Activity Report 2010 - Sovereign Military Order of Malta in the United ...

441 AD and the custom has been faithfully
handed down from generation to
generation for over 1,500 years. Many
people climb the mountain barefoot. The
Order of Malta has been providing service
to pilgrims on the mountain since 1943.
In 2009, 20,000 people participated in the
annual pilgrimage at Croagh Patrick.
Italy:
Assisi, Loreto
Assisi: in celebration of Mary’s feast day
of 8 September, the Order makes an
annual pilgrimage to Assisi. This year,
led by the Grand Master, the solemn
procession proceeded to the Basilicia
of Santa Maria degli Angeli, where the
Order’s pro-patron, Archbishop Paolo
Sardi, celebrated Mass, together with
the Prelate of the Order, Archbishop
Angelo Acerbi, and many Order
chaplains. ‘The birth of Mary represented
a decisive moment in the history
of humanity,’ Mons.Sardi said in his
homily. ‘She is a model of sanctity which
inspires us.’ And in this, the eighth
centenary of the Rule of the Franciscan
Order, he recalled the shining example
of holiness and care for the poor and the
weak given by St. Francis.
Loreto: The Holy House of Loreto is one
of the most revered Marian shrines in
the world. Since medieval times, the
Holy House has been believed to be the
home in which the Virgin Mary lived,
conceived and raised the young Jesus.
In 1469 a large basilica was built around
the small shrine, and the sacred site
attracts 4 million Catholic pilgrims and
visitors each year. Over the centuries,
the countless pilgrims kneeling inside
the basilica around the Holy House, have
worn a trough in the hard rock. Every
October, the Order makes its own
pilgrimage, led by the Grand Master,
with members, volunteers and many
handicapped.
Mexico:
Guadalupe
August 28, 2009: the annual pilgrimage
of the sick, run by the Mexican
Association, went to the National
Basilica of Guadalupe, which commemorates
the 1531 visitation of the Blessed
Virgin Mary to St. Juan Diego.
The pilgrimage included Knights and
Dames of the Association, together with
over 100 volunteers and handicapped
pilgrims, many in wheel chairs.
The Archbishop of Mexico City, HE
Cardinal Don Norberto Rivera Carrera,
celebrated Mass for the congregation.
Poland:
Czestochowa
Every year on a May Sunday the Polish
Association of the Order organises a
pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of
Czestochowa, in the Monastery of Jasna
Góra, a place extremely important in the
spiritual life of all Poles, which houses
the miraculous icon of the Black
Madonna, said to have been painted by
St. Luke, and safely guarded throughout
a troubled history. Pope John Paul said
on visiting in 1999: ‘This place is so dear
to my heart and so dear to each of you,
dear brothers and sisters. We are used
to coming here and bringing our
personal and family problems, as well
as the vital issues of the nation ... just
as our ancestors did in every century.’
Portugal:
Fátima
The Portuguese Association’s annual
pilgrimage to Fátima, the site of the
most important Marian apparitions in
Portugal – when Mary appeared to three
shepherd children in 1917 - takes place
each May and includes offering support
at six points on the routes to the shrine
– over a distance of 130 Km.
The campaign, organised over many
months, includes 150 volunteers
(medical, administrative, religious) as
well as many members of the Order.
Pilgrims come back year after year,
grateful for the voluntary work on their
behalf; for their part, the volunteers
also return annually, in the spirit of
service for those in need. At the end of
their work, they participate in a Mass of
thanksgiving and celebration.
Spain:
Santiago de Compostela
The establishment of Santiago as a
pilgrim site is due to the discovery of the
tomb of the Apostle James the Great
early in the 9th century. A pilgrimage to
Santiago de Compostela is different
from all other pilgrimages: it is the
journey itself (the ‘camino’), not the
arrival, that is most important. Everyone
follows his own camino, sets his own
pace. ‘It is more essential than in any
other pilgrimage to arrive slowly, to take
time, to reflect,’ says Gottfried Kühnelt-
Leddihn, who recently organised a
pilgrimage there. ‘On the final trek to
Monte do Gozo, the mount of joy, after
your long journey you get the first sight
of Santiago. At the impressive Pilgrims’
Mass we witnessed the swinging of the
huge ‘butafumeiro’, by six men.
An amazing experience which tested our
mental and physic limits.’
On the occasion of the next Jacobean
Holy Year, the Grand Master will lead an
international pilgrimage of the Order to
Santiago in October 2010. Whenever St
James's day (25th July) falls on a
Sunday, the cathedral declares a Holy or
Jubilee Year.
Photographs:
Page 19:
Lourdes pilgrimage, 2009
Page 21:
1. Great Britain: Walsingham
2. Austria: Basilica of Mariazell
3. Holy Land: Church of the Nativity,
Bethlehem
4. Austria: St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna
Page 23:
1. Italy: Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli,
Assisi
2. Portugal: Fatima
3. Italy: Loreto
4. Spain: Santiago de Compostela
5. Mexico: Basilica of Guadalupe, Mexico City
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SOVEREIGN MILITARY HOSPITALLER ORDER OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM OF RHODES AND OF MALTA