Sep 1, 2002 By Suzanne Hance 4 min read

Thousands of Byzantine Catholics converged on Mount St. Macrina on Saturday, focusing on peace and reflecting on the changes of the past year. This weekend, the Sisters of St. Basil the Great are holding the 68th annual pilgrimage in honor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

The event features activities for both young and old, including a tent for grade-school-age children with crafts and talks, a tent for teen-agers, a program for young adults and another for parents.

Veronica Varge, director of development and personal relations at Mount Macrina, said this year’s theme, “Mary, Our Mother Model of Peace,” focuses on aspects of peace in people’s lives, including peace on a world level and peace on individual and family levels.

“I think definitely” the theme is related to Sept. 11 and the conflicts and uncertainty in the past year, said Varge, adding that the retreat has greater significance to people now because of Sept. 11 and events that have occurred since then.

This year, according to Varge, people are thinking about who they were spiritually last year and how things have changed for them, and they are looking to be “refilled and renewed.”

While Saturday’s crowd was large, Varge expects Sunday’s to be even greater. According to the sisters, 8,000 to 10,000 people usually attend the pilgrimage during the weekend. To Varge, as many people have turned out this year as usual, but she has seen more younger families.

Basil M. Schott, metropolitan archbishop of the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh, said the liturgy Friday night had a larger turnout than usual, which he attributed to Sept. 11.

“People are coming to grips with their faith and coming to grips with peace,” he said.

As is typical every year, the pilgrimage attracts people from near and far.

Pavol Jenco, a Roman Catholic deacon from eastern Slovakia, said he was in the United States to visit a friend in Florida. That friend, a Roman Catholic priest and pastor, comes to the pilgrimage every year, so Jenco came with him.

Jenco said he likes to meet people from the U.S. who may have ancestors from Slovakia, and he likes to see how their lives are different here. He said life in the U.S. seems a littler faster than in Slovakia, but not too different.

Father Moses, who lives in Holy Resurrection Monastery in Newberry Springs, Calif., said the monastery tries to send a representative to the pilgrimage every year, and this year was his fifth.

He said he loves to come to the pilgrimage because “it’s always encouraging to see so many people come together.” He added that the theme of the pilgrimage this year is appropriate, considering events of the past year.

Closer to home, Joe Prakopchak, who lives about 30 miles from Mount Macrina, has come to the retreat for more than 50 years because it’s a “fulfillment of our spirituality. Everything about our church is here.”

Prakopchak said the significance of the service has not changed for him since Sept. 11.

“I look forward to this every year,” he said but acknowledged that the pilgrimage is different for many people, who are now looking more toward spirituality.

Sister Ruth Plante, the provincial at Mount Macrina, said people seem to be looking for comfort after a year filled with “tension everywhere” and an “unsettled atmosphere of not knowing.” So, the pilgrimage has more meaning to people after Sept. 11, she added.

“You have to experience it to understand,” Sister Plante said about the significance of the event to the pilgrims.

In her 40th year in the community and her 42nd pilgrimage, Sister Plante said many people have never missed a pilgrimage. For many, the pilgrimage is a reunion for those who see each other once a year, and some families have four generations attending, she added.

She added that the number of young people attending has grown, perhaps because of the youth rallies and activities.

“They have a place that’s theirs,” she said, referring to the youth tent.

Sister Plante thanked the nearly 400 volunteers and 87 sisters who helped with the event, adding that without them, the pilgrimage would not have been possible.

“It’s been wonderful,” she said, noting that everyone has been especially “energized and upbeat” this year.

Among Saturday’s events were a vocal prayer service during the day at an open shelter and a candlelight service and candlelight procession in the evening. The pilgrimage continues through Monday.