our Lord, beautifully displayed in a golden crib
underneath the Main Altar, the incorrupt body of St. Pius V, who immortalized the
Tridentine Mass for all time, the painting of the Blessed Mother and Child possibly
painted by St. Luke.
At the tomb of St. Pius V, Fr. Couture led the group in the recitation of the rosary, in
Latin, and, to our surprise, a lot of the people in the chapel, not of our group, joined in
very devoutly.
In the bus, Father Couture pointed out various sites remarking that there are two Romes:
Christian Rome vs. Pagan Rome (the pornographic type billboards were very obvious
throughout Rome). Father quoted a Saint who said that “as Rome goes, so goes the
world”. (If the morality can be destroyed in the center of Catholicism which gives the
norm of morality, Satan will have an easy job of taking over the world.)

Day 2: Sunday, August 6, Feast of the Transfiguration

We visited the catacombs of St. Callixtus, these very impressive underground passages
where pagans as well as Christians were buried. Father Griego was ready to celebrate the
Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at one of the small altars, after the guided tour when he
noticed that he had been provided with a ceramic chalice. Needless to say, he could not
consecrate the Precious Blood in this type of chalice. So, instead, we prayed a rosary, led
by Father Couture. He then gave a little sermon in which he stated, “The martyrs are the
roots, the pioneers of our Holy Faith, which was watered by the blood of these saints.
The fruits were the conversions of many pagans and complete overthrow of the Pagan
Roman Empire.” This sermon gives us a lot to think about as we ask ourselves, “Will I be
willing to give up my life for my faith when it is asked of me?”
 The Holy Rosary in the catacombs of St Callixtus

Fr Onoda managed to say mass for the group in a small chapel at a little distance
of the entrance of the Catacombs where a proper chalice was available, while Fathers
Couture and Griego had Mass at the Quo Vadis. This small church of Quo Vadis is where
Our Lord met St. Peter as he was leaving Rome, utterly discouraged, and asked him:
“Where are you going - Quo vadis?” An imprint of Our Lord’s foot is venerated in this
church.
We then went by bus into Rome, near St Peter’s actually, where we divided ourselves in
small groups for lunch.
Our next stop was the Church of the Gesu. This incredibly beautiful church contains real
treasures: the miraculous picture of Our Lady of the Way, the body of St. Ignatius of
Loyola and St. Francis Xavier’s hand, as well as the body of St Joseph Pignatelli. The
main altar shows a painting of the presentation of Our Lord in the Temple with angels
overlooking the scene while holding the instruments of Our Lord’s passion. What food
for meditation! We then visited the church of the Sacred Heart, near Termini, run by the
Salesian Fathers, before heading back to the hotel for dinner.

Day 3: Monday, August 7 St Cajetan, Confessor

This day and the following Friday, we had to divide the groups as part of our pilgrimage
included the visit of the excavations beneath St Peter’s, and due to the size of our group,
we had been given two different days for the visit.
 Rome: Church of the Sacre Cuore
One group therefore went to St Peter’s to find out that their morning guided tour had been
postponed to the afternoon because of a celebration in honor of Pope Paul VI whose
death anniversary had occurred the day before. So they decided meanwhile to visit a
small church dedicated to the Sacred Heart, near Castel Sant’ Angelo, to find a place to
offer two Masses (Fathers Couture and Wailliez were with this group) and to try to see
the little known ‘Museum of Purgatory”. Both goals were happily reached.

Rome: Museum of the Holy Souls in Purgatory

A nice Italian lunch followed. In the afternoon, the visit of the excavation was a
tremendous experience, anchoring everyone’s heart on that Roman Rock which is Peter
the Apostle, whose bones lie right beneath the Main Altar.

