The New
A
priest of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X, Father Paul Aulagnier,
celebrated the traditional Mass in the Basilica dedicated to Saint Anne,
patroness of Canada, at Sainte Anne de Beaupré in the province of Québec, with
the full approval of the Archbishop of the region, Mgr. Marc Ouellete and the
religious authorities of the Basilica of Saint Anne. The right to say the
traditional Mass is for everyone, priests and the faithful. That is what they
say.
It was held Saturday, July 26 at 3:30
in the solemnity of Saint Anne before a great number of the faithful of
Tradition of Eastern Canada. This date will go down into the annals of the
Society in Canada.
Like
every year, in fact for about ten years, the faithful of Tradition have come on
pilgrimage to the basilica of Saint Anne de Beaupré, on the very day of her
feastday, July 26. They came to present to their patroness their vows and
fervent and pious prayers.
They thought, for this year, that they
would be celebrating the traditional Mass as usual outside of the Basilica, in
fact, every year it was not open to them for the holy Mass. The relics of Saint
Anne however were presented to them at the end of the afternoon for veneration
and benediction.
This year however, following the
celebration by Cardinal Castrillon-Hoyos of the traditional Mass at Saint Mary
Major on May 24, 2003, at Rome, following also the publication of the
encyclical of the Pope “Ecclesia de Eucharistia”, the idea came to have the
celebration of the Mass of all time in the Basilica and to present the request
to the archbishop, Mgr. Marc Ouellete, as such as he had just a little while
ago obtained his new functions and that, coming from Rome, he should be well
aware of the new orientations of Rome about liturgical matters...
This idea materialized. In the name of
his confreres, Father Paul Aulagnier, on a sabbatical year in this country,
presented this demand. He made it known in Rome, to the office of the
Congregation of the Clergy, presided by the same Cardinal Castrillon-Hoyos.
Rome supported the demand.
And thus, quietly and rightly, on July
21, 2003, at 10 o’clock in the morning, Father Paul Aulagnier, accompanied by
the lay person in charge of the pilgrimage, in the rooms of the Archdiocese,
received the permission: to celebrate the Mass of all time in the basilica of
Saint Anne. This venture was made neither in the name of ecumenism nor in the
name of some liberal gestures coming from the weakness of authority, but by the
sole title of “right of citizenship” that was finally granted to the
traditional Mass, as Cardinal Castrillon-Hoyos liked to say at Saint Mary Major, May 24, 2003.
And this is how more than 600
faithful, for the first time since 10 years, could follow with recollection and
piety the holy Mass they loved in the Basilica, in the crypt which strongly
resembles the crypt of the Basilica of Saint Teresa of Lisieux.
Saint Anne de Beaupré, Lisieux.
Canadian land.
Normand Land. Lands that are close friends. Many of the faithful are part of
Honfleur, in Normand land and more particularly form Notre Dame de Grâce, a
beautiful chapel of the 17th century which dominates the wide
estuary of the Seine, only to rejoin Canada.
It is why, indeed, we can read on one
of the walls of the little chapel of Notre Dame de Grâce this inscription:
Notre Dame de Grâce and Saint Anne Normandie, Bretagne, Canada.
Our Lady of
Grace, from whom the Word of God was made flesh, had for mother Saint Anne.
For
many and long centuries, Bretons and
Tisserans, rural Normands, had saint Anne as their patroness. In leaving France
for Canada in the XVI and XVII centuries, they made her patroness of their new
country.
In 1532, on Mont Saint Michael, by the
request of Cardinal Le Veneur, Bishop of Lisieux, Jacques Cartier is designated
by Francis the 1st as explorer of the new lands. In 1534, at Gaspé,
he takes possession of Canada.
In 1541, party of Saint Malo, Cartier,
party of Honfleur, of the Roque de
Roberval installs the first Bretons and Normands colonies on the shore of
the Saint Lawrence and founded at Beaupré the sanctuary of Saint Anne in 1558.
In 1603, from Pont-Grave, accompanied
by Champlain, (founded) part of Honfleur for Canada.
Since 1608,at the departure from
Honfleur, Champlain transports all the Bas-Normands in eight trips.
In remembrance of these common bonds,
Normands, Bretons and Canadians celebrate Saint Anne every year here.