Pilgrimage in Washington, D.C., Sept. 28 included preaching, adoration, confession, praying the Rosary and more
WASHINGTON — Thousands of pilgrims from across the country gathered at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington Sept. 28 to honor Mary, the Mother of God, and her gift of the Rosary.
“I am entirely yours, Mary, I am entirely yours,” the crowd sang in Latin as the second annual Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage opened with a procession of a statue of Mary, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary. “All that I have, Mother of Christ, all that I have is yours.”
More than 3,000 people registered for the free, daylong pilgrimage celebrating the Rosary hosted by the Dominican Friars of the Province of St. Joseph and their local charters of the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary, a spiritual association dedicated to the Rosary. Dominican friars and sisters dotted a diverse crowd of men and women, young and old, individuals and families of different cultures and backgrounds.
The event at the basilica, the largest Roman Catholic church in North America, included preaching, adoration, confession, book signings, a recitation of the Rosary, enrollment in the confraternity, Mass and an evening concert with the Hillbilly Thomists, a bluegrass band of Dominican friars.
A priest raised the monstrance as pilgrims gather for the Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington Sept. 28.
“Our two goals for the Dominican Rosary Pilgrimage are that people are led closer to Jesus Christ — and there is no one better at doing that and no one who desires that more than the Blessed Virgin Mary,” Dominican Father John Paul Kern, executive director of the Dominican Friars Foundation and director of the Rosary Shrine of St. Jude in Washington, said. “Secondly, that … we come to share in St. Dominic’s zeal for the salvation of souls.”
Founded by St. Dominic de Guzmán in 1216, the Dominican order, also known as the Order of Preachers, has a special relationship with the Rosary: According to tradition, Mary appeared to St. Dominic, entrusting the Rosary’s promotion to him.
The Rosary pilgrimage, the culmination of a nine-month novena said ahead of the event, drew people from near and far.
Sarah Garrett, 28, drove from Chester County in Pennsylvania with her husband, 3-year-old son and 1-year-old twin daughters to participate in the pilgrimage.
“We were just confirmed in March, so we haven’t done any pilgrimages yet,” she said. “We wanted to get together with everyone and be a part of all of the beautiful things that are taking place here today. … We wanted to expose our children to more people who are involved with the Church.”
She and her husband pray the Rosary daily, she said. They involve their young children as much as possible: Her son does his best to pray along while their daughters, she said, say “Amen” at the end.
For the pilgrimage, the basilica itself transformed into a kind of rosary, with its chapels dedicated to different mysteries of the Rosary, each housing a scene from the life of Jesus and Mary.
Dominican Father James Sullivan, prior at St. Dominic’s Priory in Washington and the principal preacher of the event, focused on the Annunciation, the first joyful mystery of the Rosary, when God becomes man in Mary’s womb. At that moment, God not only gives us His son but also the mother of His son, he said.
“The Annunciation is a gift to us of both Jesus and Mary, and both of them together weave the prayers of the Rosary,” Father Sullivan said.
He recognized Mary as “the compass on our pilgrimage to heaven.” “She leads the way to Jesus, to heaven, to our eternal happiness, Godward,” he told the crowd.
The pilgrims listening from the pews included Dennis and Mary Francis Musk, who drove more than 10 hours through the rain to arrive from New Hope, Kentucky. It was their first time attending the pilgrimage. They introduced themselves as lay Dominicans.
“That’s the main reason we came,” Mary Francis, 77, said, “but I always love to come to this basilica. … It’s beautiful, it’s just peaceful, it gives you a really good atmosphere to pray.”
Dennis, 71, said that they have always honored Mary, specifically in the Rosary. Involved in pro-life work since 1975, he said that they have been praying the Rosary outside of abortion clinics since the 1970s.
Father Kern, who is a convert to Catholicism, said that Jesus also led him to Mary.
“The Rosary had a strong role more in my growth in the faith after I made the initial leap,” he said. “It was through Jesus Christ in the Eucharist that I realized if He is there, that’s where I must be.”
But among the many gifts of entering the Church, he said, “was Jesus also saying, ‘Great, you came here for love of me. I’m also going to share my mother with you, and she’s going to help you draw even closer to me.’”