Monte Cassino: tombs of St Benedict and St Scholastica

The other group, our group, left the hotel at 7:15 am for Monte Cassino, two hours South
of Rome where Father Griego was privileged to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass near
the tombs of Saint Benedict and Saint Scholastica. During the Mass an elderly
Benedictine monk came into the chapel and quietly knelt at the communion rail and
stayed until after the consecration, then left. He came back and received Holy
Communion from Father Griego and after a few moments left as quietly as he had
arrived. We took a guided tour of the monastery and were honored to be in St. Benedict’s
cell and to see the imprint of his elbow, which was left in a rock that he fell upon. We
enjoyed the many beautiful paintings and the exquisite works of art in the main church.
We found the men in uniform very unfriendly and uncooperative. It seemed like they
were just putting up with the tourists. We were told there are only about 20 monks there
now where there used to be hundreds by the size of it.
We had lunch on the way to Naples. Visitors to Italy learn at their own expense the
existence of the notorious afternoon siesta from 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm. Since we arrived
around 1:30 pm, we couldn’t visit the churches we intended to, so we were given a tour
of the city and at 4:30 were able to go into the church dedicated to the Assumption of Our
Lady. It is in this beautiful cathedral where the miracle of the blood of St. Januarius takes
place each year on September 19; his blood, in a phial, liquefies on his feast day.
 Naples: The Reliquary with the Blood of St Januarius
Because of the ‘sacred siesta time’ the group was disappointed in not being able to visit
other places like St. Philomena’s sanctuary, in nearby Mugnano, the Shrine of Our Lady
of the Rosary of Pompeii (the famous image with Our Lady giving the rosary to St
Dominic and St Catherine of Sienna) and others. On the way back Father Griego gave us
a wonderful short lecture reminding us that we were on a pilgrimage and that we should
make use of all opportunities to make sacrifices. We were like thirsty sponges that just
wanted more and more.
After dinner at the hotel, we were able to help to put the Asian banners together. These
were made of satin in different colors by a group of young ladies aspiring to the religious
life from the Philippines, the famous ‘Bethanians’. Each had a picture in silk screen of
the patron saint of the country or religious organization they represented and was
decorated with golden tassels. It was all very rich and elegant

Day 4: Tuesday, August 8, Feast of St. Jean Marie Vianney, the Curé of
Ars, Confessor
 Rome: St Paul Outside the Walls.
Statue of St Paul the Apostle of Nations
Masses at the hotel at 5:30 am and 6:00 am, confessions. After breakfast the tour buses
took us to St. Paul Outside the Walls. The entire Asian delegation processed in disciplined
order into the basilica, two by two, with our 16 beautiful banners held high, singing
Christus Vincit, Christus Regnat, Christus Imperat.

Arrival of the Asian Pilgrims

 The Asian Pilgrims in the courtyard of St Paul's Basilica
It is hard to describe the incredible feeling that filled our hearts and overflowed in tears of
joy and pride and thankfulness for our Holy Faith. We then knelt at the “Confession”,
recited some prayers and processed out amidst the clapping of hundreds of people that
where in awe at what they were witnessing.

At the 'Confession' of St Paul's Basilica

 The Asian Pilgrims leaving the St Paul's Basilica
It was the first time that Traditional Catholics in Europe saw representatives of Catholic
Tradition coming from these 10 Asian countries where the SSPX is at work.

The Official start of the Pilgrimage of Tradition: the Veni Creator

We then met the other pilgrims from all over the world: a mere 5000 or so! At a precise
signal, all the pilgrims knelt down for the singing of the Veni Creator which marked the
official beginning of this historical pilgrimage. Led by the four bishops of the SSPX, the
entire group processed into St. Paul’s and recited the rosary and sung hymns in honor of
Our Divine Lord and Our Blessed Lady.
 Part of the pilgrims inside St Paul's, view from the back

Solemn Exit Procession with the Second General Assistant,

Fr. Paul Aulagnier, carrying the Cross
Lunch followed on the grounds and then by bus, we were off to St. Peter’s Basilica. We
met near Castel Sant’ Angelo, more than 5000 of us Traditional Roman Catholics. For
those of us who are used to small Mass Centers of 20-30 people, it was so encouraging,
uplifting, strengthening! We are not alone! After about an hour in the very hot and humid
sun, led by the bishops and 250 members of the clergy and over 100 religious Sisters of
so many Traditional Communities, we marched by fours in procession to the Basilica of
St. Peter’s.
 Via Della Conciliazione,
Start of the Procession to enter St Peter's Basilica:
Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the SSPX,
with his Two General Assistants,
and the Superior of South America and of Asia, immediately behind

The Traditional clergy marching towards the Vatican

 Crossing the Holy Door
It took one solid hour for everyone to enter. The Litanies of the Saints were sung three
times. And there we were, Catholics from all over the world who supported the position
of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, with his bishops, priests, seminarians, brothers, sisters of
the Society of St Pius X, in the Basilica of St Peter’s! We filled the main aisle of this
beautiful Basilica, throne of Christendom!

