Annual walking pilgrimage unites faithful in Mary
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
By Christina Leslie | Staff Writer
“It was like a retreat on the road,” declared Father Jacek Labinski, pastor of St. Hedwig Parish, Trenton, as he recalled the 37-mile pilgrimage made by the faithful to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa Shrine in Doylestown, Pa., Aug. 8-9.
More than 300 pilgrims from St. Hedwig, neighboring Divine Mercy Parish and surrounding Catholic churches completed the 13th annual two-day trek from Trenton to the shrine near the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, echoing their Catholic brethren around the world who ask the Blessed Virgin for her loving intercession.
A pleasant late-summer morning greeted the pilgrims assembled in St. Hedwig Church who had gathered at 6 a.m. for Exposition and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, then began their first leg of the journey bound for Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, West Trenton. After breakfast, they continued their travels across the Delaware and Raritan Canal and over the Washington Crossing Bridge to rest in Pennsylvania’s Friends of Washington Crossing Park.
“There were hundreds, from kids in carriages to adults in their 60s and 70s,” said Father Labinski of the stream of participants eager to pay homage to the Blessed Virgin. “Along the way, there were prayers, singing and witness stories.”
After a rest stop in Newtown, Pa., the group proceeded to their dinner destination to a rural farm in Bucks County, Pa., where they set up camp for the night. A candlelight Mass celebrated by Pauline Fathers was followed by prayer and lights out for the weary pilgrims.
Many of the travelers took advantage of the opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Father Labinski recalled. “I listened to so many great confessions,” he said. “Some were like conversions. It was a really rewarding time.”
Early the next morning, after breakfast the pilgrims set out on the last leg of their spiritual journey to the shrine, where they were joined by thousands of others from Great Meadows. Archbishop Thomas Wenski from the Archdiocese of Miami was principal celebrant of a Mass at the shrine that afternoon.
Father Labinski explained the motivation behind the pilgrims’ journey to the Pennsylvania shrine, saying, “This is because of our faith. It is like the [pilgrimages] we did in Poland in tribute to the Black Madonna.”
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By Christina Leslie | Staff Writer
“It was like a retreat on the road,” declared Father Jacek Labinski, pastor of St. Hedwig Parish, Trenton, as he recalled the 37-mile pilgrimage made by the faithful to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa Shrine in Doylestown, Pa., Aug. 8-9.
More than 300 pilgrims from St. Hedwig, neighboring Divine Mercy Parish and surrounding Catholic churches completed the 13th annual two-day trek from Trenton to the shrine near the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, echoing their Catholic brethren around the world who ask the Blessed Virgin for her loving intercession.
A pleasant late-summer morning greeted the pilgrims assembled in St. Hedwig Church who had gathered at 6 a.m. for Exposition and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, then began their first leg of the journey bound for Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, West Trenton. After breakfast, they continued their travels across the Delaware and Raritan Canal and over the Washington Crossing Bridge to rest in Pennsylvania’s Friends of Washington Crossing Park.
“There were hundreds, from kids in carriages to adults in their 60s and 70s,” said Father Labinski of the stream of participants eager to pay homage to the Blessed Virgin. “Along the way, there were prayers, singing and witness stories.”
After a rest stop in Newtown, Pa., the group proceeded to their dinner destination to a rural farm in Bucks County, Pa., where they set up camp for the night. A candlelight Mass celebrated by Pauline Fathers was followed by prayer and lights out for the weary pilgrims.
Many of the travelers took advantage of the opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Father Labinski recalled. “I listened to so many great confessions,” he said. “Some were like conversions. It was a really rewarding time.”
Early the next morning, after breakfast the pilgrims set out on the last leg of their spiritual journey to the shrine, where they were joined by thousands of others from Great Meadows. Archbishop Thomas Wenski from the Archdiocese of Miami was principal celebrant of a Mass at the shrine that afternoon.
Father Labinski explained the motivation behind the pilgrims’ journey to the Pennsylvania shrine, saying, “This is because of our faith. It is like the [pilgrimages] we did in Poland in tribute to the Black Madonna.”
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