Cataldo Pilgrimage to the Sacred Heart Mission, 2011

CATALDO, ID
7-27-2011

Chanting, “Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus, Christus imperat!” with all of their might, 150 pilgrims marched up the hill to the Sacred Heart Mission behind the cross on July 24, 2011, where the Votive Mass of the Sacred Heart and the Act of Consecration of the Human Race to the Sacred Heart would complete the three day, 50 mile pilgrimage from Immaculate Conception Church in Post Falls to the Sacred Heart Mission in Cataldo, ID. They had all trekked through the cities of Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene and over a part of the Coeur d’Alene Mountains to reach their destination, but some had traveled further to attend: from Oregon, Montana, Minnesota, Missouri and even Switzerland. Many of those people passed on the way asked, “What are you doing?” The immediate answer is simple: we are walking. But for anyone to understand the nature of this walk, we must answer the two questions the first implies: where? and why?

So where were we walking? The pilgrimage’s destination was the Sacred Heart Mission, the oldest building in Idaho, and in fact, older than the state itself. In 1842, the Jesuit priest, Fr. Pierre-Jean De Smet responded to the Coeur d’Alene tribe’s request for the “Black robes” to come and instruct the people in the Catholic Faith. This missionary accomplished amazing feats among the Native Americans. His travels effectively took him around the world seven times. The current location is the Mission’s second site and the construction was initiated in 1850 by Fr. Antonio Ravali. It was completed in 1853. Idaho did not become a state until 1890. Who says the United States does not have Catholic roots?

Now, more important than where, but why were we walking? First of all, a pilgrimage is a public manifestation of what we believe. More specifically, in this case, we were following in the footsteps of Fr. De Smet, carrying on the Catholic tradition that he brought to this area over 100 years ago. We were showing the world around us that the Truth that he brought to Inland Northwest still holds today. Nothing has changed; it has not since time began, nor will it when time ends. Secondly, a pilgrimage is a chance to manifest our generosity and to do reparation, both for our own faults and for the sins of those around us and of the whole world. We walked to the Sacred Heart Mission with this intention as well, and we proved it through the Consecration we said after Mass. The Sacred Heart Himself, and the Blessed Virgin Mary have, on numerous occasions in the last 400 years, appeared, and each time they bring the same message: the world requires prayer and penance. A pilgrimage does just that. It joins these two necessities of the spiritual life into one act, helping us to ensure that, if we participate generously, we are doing our part.

Though people from all parts of the USA as well as Europe attended this pilgrimage, the group was very small, leaving much to hope for in future years. God will not be outdone in generosity. How difficult is it to give three days of the year, perhaps a week if one needs to travel, to Him? How about just one? But it is important to keep in mind that walking is not the only way to participate in a pilgrimage. This year there were close to 100 souls who dedicated their time to ensuring that the pilgrimage ran smoothly, providing hot meals at breakfast and dinner, hauling water, and countless other small tasks that perhaps no one will ever know but those who performed them and God. Without these people, the pilgrimage would be a complete catastrophe. They may not have walked, but they effected the pilgrimage simply by their union with it. The spirit on this year’s pilgrimage was full of generosity and a willingness to do God’s Will, but we lacked a sufficient number of generous souls to make the result completel satisfactory. Hopefully next year will bring ten times the number of souls to join in the battle. For if God is for us, who is against us?

Cataldo Pilgrimage to the Sacred Heart Mission, 2011

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