1947 Chronicles (16): Rosary Pilgrimage

October 1947 saw our first Pilgrimage in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary. By November, our home was looking more and more like a monastery, and we were finally able to have a bit of a respite with our annual retreat.

“The first October Pilgrimage in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary was attended by about fifteen hundred people. The services were held outdoors on the mound which was directly across from the Monastery. Benches and folding chairs which we had borrowed from funeral parlors, schools, and churches had been arranged around the base of the mound for the use of the pilgrims. The rosary was said aloud by all the pilgrims as they walked in procession. Leading the procession was a lovely statue of Our Lady which had been adorned very beautifully on a baldachin, decorated with real roses. The baldachin was carried by four prominent men of Connecticut who had become our benefactors.

“After the rosary procession, an inspiring sermon was preached by Rev. Walter G. Moran, O.P. of St. Mary’s Priory in New Haven. Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament was given outdoors during which we sang and were heard very clearly by the people through a loudspeaker. In addition to our beloved Chaplain and Father Moran, the following priests were present: Rev. Matthew Hyland, O.P., Rev. John S. Hynes, pastor of St. George’s Church in Guilford, and Rev. Edmund J. Cotter of St. Mary’s Church in Branford.

“The pilgrimage had been offered to God as a prayer for peace for our Church and country. Our Chaplain, Father Moore, told us later that many of the pilgrims climbed the stone steps of the mound up to the altar on which the Blessed Sacrament was placed, on their knees.

“Over the weekend of October 12th, the community was honored with another visit from Msgr. Joseph Nelson who gave us a series of conferences on St. Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians. Msgr. Nelson is Vicar of Religious for the Archdiocese of New York, so it was indeed a privilege to have him with us as his time is very limited.

“By November, the interior of our farm house was gradually assuming a more monastic appearance. The old oak floors, black with age, were sanded to a blond shade and waxed so that they now shine like glass. The famous window between our community room and refectory was removed and a spacious double door was installed, giving a more dignified way of passing between these two rooms. Our cells were also completed, finally with a door on each one!

“In November, we also rejoiced over the arrival of a Purgatorian enrollment all the way from Spain. This was a visible sign to us that our apostolate for the Poor Souls through our Purgatorian Society is growing.

“[After eleven months of nonstop work and prayer, we were ready for our first annual retreat.] Rev. A.B. Dionne, O.P. stationed in St. Vincent Ferrer’s Priory in New York conducted the retreat from November 16th to 26th.”

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