Relishing the natural beauty of the appropriately named Eden Hill, more than 100 pilgrims gathered April 15 on the grounds of the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Mass.
Men and women from all corners of the Diocese of Allentown accompanied Bishop Alfred Schlert and Father Allen Hoffa on a two-day pilgrimage to the Shrine of the Divine Mercy and the National Shrine of the North American Martyrs in Auriesville, N.Y.
Father Hoffa, Director of Diocesan Pilgrimages, explained that a pilgrimage, while enjoyable, is “not a vacation” but rather “an opportunity to grow closer in relationship with God.”
“To make a significant pilgrimage this Jubilee Year is important for helping grow the faith of the people— which the Diocese has been doing for 65 years,” he said.
The National Shrine of the Divine Mercy is the site of the Northeast’s largest celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday, which occurred just three days before the April 15 pilgrimage.
Bishop Schlert celebrated Mass in the shrine’s main chapel, which houses an image of the Divine Mercy above the altar, flanked by hand-carved figures of the 12 Apostles. Recitation of the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy followed the Mass.
“It was a holy experience,” said Priscilla Pecca, a parishioner of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Pen Argyl, who was there with her husband, Robert. “I felt the presence of the Saints whose statues and pictures surrounded us, especially St. Maria Faustina, whose relic we were able to venerate.”
Pilgrims had the opportunity to pray before the shrine’s life-sized Stations of the Cross before departing for an overnight stay in Schenectady, N.Y., near the National Shrine of the North American Martyrs.
The martyrs’ shrine stands on the grounds of the former Mohawk village where the three Jesuit missionaries Isaac Jogues, René Goupil, and John Lalande were put to death in the 1640s. The site is also the birthplace of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American Saint.
Mass at the shrine’s main church, the Coliseum, was celebrated by Bishop Schlert, with concelebrants Father Hoffa, Father Keith Mathur, Chancellor, Father Hubert Asante Kumi, Assistant Pastor at St. Patrick, Pottsville, and Father Giuseppe Esposito, Pastor of St. Anne, Bethlehem. The Coliseum’s high altar was built to resemble a log stockade in honor of the martyrs who were imprisoned, tortured, and killed within such structures.
“The Church is watered by the blood of martyrs,” said Bishop Schlert in his homily. “Yesterday at the Divine Mercy shrine, we remembered the blood and water that flowed from Our Lord’s side. Today we see how that birth of the Church in blood and water continues through martyrs’ blood. So this is very sacred territory.”
After the Mass, in a touching gesture of love for Our Lady, the concelebrants gathered before a statue of the Blessed Mother and sang the “Regina Coeli” (“Queen of Heaven”).
The relics of both St. Kateri Tekakwitha and St. Isaac Jogues were venerated by the pilgrims, who soon after boarded the motorcoach for a side trip to the National Shrine of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the “Lily of the Mohawks.”
On the shrine grounds is the still-flowing spring that provided St. Kateri’s Baptismal water. Pilgrims blessed themselves with the spring’s water, which filled a large stone font inside the shrine. St. Kateri was Baptized on Easter Sunday, April 5, 1676, so the 350th anniversary of her Baptism had just taken place.
Emilie Heesen, a pilgrim from St. Anne, Bethlehem, shared her enthusiasm for the “fabulous spiritual renewal trip.”
“It is hopeful to be with so many who are witnesses to Christ’s love,” she said. “We are recharged to be missionaries of faith in our homes, workplaces, and community.”
A “Walk in the Footsteps of St. Paul” pilgrimage to Greece will be led by Father Hoffa Oct. 11-21. See the flyer here.
Photos by Tricia Christ and Celeste Behe.
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