The Four Bishops of the SSPX at the 'Confession' of St Peter

There, we recited the rosary, in the language of Rome, source of unity for the Catholic
Church, in Latin, in front of the Confession of St. Peter.
 The 5500 Pilgrims filling the Main Aisle of St Peter's Basilica
Bishop Fellay, surrounded by his three other fellow bishops, gave a powerful sermon in
French; we prayed for the Holy Father, and then Bishop Williamson took the
Processional Cross and the clergy walked back to the tomb of St. Pius X where lies his
incorrupt body.

Bishop Richard Williamson carrying the Cross to the tomb of Pope St Pius X
 Tomb of St Pius X (the body is incorrupt)
Fr Schmidberger said a few strong words, quoting from Archbishop Lefebvre’s 1974
Declaration, and we all left in procession.

Fr. Franz Scmidberger, at the Tomb of St Pius X,

recalling Archbishop Lefebvre's Declaration of November 21, 1974
Fr. du Chalard had promised the Committee of the Jubilee that we would be out by 4.20
pm. We were all out by 4.17 pm!
After a nice Chinese dinner in Rome, we went back to the hotel. What a day! Thanks be
to God!
 Part of the SSPX clergy and other priests at the fountain in St Peter's plaza

Day 5: Wednesday, August 9, Vigil of St. Lawrence, Deacon, Martyr.

After Mass and breakfast at the hotel, since the buses could not bring us within the walls
of Rome because of the Jubilee, they took us to St Paul Outside the Walls. From there we
took the street bus, all 70 pilgrims with our banners and singing at the top of our lungs,
inside the bus (!) the beautiful hymns Fr. Couture had taught us. We were quite a sight!
We joined the rest of the worldwide group who had just started to enter St. John Lateran
where the heads of Saint Peter and Paul are above the main altar.

St John Lateran, the Pope's Cathedral

 The Asian Pilgrims cross the Holy Door
In the Basilica is the original table of the Last Supper. It is above the Tabernacle, on the
left of the Main Altar. After all the Jubilee prayers and hymns were recited, the entire
group processed carrying banners and singing hymns, divided according to the various
languages, for about 10 blocks to St. Mary Major, on Via Merulana, which was kindly
closed for us by the Italian police at the very last minute.

The Crowd of pilgrims in St Mary Major's Basilica

There, again, we made our profession of Faith and recited the prescribed prayers. As a
matter of fact, since St Mary Major can only accommodate about 2000 people, the
organizers of the Pilgrimage divided all the pilgrims in two groups: the non-French
speakers, and the French speakers, and there were two sessions within the Basilica. A
picnic lunch followed on Nero’s Garden, at Colle Oppio.
 The Elevation. "My Lord and my God!"
That afternoon Bishop Fellay celebrated a Pontifical High Mass in that park where a
beautiful altar had been set up. All SSPX bishops and clergy and religious were in
attendance and all 5000 pilgrims filled the park. It was a beautiful and extremely well
organized celebration. Our hats are off to the SSPX District of Italy for the wonderful
work they did in carrying out such an event so smoothly and without incident under such
hot and very humid conditions. One of our pilgrims from India was interviewed by a
local newspaper, which the following day had a picture of part of the group under the
heading of “Extremists, Schismatic, Lefebvrites”.

