Why this pilgrimage ?

For Jesus and Mary.

To honour the Heart of Mary and the Heart of Jesus.

For the same reasons that led Pius XI to allow the celebration of uninterrupted Masses for 3 days at Lourdes in 1935. We invite you to refer to the encyclical Quod Tam Alacri, which can be downloaded here free of charge.

So that the successive Masses for the nations may be a visible sign and witness: God’s love for us never ceases, it extends to all the countries of the world and to all Creation.

Why Saint-Laurent sur Sèvre and Loublande?

Because this pilgrimage honours the Immaculate and Sorrowful Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus, her Eucharistic Heart. This Eucharistic pilgrimage starts from the Virgin Mary at the foot of the Cross, from the Marian shrine of Saint-Laurent sur Sèvre.

This Eucharistic pilgrimage is proposed in the spirit of the Perpetual Mass, whose spirituality is preserved at the Loublande shrine. There are also other pilgrimages to Loublande, in full communion with the archdiocese of Poitiers. While awaiting the Church’s decision on Claire Ferchaud’s request, each member of the faithful was allowed to take part in a pilgrimage of private devotion.

In 1917, unconnected with the message of Loublande and the placing of the Sacred Heart on the flag of France, Cardinal Bourne, Primate of England, presided over a ceremony at Paray-le-Monial to consecrate all the allied armies to the Sacred Heart. The Sacred Heart was then emblazoned on all the flags of the allied nations. This pilgrimage can also be seen as a continuation of this, and a demonstration of the Sacred Heart’s love for all the countries of the world.

Why was 15 September chosen?

For the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. On this day, the Church especially honours the Blessed Virgin Mary at the foot of the Cross, when she presents the greatest offering, that of her Son, endures his greatest pain and expresses his greatest love. It was also at the foot of the Cross that Christ entrusted to her Saint John, and through him all human beings.

At Rue du Bac, the Virgin Mary showed herself as presenting the offering of the world, of each country and each person, and receiving in return graces that she spreads over the world. In Tuy, the Virgin Mary appeared to Sister Lucia at the foot of the Cross during the Son’s offering to the Father. Her whole life was one of thanksgiving and union with the Presence of Christ and his Sacrifice, and for these reasons Saint John Paul II called her a « Eucharistic woman » (encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia vivit).

So we come to offer our countries and ourselves, through the hands of the Blessed Virgin, in union with her Immaculate and Sorrowful Heart at the foot of the Cross.

Other elements of Marian piety have inspired this pilgrimage.

The gathering of the nations around Mary and the Eucharist will also evoke the 12 stars around Mary in the Apocalypse, the 12 stars grouped around the altar and the Hearts of Jesus and Mary on the miraculous medal in the Rue du Bac, and the 12 tribes of Israel grouped around the Tent of Meeting and the Perpetual Sacrifice.

Is the Perpetual Mass Claire Ferchaud’s idea?

It’s up to the Church to decide. However, independently of her request, the project of a Perpetual Mass celebrated for all nations can also be understood as the continuation of the pontifical initiative of Pius XI in 1935, and the continuity of elements already existing in the Church.

What is to be thought of the Perpetual Mass?

Regardless of Claire Ferchaud’s request, the Eucharist is « the source and summit » of the Christian life (Saint John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia vivit). That a succession of Masses in one place is pleasing to God is not surprising.

All the more so since in 1935, with no connection to Claire Ferchaud, Pope Pius XI ordered that for three days without interruption, Masses be celebrated at Lourdes to spread the fruits of the Redemption over the world, to confront the growth of sin and the threats of the times.

The last three popes (Saint John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis) have all written to make the greatness of the fruits of the Eucharist better understood, and have all written to denounce the growth of sin and the imminent dangers that humanity has prepared for itself. According to the writings of the popes, the reasons given in 1935 are even more true and valid today.

