Annual pilgrimage takes place this weekend at Mount St. Macrina
?Pilgrims are already on the grounds for the 77th annual pilgrimage in honor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help being held this weekend at Mount St. Macrina.
Residents of Arizona and the state of California have arrived with Bishop Gerald N. Dino of the Eparchy of Phoenix.
More pilgrims from throughout the country will travel today to Mount St. Macrina, home of the Sisters of St. Basil the Great, located on Route 40, just west of Uniontown.
Bishop William C. Skurla of the Eparchy of Passaic and administrator of the Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh, the Very Rev. Eugene Yackanich, administrator of the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh, and Sister Seraphim Olsafsky, provincial of the Sisters of St. Basil, are serving as directors for the pilgrimage conducted under the patronage of the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh.
This year’s theme is “Mary, Mysterious Treasure of God’s Providence.”
Liturgical events are taking place today through Monday but to accommodate the majority of people who will be at Mount St. Macrina Saturday and Sunday, the official opening has been moved to Saturday morning and the closing will take place Sunday evening. Today’s schedule includes vespers at 5:30 p.m. and compline at 8 p.m.
There also will be separate pilgrimages for teenagers and children. Sister Jean Marie Chiota of the Eparchy of Phoenix explained that each of the four eparchies (Parma, Ohio; Passaic, N.J.; Pittsburgh and Phoenix) of the Byzantine Catholic Church take turns coordinating these pilgrimages. This year, Phoenix is in charge.
“Cathetchists are coming from California, New Mexico and Arizona,” said Chiota, noting they include priests, deacons and lay people.
The theme for the teen pilgrimage is “Call to Holiness.” Speakers include Deacon Brian and Janet Escobedo and the Rev. Joseph Hutsko as well as seminarians. The teens are being asked to consider such questions as what does it meant to be a Byzantine Christian today?
The children’s pilgrimage follows the theme of the main pilgrimage and features a hunt for treasure boxes that include a replica of the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and a treasure card that identifies a virtue, such as faith and forgiving.
The children will perform a skit about the icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help that tells the story of a merchant who stole the icon and how it was eventually placed in St. Alphonsus Church in Rome in 1866 where it remains today. Pope Pius XI gave a copy of the icon to the Sisters of St. Basil in 1934 and asked that they could spread devotion to Mary under that title. In response, the sisters began this pilgrimage that is the oldest and largest of its kind in North America.
See the schedule for the annual pilgrimage on Page A5.