Day 6: Thursday, August 10, Feast of St. Lawrence, deacon, martyr

Mass and breakfast at the hotel then visit to St. Lawrence Outside the Walls, as the first of
the few Basilicas we were going to visit that day. Due to late arrival at the hotel the night
before and the limited hours of driving allotted to our bus driver, we were not able to visit
the Seven Basilicas like the 2000-3000 pilgrims who did so by foot. We went by … bus,
to try to catch up with some of the pilgrims. Here, at St Lawrence, we venerated the
bodies of St. Lawrence and St. Stephen’s as well as the soon-to-be beatified Pope Pius
IX, in beautiful chambers just under the main altar. Outside we met Fr. Rifan, the former
secretary of Bishop de Castro Mayer, from Brazil. He told us about his apostolate with
his 1000 parishioners and 300 children school, Carmelite 3rd order for men and women as
well as other religious organizations in his parish. He was accompanying a large group of
pilgrims from his country.
 Arriving at St Callixtus,
the Asian Pilgrims overtaken by a 'flying' Bishop Fellay
We then visited St Sebastian’s Basilica next to the catacomb of St. Callixtus and saw the
cross in front of which St. Bridget prayed. As we walked the last 500 meters to get to the
Basilica, we were passed by a ‘flying bishop’: it was none other than our Superior
General Bishop Fellay, walking the full 23 km of the Seven Basilicas, and who was at
that moment walking very fast at the head of a group of Austrian pilgrims visibly trying
to keep up with him! We also met Father Scott and some friends from the U.S.
delegation.

The Basilica of St Sebastian

 The Basilica of Holy Cross in Jerusalem
We then visited the Basilica named Holy Cross in Jerusalem, so called because St. Helena
after finding the true cross in Jerusalem had ship loads of soil brought to Rome to build
this church. We saw the largest existing relic of the Holy Cross, a relic of one of the nails
of Our Lord, two thorns from His crown, the wooden inscription atop His cross with the
I.N.R.I. spelled out and St. Thomas the Apostle’s fore-finger. In a different case, we saw
the horizontal beam, the patibulum, of the cross of the good thief, St. Dismas.

The Asian Pilgrims professing their faith in the Roman Underground!

Then we went to St. Peter’s Basilica by the underground (metro) and here too we
professed our faith carrying our banners and singing in the staircase and on the platform.
In St Peter’s, Father Couture led us in prayer at the seven privileged altars to gain very
special indulgences. We congregated before the altar of St. Pius X and were singing in his
honor when we were suddenly told to stop singing by one of the security people there,
because of some ceremonies taking place far away in the front of the Basilica.

The list of the Popes buried in St Peters

Dinner in Rome at a wonderful Chinese Restaurant. Some of the pilgrims were
wondering why we were eating in all these Chinese restaurants when we were in Rome!!
In Rome do as the Romans, isn’t it? Yes, except when you are with the Asians!
Just before the dinner, Fr. Couture left us to attend a meeting of all SSPX Superiors in
Albano that was going to take place in the following days, until the 14th.

Day 7: Friday, August 11, Feast of Sts. Tiburtius and Susanna, and St.
Philomena, Virgin, Martyrs.
Two groups, like last Monday, with swapped destinations.
Fr. Onoda celebrated the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at the hotel, for the first group, our
group. After breakfast we went to see the excavations of St. Peter underneath the
Basilica. The tour guide was quite knowledgeable; and gave us an excellent explanation
of the area on which the Vatican is built.
 The Niche of the Pallia, standing right over the actual grave of St Peter.
The bones of St Peter were discovered hidden in a cavity in the right wall,
called the Graffiti Wall.
We met Fr. Griego at the Basilica where he had gone early in the morning to try to
celebrate Mass. After obtaining permission from the priest at the sacristy, and having
arrived at the Confiteor, at the altar of Blessed Pope Innocent XI, he was made to stop
and leave by one of the sacristans there who told him rudely to say the New Mass or to
go because “This (tridentine) Mass is not allowed here!” But Our Blessed Lady saw this
sacrilegious interruption of the Holy Sacrifice. Later, during the day, while visiting the
church of St Alphonsus, Fr Griego got permission from the sacristan to offer the Holy
Mass on the Main Altar, facing the original image of Our Lady of Perpetual Succor!
Thank you, Blessed Mother!

Fr Griego saying the prayers at the foot of the altar

at the altar of Pope Blessed Innocent XI just before being rudely interrupted
 by a sacristan and ordered to stop immediately
With a few others, we took the bus to go back to the church of St. John Lateran where we
saw the massive statues of the apostles. One showed St. Bartholomew skinned alive and
holding his skin in his hands. The chapel of the Scala Santa (the Holy Stairs) was across
the street. This is Pontius Pilate’s staircase, brought back to Rome by St Helen. We went
up the 28 steps on our knees and kissed the crystal in the center of the steps, which
covered the drops of blood that dripped from Our Lord, on the first Good Friday. It was
so hot and humid and terribly painful, but really worth it. Then we boarded the bus again,
back to St. Paul’s Outside the Walls to see this time the relics of the arm of St. Ann and
the chains of St. Paul.

