Pilgrimage 'for family': Spring Grove group walks 13 miles to basilica (Catholic Caucus)

The Evening Sun ^ | 8/5/2008 | Steve Marroni

[Pyro7480]

The group walked along Route 116 with a red banner bearing a lion and a cross.

Some carried rosaries. Some prayed. Some chatted with their friends, while others just quietly reflected

It was a 41/2-hour trek, spanning 13 miles. There was plenty of time for all of it.

Walking under the hot sun, 13 members of the Spring Grove chapter of Tradition, Family and Property made a pilgrimage Monday morning to Sacred Heart Basilica in Conewago Township....

And, their goal was to pray the rosary for the family structure in America at the country's oldest stone church, and the first in the United States to be dedicated to the Sacred Heart.

The heat of hours of walking lifted as the group quietly and respectfully filed into the basilica....

The church was quiet. Paintings on the high, cathedral ceilings blazed bright, elaborate scenes from the pages of their faith.

Then they sat in the pews, and said the rosary....

[Pyro7480]

There a few errors and indications of the writer's lack of understanding of Catholicism, but otherwise, it's an interesting article.

I had never heard of this basilica before! According to this link, the church was finished in 1787 and was the first in the U.S. to be named in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. "In 1962, on the 175th anniversary of the church, the Apostolic Delegate, along with seven bishops and over one hundred priests, gathered to proclaim the ancient church a Minor Basilica. With this honor, Pope John XXIII conferred upon it all the spiritual privileges of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The canopy, called a Pavilion, and the staff and belfry in the sanctuary are symbols of this honor."

It's also apparently the oldest stone church in the U.S. I found this picture of the interior:

[Pyro7480]

Catholic ping!

[trisham]

Beautiful!

[neb52]

That is very beautiful!

The missions around San Antonio, TX were built in the 1750s and they are stone. Does that not count since they have only been in the US since 1845?

[Pyro7480]

No idea how they came to that determination.

[neb52]

Make that 1731.

[neb52]

No problem I was just curios why they stated that.

[Salvation]

**And, their goal was to pray the rosary for the family structure in America at the country's oldest stone church, and the first in the United States to be dedicated to the Sacred Heart.**

Their purpose of praying for families and family structure coincides with the Intentions of the Holy Father for this month!

AUGUST 2008

General:
That the human family may learn to respect God’s plan for the world and become ever more aware that Creation is God’s great gift.

Mission:
That the answer of the entire people of God to the common calling to holiness and mission may be promoted and fostered by means of careful discernment of charisms and constant commitment to spiritual and cultural formation