JUBILEE YEAR 2000, ROME: PROCESSION OF THE PRIESTLY
SOCIETY OF ST. PIUS X
FROM THE COMMENT SECTION ON ‘CHIESA E POST CONCILIO’
BLOG – 17-8-2025
COMMENT no.1
The inclusion in the Official General Calendar of the Jubilee [of 2025] of the great pilgrimage by the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X (Lefebvrians), which will take place on Thursday, August 21, has caused surprise and, on the part of the most fervent progressives, significant consternation. The pilgrimage will bring to Rome some 600 priests and at least 500 religious sisters and faithful from the Institute founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. The procession will enter the Holy Door from Via della Conciliazione, led by the Superior General, Father Davide Pagliarani, who will carry the cross.
It should be remembered that at the Jubilee of 2000,
proclaimed by Saint John Paul II, there was a large pilgrimage to Rome of
faithful connected with the Society, coming from five continents. The large
number of participants and their composure greatly impressed the Pope and the
Roman Curia.
Anonymous
COMMENT no.2
I was part of the Holy Year pilgrimage in the middle of August, 2000. I remember it vividly. We lined up and steadily marched along Via della Conciliazione, distinct by nation, with the priests and nuns at the head, like a well-deployed army. It was hot but bearable. Civilians silently gathered at the windows of the various offices and hotels on Via della Conciliziane, no doubt surprised by the presence of what seemed like a "medieval" or, at any rate, long-time gone Catholicism.
The procession proceeded slowly, solemnly, in perfect order; only the chanting of the accompanying litanies recited by the pilgrims could be heard. I felt a lump form in my throat. At the entrance to the portico preceding the entrance to the Basilica, there were wooden barriers that were opened and closed periodically to regulate the flow of people into the church. When I arrived, they temporarily closed the barrier in my face - so to speak. Beyond, an elderly "Sanpietrino"* complete with braided uniform, towered, surrounded by two or three young men in yellow vests manning the barriers. This imposing gentleman, with the utmost seriousness (I heard it with my own ears) was telling the young men in vests not to worry (the SSPX had been given the false repute of being an enemy of the Pope), because, he said aloud: "... these here are Catholics [and he indicated the SSPX pilgrims with a broad gesture of his arm] not those others [and he made a gesture of turning, indicating the apostolic palaces with the other arm]. These people here, not those others, are the official Church.”
John Paul II also allowed the SSPX to participate officially
in the Jubilee. Anyone who pretends to be surprised today is not well informed.
pp
*'Sanpietrino' here refers to a person who has worked at St. Peters for a long, long time and is metaphorically part of the cobblestones.
Source: https://www.blogger.com/comment/fullpage/post/5570132738557818436/6779643931573659042