The Blessed Sacrament Altar in St John Lateran.

Behind the scene of the Last Supper is kept the original Table of the Last Supper.
The other group, led by Fr Wailliez went to Monte Cassino and Naples like we did earlier
this week.

Day 8: Saturday, August 12, Feast of St. Clare, Virgin.

 The Shrine to St Michael of Monte Gargano
We left Rome at 8:30 am under the leadership of Fathers Griego and Onoda, and started
our long ride to Monte Gargano, in the South East of Italy, where, in the 5th century, the
apparitions of St. Michael took place (see May 8 in the missal). Saint Michael himself
blessed this chapel. In this church which is really in a cave we were able to have the Holy
Sacrifice of the Mass at the Main Altar and to receive Holy Communion.

Some of the innumerable relics found in Rome.

St Anania is the disciple who baptized St Paul the Apostle
We continued along the Adriatic Sea to San Giovanni Rotondo. Here we were greeted by
a Capuchin Father who blessed us with a crucifix that Padre Pio had used and a piece of
cloth that had been touched to his body. A lot of pictures depicting Fr. Pio’s life lined the
walls of the monastery. We saw the room and prayed fervently at the tomb of Padre Pio.
Day 9: Sunday, August 13

The Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano

After breakfast we left for Lanciano to see the oldest Eucharistic Miracle recorded. We
saw the monstrance with the Sacred Host and Precious Blood that turned into real flesh
and blood. This made a big impression on everyone, especially when we were told that
the flesh is actually just like an horizontal cut or slice, if you want, of a human Heart!
That explains why there is a hole in its center: it simply corresponds to the cavity of the
heart. It sure gave us to have a deeper appreciation of the Real Presence of Our Lord in
the Eucharist. Fr. Wailliez was allowed to celebrate Mass in a small, bare chapel in the
basement of the church. This was very moving. The whole group crowded into this small
chapel and as Father celebrated the Mass, a Franciscan friar kept coming in to look over
and over again. Then after communion the Filipino deacon that was with us had to
consume a great number of consecrated hosts, since too many had been consecrated. We
really felt that we were in the times of the catacombs.
 The Basilica of Loreto, containing the scientifically proven
authentic house of Our Lady of Nazareth
Late in the afternoon, we arrived in Loreto and visited the church that contains Our
Lady’s original house of Nazareth where the Immaculate Conception and the Incarnation
took place. What a privilege to be in such a holy place and to touch the walls that Our
Lady had touched. There are so many beautiful altars in this church. One of them had
scenes of Our Lady’s life nicely painted on all the walls and ceiling.
Day 10: Monday, August 14, Vigil of the Assumption

Bologna: St Dominic, the Apostle of the Holy Rosary,

the founder of the Dominicans
We left the hotel in Ancona next to the Adriatic Sea and headed inland for Bologna to
pray at the grave of St. Dominic, founder of the Dominican Order. Again, we were
privileged to have the Holy Sacrifice in very special places: Fr. Onoda was able to offer it
on the altar of the tomb of St Dominic, another priest in St. Dominic’s cell, at the very
spot where he died. This last chapel was a very plain, small room housing some of his
relics. There were only a dozen people at this Mass and we were included! It was so
beautiful and special.
 Bologna: the reliquary with the skull of St Dominic
The bus continued to Switzerland for a good 6 hours more during which we listened to
some talks about Our Lady of Fatima and the three secrets. We also sang many hymns,
prayed and played games, led by Fr. Onoda. The scenery as we left Italy and got into the
Alps was indescribably beautiful! Many of us wanted to sleep but did not want to miss
the panorama before us.
Finally, we arrived at our hotel in Grimentz, in the Swiss alps, about one hour from
Ecône, at about 9:30 p.m. and we were served a delicious and elegant dinner. This was a
quaint hotel whose owners are great friends of Fr. Couture.

Day 11: Tuesday, August 15, Feast of the Assumption of Our Blessed
Lady.
 Switzerland, Grimentz: the small chapel in the alps
After breakfast we had a chance to look around the little village, so beautiful and
picturesque! Then, a one-hour walk from the hotel, all uphill, through the forest, brought
us to our chapel where we were to have the Holy Mass. Along the way, we were being
prepared to unite ourselves to the Holy Sacrifice by beautiful Stations of the Cross, in
bronze, put along the trail for the last half of the climb.

