CHARTRES, France (LifeSiteNews) — Welcoming the nearly 20,000 strong Latin Mass pilgrimage to Chartres Cathedral, the diocesan bishop informed the group of Pope Leo XIV’s prayers for all pilgrims, though did not indicate whether the Pope’s message was made specifically for those on the Chartres pilgrimage.
On Monday afternoon, the record-sized traditional Mass pilgrimage organized by Notre Dame de Chrétienne arrived at Chartres Cathedral, concluding the weekend hike from the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris which began on Saturday morning.
“We know that Pope Leo prays for every pilgrim to live a personal encounter with Christ,” Bishop Philippe Christory told the pilgrims before Mass inside the ancient cathedral on Monday.
Bishop of Chartres tells Chartres Latin Mass pilgrims at Mass that Pope Leo is praying for them:
“We know that Pope Leo prays for every pilgrim to live a personal encounter with Christ,” said +Philippe Christory pic.twitter.com/oxu3C2Sr7u
— Michael Haynes 🇻🇦 (@MLJHaynes) June 9, 2025
Christory did not specify any particular message from the Pope to the Chartres pilgrims, leaving it somewhat unclear if he was referring to Leo’s prayers for pilgrims generally during the current Jubilee Year or if there was a specific message for the Chartres pilgrimage.
This year’s edition of the annual Latin Mass pilgrimage saw another record figure of pilgrims, with over 19,000 taking part in the trek. Thanks to the huge numbers of young people and families the average age is believed to be about 20 years old.
Due in part to the Vatican’s implementation of Pope Francis’ restrictions on the traditional Mass there had been concern that the long-standing tradition of holding the final Mass in the cathedral would be curtailed; however, the pilgrimage organizers clarified that the event would take place as normal earlier in the spring.
Despite this, last minute attempts to undermine the traditional Mass nature of the pilgrimage took place. “We are being asked to thoroughly transform the spirit of our traditional pilgrimage, making the Novus Ordo the norm and the Vetus Ordo the tolerated exception, subject to the authorisation of the local bishop or the Dicastery for Divine Worship,” the organizers lamented.
Permissions for priests differ from diocese to diocese as the pilgrimage processes to Chartres, with some bishops described as having a “juridical-canonical coldness far removed from the ‘pastoral and spiritual care of the faithful.’”
According to organizers of the event, none of the priests who joined the pilgrimage expressed a need to offer the Novus Ordo Mass, all choosing to celebrate the traditional Mass.
Though not a participant of the pilgrimage, Bishop Christory welcomed the pilgrims on the road as they approached the cathedral, imparting his blessing on them at the close of the journey.
The Bishop of Chartres walks down the hill to meet the pilgrims as they approach Chartres Cathedral for the Latin Mass on Pentecost Monday… pic.twitter.com/7XHsSnJ31S
— Michael J. Matt (@Michael_J_Matt) June 9, 2025
He also gave the homily at the final Mass, while the liturgy was celebrated by the general chaplain of the pilgrimage organizing body.
Last year, Cardinal Gerhard Müller offered the closing Mass in Chartres, and this year Bishop Athanasius Schneider joined the pilgrimage to celebrate Pentecost Sunday Mass.
The Society of St. Pius X also saw large numbers join their annual Chartres to Paris pilgrimage, held over the same weekend. Some 6,400 people took part in the closing Mass on Monday, according to pilgrimage estimates.
Müller recounted last year that “a senior representative of the Roman Dicastery for Divine Worship” was dismayed when he heard of the huge numbers of young pilgrims on the traditional Mass pilgrimage to Chartres.
Though Pope Leo has not expressed any particular opinion on the future of the traditional Mass under his reign, he has temporarily reinstated the Vatican’s liturgy prefect – Cardinal Arthur Roche – meaning that, for the time being, Roche has the ability to enact his own measures against the traditional Mass as he did under Pope Francis.