Finally, in the light of new studies, the Perpetual Mass requested by Clare seems to be in line with the continuity of Scripture and of all devotion to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary (cf Who we are and books available on the subject).

The Perpetual Mass was requested in the 20s of the 20th century. Does it still correspond to the needs of our time?

The feast of the Sacred Heart, requested in 1689, was granted by the Church in 1765, a wait of 76 years. The request for the consecration of Russia, made in 1917, was fulfilled in 2022, a wait of 105 years. The request for a Perpetual Mass is not behind schedule.

Perpetual Mass, in the spirit of Claire Ferchaud, is an intercession to ask forgiveness for the sins of the world, to obtain the reconciliation of Earth with Heaven, and the sending of the Holy Spirit. Is the world still sinful today? The last 3 popes say yes, more seriously than ever. Does the world need the Holy Spirit? We think so.

About the needs of our time, we can also note that :

the Perpetual Mass in one place is a visible sign to call to live the unceasing union with God in the heart of each person, to keep his heart from dispersion and futility, while all the current commercial techniques aim to seize man’s attention and if possible his heart.

By explicitly bringing together all peoples, the Perpetual Mass is a sign and a call to fraternity with all, to an end to hatred and to peace in all and between all. We believe our world needs it.

What elements already exist in the Church to support the request for a Perpetual Mass?

This pilgrimage is also being made :

  • In homage to God’s unceasing love for us, He who « is He who is » (Exodus 3:14), eternally present. So that God may be honoured « on Earth as it is in Heaven » (Matthew 6:10), following the example of the praise He receives in Heaven (Exodus 25:9), without visible interruption.
  • In the spirit of perpetual Eucharistic adoration and to make the Church’s perpetual adoration visible, because « the celebration of the Eucharist… is in itself the Church’s greatest act of adoration » (Sacramentum Caritatis).
  • In the spirit of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, who asked for the consecration of the nations, and of the Lord’s command to the 12 apostles « to go and baptise the nations » (Matthew 28:19)
  • In the spirit of devotion to the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, to make visible in a shrine the unceasing union that the Lord wants to live with us in the sanctuary of our souls.
  • In union with the prayer of the Pope, « sign and servant of the unity of the Universal Church » (Catechism of the Catholic Church §1369), « perpetual and visible principle and foundation of the unity which binds together either the bishops or the multitude of the faithful » (Vatican Council II, dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium).
  • In the spirit of the « marathon of prayer » launched by Pope Francis in May 2021: « From the whole Church prayer unceasingly rises to God », to achieve a continuous prayer united to that of the Holy Father.
  • In the spirit of the Liturgy of the Hours, which is « like an extension of the Eucharistic celebration » (Catechism of the Catholic Church, §1178). « The faithful who celebrate the Liturgy of the Hours unite themselves to Christ, our High Priest […] in order to be associated with his unceasing and universal prayer which gives glory to the Father and implores the gift of the Holy Spirit over the whole world. » (§1196). For « Jesus accomplished all the Father’s work, and his prayer, like his Sacrifice, extends to the consummation of time. The prayer of the Hour fills the latter times and brings them to their consummation ». (§2749)
  • In evocation of the 12 tribes gathered around the Perpetual Sacrifice, the sacrifice of Atonement (still celebrated by our Jewish brothers under the name of Yom Kippur, or Great Forgiveness), and the great pilgrimage feasts of the Jews, all elements that prefigured the Eucharist.
  • In the spirit of the Perpetual Mass as described and requested by Claire Ferchaud in the name of Christ

Is this pilgrimage organised by lay people?

Yes, like the Chartres pilgrimage and the construction of the Montmartre basilica.

Who will be accompanying this pilgrimage?

This year, we’ll be lucky enough to have Father de Massia, the national chaplain for the Chartres pilgrimage, teaching us on the theme of Sacrifice. We will also be accompanied by Father François Marot, author of a book on the Perpetual Mass, and a resident of Loublande.