The breath-taking view from the chapel, at 5000 ft (1600m)

What a majestic view! Mass in the Swiss Alps, at Grimentz! The Mass had to be said in
the open air along the outside wall of the tiny chapel perched on an edge as on a
promontory, on the side of a sky slope. A good half a dozen of Oblate Sisters of the SSPX
who had come to join us for the day, composed the Schola. One of them was actually
from the Philippines, Sr. Maria Concepcion. The Sung Mass was offered by Fr. Couture
with a short English sermon, translated in Korean and Japanese (like all the other
instructions of the whole pilgrimage, by the way).
A wonderful little picnic followed with complimentary wine from our hotel manager. Fr.
Couture was kind enough to give many of us a ride back to the village, thanks to a family
car he borrowed, and we were very grateful! The afternoon was free. Two cars brought a
small group at a car park at 6000 ft (2000 m) to see the Moiry Glacier and to see and
touch snow, which was for some, for the first time ever!!
On the way back to the village, Mrs. Salamin, our hotel manager’s mother-in-law, invited
us to have a glass of wine in the family cellar across from her home. It was a special
treat! A lovely wine cellar, with about 10 oak barrels of different wines, and stacks of
rounds of Swiss cheese… The dinner this evening included one of these delicious cheese
from the region, the famous ‘Raclette’, that was served hot, with baby potatoes and little
round onions. The Hotel Manager himself entertained us with his accordion music during
dinner. A real treat. Vive la Suisse!

Day 12: Wednesday, August 16, Feast of St. Joachim, Father of the BVM
After a delicious breakfast we departed for Ecône where we were blessed to have a
Solemn High Mass in the new church, thanks to all the clergy that we had with us, and
also thanks to the few seminary priests and seminarians, at the seminary during the
summer holidays. The music and singing added to the solemnity of the ritual making it
wonderfully rich and inspiring. The church was in a different style of architecture, more
plain, compared to the ones we had seen in Italy.

At the end of the Holy Mass in Ecône

After Mass, we posed for a group picture at the statue of St Pius X, at the exact spot
where so many times Archbishop Lefebvre stood with his newly ordained priests and
seminarians, over a period of 20 years, and of course with the newly consecrated
Bishops, in 1988.
 Ecône: office of Archbishop Lefebvre
After Mass we visited Archbishop Lefebvre’s tomb and his living quarters. We met again
with the Oblates, and exchanged gifts with them. We had lunch on the grounds before
leaving for Turin.

The Holy Mass in the Society Chapel in Montalenghe, near Turin, Italy
We were welcomed at the SSPX priory in Montalenghe, near Turin, formerly a Salesian
house, by Fr. Emmanuel du Chalard. After a visit to the chapel and getting our rooms
assigned we enjoyed a wonderful dinner with wine. Our gracious host had prepared a real
banquet for our group and our clergy. Of course, we were allowed to help with the dishes
and setting of the table for breakfast. Afterwards, there was still time before dark to see
on the property one of the oldest Cedar of Lebanon tree in Northern Italy. The seminarian
that showed the tree to us had previously thought that he would have had to do all the
dishes by himself (for 80 people)! There was also an old mansion on the property that
would only cost a few million dollars to repair. So it was locked.

Day 13: Thursday, August 17, Feast of St. Hyacinth, Confessor

After the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and breakfast we boarded the buses and were on our
way to Turin to view Holy Shroud at 9:00 am. We were shown the way by the prior Fr. du
Chalard.

Turin, after venerating the Holy Shroud, happy pilgrims!

