It’s hard for me to fathom that many of our readers today would not even have been born the first time I walked the Pilgrimage from Paris to Chartres. Since then, not a few dear friends and allies of The Remnant have also gone to their eternal reward. The world has changed in ways we could not have imagined back in 1991. Come to think of it, about the only thing that hasn’t changed is the Pilgrimage to Chartres, based as it is on the unchangeable realities of Catholic Tradition – the Latin Mass, the Rosary, the Catholic family, the Four Last Things, and the Social Kingship of Jesus Christ.

“I am campaigning, AS MUCH AS I CAN, against a consecration of the World to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, because I can see the danger that a move in this direction would constitute.” (Yves Congar, My Journal of the Council, entry for September 17, 1964) 

Secularism is the religion of the French Republic, and Masonry its church. They admit it themselves, and it is true!

This secularism is defined in the contemporary, revolutionary world by the sacrosanct principle of "separation of Church and State" for traditionally Catholic countries, as in France, or, re-expressed in a softer, more liberal way, by "freedom of worship" or "freedom of religion," denounced in his time by Leo XIII in his encyclical on liberalism.

Why is this nonsense a trap?

Because it is first and foremost a lie.

Deo Gratias!

Remember where you were when you learned that Notre-Dame was in flames? 

Since then, a massive reconstruction project has been underway and is apparently on schedule. The head of the construction site, ex-general Jean-Louis Georgelin, sees great progress in construction:

"Thanks to strict planning, we are confident and determined to make the Paris cathedral open to worship and the public again in December 2024."

Examinations of the building's infrastructure have shown that the cathedral's walls have remained stable despite the major fire, as have most of the vaults. The stained glass windows and the large organ, which were spared by the fire, have been thoroughly cleaned, according to Georgelin, and the restoration of the interior is now set to begin. The famous bells of Notre-Dame were also spared by the fire and remain in the bells towers. They were rung on the one-year anniversary of the fire. 

Notre-Dame de Paris is the traditional starting point for the annual 3-day, 72-mile pilgrimage to Notre-Dame de Chartres, organized by the group Notre-Dame de Chrétienté. Since the fire, pilgrims have begun their journey from Saint-Sulpice, the second-largest church in Paris. Saint-Sulpice, however, can barely accommodate a fraction of the pilgrims during the Traditional Latin Mass which kicks off the march, and this year's Chartres Pilgrimage will be the largest ever, with some 44,000 feet registered to walk the road to Chartres.

While in Paris for the 2022 Chartres Pilgrimage, Michael Matt, who for 30 years has been the U.S. Coordinator for Notre-Dame de Chrétienté, discovered a brand new monument in Notre-Dame Square: a statue of Our Lady of Victory. (See Michael's real-time reaction to this discovery here) 

The new statue, erected in 2021, of Our Lady of Victory (right) in Notre-Dame square

Michael asked a nearby police officer why it had been placed there, and the officer responded:

"She was placed here to ensure that prayers will continue for the total and complete restoration of the cathedral."

True to her role as protectoress of the cathedral, Our Lady of Victory now watches over the reconstruction. 

Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, pray for us! 

Since the beginning of his 30-year association with the French pilgrimage, Michael Matt has maintained this message: The event is not a place to promote individual apostolates, but rather acts as a promotion of the worldwide Catholic Restoration movement as a whole. It is no exaggeration to say that hundreds of clans from all over the world unite every year on the road to Chartres for this very purpose; Catholic restoration, Catholic counterrevolution in action. 

Apart from the fact that some of the best bishops, abbots, and priests in France are Chartres pilgrim veterans–many having walked it every year since they were children–evidence of the Traditional Catholic revival in France–politically as well as spiritually–is not hard to find. Most recently, for example, there is a movement across France to rebuild wayside shrines (so-called "calvaries", oratories, and chapels): 

The missionary spirit of young people in France is being rekindled by the surprising success of an association that is restoring wayside crucifixes across the country — and attracting considerable media attention in the process.

SOS Calvaires was founded in 1987 in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. It sought to bring together people dedicated to preserving the calvaries, oratories, and chapels that dot the French landscape.

The association gained momentum in 2015 when a group of young Catholics, who openly declared themselves “proud of their religion and heritage,” took up the mission under the leadership of Paul Ramé, who runs a carpentry business. The team — whose members are all under 35 years of age — was recently challenged to restore one calvary a month in their region, instead of one or two per year. 

But the association’s grand designs do not stop there. It is also moving into education, offering instruction in schools. It sees this as a way to prepare new generations to keep alive the flame of faith and Catholic tradition in France.

In other words, the Catholic restoration of France is moving full steam ahead, with even political figures having been inspired to fight for Catholic France as they walk the road to Chartres. 

Whether you can travel to France or not, if you are a traditional Catholic today anywhere in the world, this should resonate with you as a sign of great hope. Join the Catholic clans in spirit this Pentecost weekend, where the theme will be: I will be with you always, even unto the consummation of the world. Along the road to Chartres, this becomes, not just a verse from the Bible, but a statement of the obvious. 

Related from RTV — Guardian of Tradition

Editor's Note: This article is reproduced from The Remnant Newspaper, March 15, 1973. The following is a summary of an address given on August 7, 1972, by Archbishop Lefebvre to a conference of French priests, his discourse being recorded on tape and then translated and transcribed. 

Of the following article from The Remnant archive, I’m tempted to say: Drop whatever you’re doing and read this article!

Here are the words of a wise man, an outstanding Catholic and something of a prophet. And, let’s not forget: Archbishop Lefebvre was a Council Father at Vatican II. He was there. He knew what went on. And his extraordinary testimony from 1972 in the pages ofThe Remnant puts the lie to the claim that Vatican II was somehow misinterpreted and diverted from its original 'noble' mission. -Michael J. Matt

Arkady Mamontov for Rossyia 24 TV Channel with Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, Archbishop, former Apostolic Nuncio to the United States of America. [The following English translation has been provided to The Remnant by ArchbishopViganò.]

1. In your opinion, who and what provoked the religious conflict in Ukraine?

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò: First of all, allow me to thank Arkady Mamontov, Dr. Dmitry Toropov, and the editorial staff of Rossiya for inviting me to do this interview. I send my greetings to you and to all of your viewers.

We know, from an analysis of events, that the Ukrainian crisis has been planned for years, since before the Euromaidan. Obviously, the American deep state was no stranger to this regime change operation, accomplished through the State Department and the CIA.

New from Remnant TV...

Michael Matt gives the keynote address to a women’s conference hosted by “Restore Tradition”, an organization based in Littleton, CO. Register for their 2023 event here.

Is this the worst time in Salvation history? Maybe, but maybe not. Remember how it all began? Remember the lions, the catacombs, the French Revolution, the Carlists in Spain, the Cristeros in Mexico?

Although the evil regimes we face today seem to be gaining ground, there is still much we can do with the time we have.

See Part 1 of this story here

Amidst the persecution, Fr. Pro felt his life had a purpose. During the Unbloody Sacrifice of Calvary, he prayed that God would take his life, for he believed that a true blood sacrifice, the blood of priests, his blood, was needed for the salvation of Mexico.