Magnificat Pilgrimage of Hope
October 15th, 2008 by Fr. Pius, OP
Columbus Day Weekend saw the 2008 Magnificat Pilgrimage of Hope in the city of Boston. Nearly 2,000 prople gathered at the Boston convention center to attend this conference, sponsored by the publishers of the popular Magnificat worship aid. The editor-in-chief of the English edition of Magnificat is our Dominican brother, Fr. Peter John Cameron, O.P. In addition, the Senior Editor is Fr. Romanus Cessario, O.P., who also teaches dogmatic theology at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton, MA.
Needless to say, a number of Dominicans were on hand for this event. Fr. Andrew Hofer, OP, offered a workshop entitled “Lift up your Hearts” on praying the different parts of the Mass. Fr. Peter Girard, OP, offered a talk on “Making Senses of Scripture: The Hidden Richness of Biblical Texts”. Magnificat’s art expert, Fr. Michael Morris, OP, reflected on praying with sacred images. In addition, Frs. James Cuddy, OP, Dominic Legge, OP, and Aquinas Guilbeau, OP, were on hand as confessors to all those attending.
One of the highpoints of the weekend was the closing Mass celebrated by His Eminence, Sean Cardinal O’Malley, the Archbishop of Boston. Among those concelebrating with Cardinal O’Malley was His Eminence, Jean-Pierre Cardinal Ricard, the Archbishop of Bordeaux. The Pilgrimage of Hope also coincided with the 200 Anniversary of the establishment of the Diocese of Boston in 1808. The first Bishop of Boston, His Eminence John Lefevre Cardinal de Cheverus, eventually became the Archbishop of Bordeaux. A video of this Mass can be found on the Boston CatholicTV website by clicking here.
The picture above is the altar and sanctuary from the closing Mass at the Boston Convention Center. The picture at left is the official image of the Pilgrimage, Mary Mother of Divine Hope.