It is entirely different to see the Holy Shroud in real than to see pictures of it or on a
video. The short slide presentation before the actual viewing of the Shroud explained in a
very matter-of-fact way exactly what we were about to see. This was done so well that it
filled us with a feeling of compassion and sadness at the realization of what Our Lord
went through. It is a feeling that is hard to describe. One must see it face to face to
understand it. It was of the greatest spiritual benefit for us. We were able to walk right in
front of it and pray before it. Then we returned to the church and contemplated it in
silence once more for about 20 minutes.
 Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians: The Tomb of St John Bosco

The Tomb of St Maria Mazzarello

We then headed for the Basilica of Our Lady, Help of Christians where the incorrupt
bodies of St. John Bosco and St. Maria Mazarrela looked like they were only sleeping.
The remains of St. Dominic Savio are also in this church.
 The tomb of St Dominic Savio
In a chapel accessible through a round staircase, on the right, there were literally
thousands of relics of Martyrs and Saints of all times. All the walls were covered with
reliquaries. I believe in the Communion of Saints!

A very special reliquary: Pieces of Our Lord's swaddling clothes,

Our Lady's veil, St Joseph' mantle, relics of Sts Joachim & Ann,
Sts Zachary & Elizabeth and of the 12 Apostles!
 Large relics of St Ann, Mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary
We couldn’t stay any longer as we had still a long journey ahead of us. So towards 1.00
pm we left for Orvieto, six hours South of Turin, one hour North of Rome.

Day 14: Friday, August 18, Feast of St. Agapitus, Martyr.

The façade of Orvieto Cathedral

After breakfast the bus took us to the “funicular” that would lead us up the hill to the old
town of Orvieto. What a beautiful façade this cathedral has! It is all done in bright
colored mosaics with a lot of gold leaf depicting scenes from the life of Our Lady. The
whole history of creation, of the Old and New testaments were also carved in these
exquisite relieves, to teach the people. The cathedral is rather very peculiar with its black
and white layers of stone used for the walls. It is in the Gothic style, with a very high
ceiling.
 Orvieto Cathedral, a side view
Inside, in the front, on the Gospel side, there is the chapel of the Eucharistic Miracle. It
was here that St. Thomas Aquinas wrote his Office for the feast of Corpus Christi with
the famous O Salutaris, Tantum Ergo, Adoro Te, etc. Part of the walls and ceiling of the
chapel to the right of the main altar was painted by Fra Angelico and showed scenes of
the last judgement that were so real!
Fr Griego offered the Holy Mass “in the catacombs”, in the crypt of the Basilica. This
was a small vaulted chapel where the complete skeleton of saint Evangelisto, the first
Apostle of Orvieto, was inside the altar, and visible through a little opening. Tombs of
other Saints were on the side. There were no other decorations here. Right above us, in
the chapel where the Miraculous Corporal stained with the Precious Blood is venerated,
there were Novus Ordo masses said one after the other, complete with guitars....

Orvieto: The Miraculous Corporal

Here, in the parking lot, we had to say farewell to part of our group, the Singaporeans,
along with Fr. Couture, whose plane was in the afternoon.
As a result, the two buses headed back to Rome, through various routes, but met again to
visit the catacombs of St. Priscilla. (Reader, do you remember who she is?) Here we saw
the oldest and original fresco of the Blessed Mother and Child.

Rome, Church of St Agnes outside the Walls,

the tomb of St Agnes, Virgin and Martyr
We took the bus again and arrived at the church of St. Agnes where we saw her tomb and
that of Constantine’s daughter. Near the church there was a gym sheltering many students
for the World Youth Week. We ran into a lot of them, part of the 2 million that were
arriving from all over the world.
We had dinner in town and then went to our hotel, which was the best of them all!
Modern and with all the luxury amenities we so enjoy! That night, Father Onoda blessed
the objects that we had all purchased.

Day 15: Saturday, August 19, Feast of St. John Eudes, Confessor.
The Holy Mass celebrated by Fr. Onoda was beautiful. There was a platform for the Mass
with two steps up in a carpeted and comfortable conference room. After breakfast, most
of the group left for the airport after saying goodbye to many new friends. Some of the
Koreans and Japanese stayed behind with Fr Onoda.
The trip to the airport went by very fast as we exchanged addresses and sang songs in
languages we had not heard two weeks earlier.
About 20 hours later, we were back in our respective homes either in the Far West or the
Far East.
It was a dream come true, to have visited so many places that we had wanted to visit for
many years, and to have been part of such historical days in the history of Catholic
Tradition, and of the Society of St Pius X. We came home solidly grounded in our love
for Rome, and proud to be Roman Catholics.
For the two of us, it was truly a special privilege to be included in the Asian Delegation.
Deo gratias.