S.S.P.X Act of Reparation in Fatima
Posted by at 8:04 AM
I shall attempt to translate a summary accompanied by some of the best pictures. For the rest of the pictures you can visit the link. I apologise in advance if my translations are not 100% accurate, as my French is more than a little rusty after years of under use. Nevertheless, I think I shall be able to give our readers a good "taste" of the pilgrimage. Keep in mind the necessity for this pilgrimage: the desecration of the Fatima shrine by Hindu pagans, abetted by the shrine rector and local bishop (neither of whom have been punished by the Vatican).
For tradition, a tent church; a visible sign of persecution.
For Hindus, the sanctuary of Fatima; a visible sign of œcumenical sacrelige.
A Link to Bishop Fellay's sermon in four languages and the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary by the four bishops. (Of course, these four bishops do not constitute all the bishops of the world, nor do they include the Pope in their number, so this doesn't come close to satisfying Our Lady's request, but it certainly doesn't hurt. Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!)
On Saturday, 20th August, 2005, several hundred faithful assisted, by linguistic group, at various conferences on the message of Fatima, œcumenism and restoration given by bishops and priests. I have included pictures of Bishops Williamson and Tissier de Mallerais delivering their conferences. A Ukrainian priest of the traditional Society of St. Josephat stands next to Bp. Tissier de Mallerais in the lower picture. The same evening, Fr. Jacqmin presented a film on the history of the S.S.P.X.
On Sunday, 21st August, 2005, the pontifical mass was celebrated by Bishop Fellay in a meadow near Fatima.
The article continues with yet more pictures showing the nearly 2,000 faithful in attendance under the blazing Portugese sun (N.B. the modest dress which one could juxtapose with the comportment of the thousands that attended the W.Y.D. mass). I have included but a small sampling here.
The article reports that enthusiasm and meditation were "palpable". A large a thank you to Father Lorber and his chorale for the beauty of the chants and hymns. Large thanks, also, to the incredible devotion, without fault, of the three Windel brothers and their friends who provided the sound system, ushering, &c.; all with a kindness and a professionalism which did honour to catholicity!
All of the traditional communities "alligned" with the S.S.P.X were represented: around fifty religious sisters, and more than 150 friars, seminarians, monks and priests. Deo gratias!
The four bishops of the Society, as requested by Our Lady of Fatima (as communicated to Lucy), then consecrated Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The pontifical mass was completed around 1 p.m., followed by the act of consecration. As reported previously, this all began at 10:00 a.m.
At 5:00 p.m. traditional Stations of the Cross were conducted in five different languages (at five different locations) - the languages were French, English, Spanish, Polish, and Ukrainian. In the above pictures we see Father Angel of Bellaigue "distracting" some sisters of the S.S.P.X on their way to where the Stations would begin, and in the lower picture, faithful on the Way of the Cross. This was completed around 8:00 p.m.
On Monday, 22nd August, 2005, after the low mass, which gathered nearly 2,000 pilgrims once again, Fathers Bouchacourt (French), Couture (English), de Montagut (Spanish) and Stehlin (German and Polish) explained to the pilgrims, in frank and "direct" terms why it was necessary to make this act of reparation. The Mother of God had been insulted and God had been insulted, by an act sacrilege made in the very sanctuary of Fatima. It was required then, for the honour and glory of God, to make reparation for this insult to His Holy Mother!
The international procession then moved out for the act of reparation. The whole planet was represented, although it seemed that Germany and France had the largest contingents. But the Americans, both North and the South, had also come in great numbers. Switzerland, relative to its Catholic population, had by far the best representation. Belgium and the Netherlands were not far behind. Austria, the Baltic States, Russia, Ukraine, Singapore, China, India also had a successful showing of delegates, as they too, desired to make reparation in the name of the universal Church. Africa did not miss this opportunity for penitence and of reparation, with several misionnaires dressed in their very white habits. The procession, immense and colourful, impressed the Portugese locals and many of them stopped the bishops to ask for blessings.
(Finally, the grand conclusion!) The four bishops of the S.S.P.X knelt in front of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima under Capelhina.
The arrival on the esplanade went well and attracted the curious glances of the tourist-pilgrims of Fatima. The language of the Church, Latin, resounded on the esplanade of Fatima as the Litanie of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Litanies of the Blessed Virgin were chanted. With the traditional pilgrims' arrival in front of Capelhina, a group of ten guards of the sanctuary tried to dissuade the pilgrims from advancing in front of Capelhina under the pretext that they did not have written authorization from the shrine recrtor, due to his absence... (the Rector had received Father Maret and had given his agreement for "an" hour of prayer....). But since when does one need an official paper to make reparation for the ridiculed honour of Our Lady? 2,000 faithful pushed slowly past, and the barriers opened or rather... yielded.
(Now, my rusty French had some difficulty with this last bit, so the details may be a bit off ...) During the recitation of the rosary for reparation, two cleaning ladies decided to vacuum in Capelhina. Under the general words of dissaproval, including that of the Portuguese pilgrims, the cleaners beat a slow retreat. Then two [Novus Ordo] nuns arrived who wanted to sing with the microphone a Portuguese song ... It was microphone against microphone: as the volume went up, the tempers started to warm as well. Unfortunately, a Redemptorist brother could not hold his temper any longer: he jumped the barriers and drew himself up in front of the nuns to put an end to this new insult.
It took the intervention of the police and an unambiguous order from Bishop de Galarreta, before the brother who had taken holy but regrettable anger joined his place in the procession and took up again the recitation of the rosary which was immediately stopped by the sound system of the sanctuary being put to maximum volume by the "authorities", playing loud music ...
The rosary was concluded, the act of reparation pronounced and attended to, the honour of the Blessed Virgin was raised up: thank you, God and forgive all the sins of the world.
I must say that having read of this wonderful pilgrimage my spirits are totally restored after the blow they took over the last few days from W.Y.D. and the new advancements in oecumenism. It was a real pleasure seeing all this true, old school, Catholicism in these pictures. May God have mercy on us through this act of reparation, so sorely needed after the desecration of the Hindu ceremony. The only hint of meloncholy over this stems from the fact that only the S.S.P.X undertook this good work, and that my wife and I were unable to attend due to my inability to get time off work. Just seeing the pictures, hearing Bishop Fellay's solidly Catholic sermon, and reading of the weekend's events filled me with joy and enthusuasm nevertheless. I encourage our readers to follow the links I provided and see all of the pictures.
Addendum: A tip of the bowler to "Jimmy the Hand" for providing the following LINK which gives further information and a first-hand account of the event. He posted this in the comments section but I wanted to put it up with the main article to ensure everyone sees it.
Posted on the Feast of St. Louis IX, a.D. MMV