The Lancaster Basilica of St. Mary of the Assumption hosted a pilgrimage on its patronal feast day, Aug. 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Pilgrims from across the diocese were invited to make a pilgrimage to the basilica.
The day included tours of the basilica, Eucharistic Adoration, confessions, praying of the rosary, Mass celebrated by Bishop Earl Fernandes and an outdoor procession with an image of Our Lady.
“We’ve never had a day like this before,” said Msgr. Craig Eilerman, rector of the basilica.
The Basilica of St. Mary was designated by the bishop as one of four diocesan pilgrimage sites during the Jubilee Year of Hope, which is taking place in the Church in 2025.
St. Mary of the Assumption was elevated to a minor basilica in 2022. (Major basilicas are limited to inside the city of Rome.) Basilica insignia were officially installed in 2023.
Msgr. Eilerman said it is a great honor to receive the title.
“With every honor comes responsibility, and I think we here at the parish understand that now we have the responsibility to be a site for people to come,” he said.
“Being a basilica means that, in some ways, you have a special relationship with the Holy Father. Of course, it was Pope Francis who granted us the title, but now, Pope Leo, we have that relationship with him.”
The basilica has welcomed several pilgrims so far this year. Msgr. Eilerman said the parish wanted to set aside a special day for the faithful.
“People have been coming here throughout this year, but we wanted to do something that we would intentionally invite the larger diocese to come to – the people of the diocese – and so we chose our patronal feast, the feast of the Assumption of Our Lady,” he explained.
Pilgrims can receive a plenary indulgence by visiting the basilica. A plenary indulgence removes all temporal punishment for sin.
To receive the indulgence, certain requirements must be met: being in a state of grace, detachment from sin – including venial sin, receiving the sacraments of reconciliation and the Eucharist within 20 days before or after the indulgence is sought, and to pray for the intentions of the Holy Father (typically by offering an Our Father and Hail Mary).
Plenary indulgences are not meant to be rigorous, Msgr. Eilerman explained. The requirements help an individual dispose themselves to the grace that God desires to bestow on them.
He noted that making a pilgrimage requires effort. Planning and designating time for travel are factors that differentiate a pilgrimage.
“It’s not like Sunday Mass, where you get up and you go and you come back – that takes a certain degree of intentionality, but to plan a day and to come and to make intention to receive the indulgence, to fulfill those requirements, I think, opens one up to the grace that God desires us to have, but we have to be intentional about that,” he said.
Having the pilgrimage on the solemnity of the Assumption was also an opportunity for pilgrims to draw close to the Blessed Mother and grow in Marian devotion.
“A pilgrimage is, in some ways, a reflection of life,” the rector said. “Our whole life is a pilgrimage heading towards the kingdom of God, to heaven.
“And then, by having it on the Assumption day, we understand that Mary accompanies us on this pilgrimage as an intercessor and also as a model of what it means to be a disciple and a follower of her Son.”
The day took extensive preparation. A subcommittee was created from the basilica’s parish council to plan for the pilgrimage.
Several priests were invited to come and serve as confessors.
An image of Our Lady was selected for the outdoor procession after Mass. A wooden statue of the Blessed Mother was chosen from the former Lancaster St. Mark Church. The parish merged with the basilica in April 2024.
Tony Smith, a St. Mary parishioner, fashioned a gown for the statue of the Blessed Mother. Another parishioner created a carrier for the statue.
The procession, which included singing hymns and chanting the Litany of Loreto, was especially important during the pilgrimage.
Msgr. Eilerman said the procession allowed the faithful to profess and declare their faith publicly. He described a public procession as a form of prayer.
Pilgrims witnessed to those in the area the importance of their Catholic faith.
“We live in an age in which we’re often told that, ‘It’s fine; you can believe whatever you want to, but please keep that to yourself,’ and a procession is precisely the opposite,” the rector acknowledged.
“We’re not keeping the faith to ourselves. We’re proclaiming it. And so, in that way, it’s a means of evangelization.”
“The procession, I feel as though, is a way for our parish to show the strong Catholic faith in our community as we process around Main Street and around our church,” said Julie Ogilvie, a volunteer at the parish.
Ogilvie, who served as an administrator at St. Mary for 27 years, gives tours as part of the basilica’s docent committee. Docents act as tour guides, highlighting different parts of the basilica and share its history with visitors.
The docent program formed after Bishop Fernandes announced the basilica as a Jubilee Year pilgrimage site.
“We’re very proud of our designation of the Jubilee site, and we’re excited to share our parish and our beautiful church with the people who come,” Ogilvie said.
Several parish groups across the diocese come to visit and tour the basilica. Some come by bus. In mid-August, nearly 40 people came through on one day.
St. Mary of the Assumption “is very strong in our community,” she explained. “Our first Mass in Lancaster was over 200 years ago, and our present basilica, which was consecrated in 1864 during the Civil War, has been renovated several times, and our most recent renovation was in 2019.”
St. Mary has an extensive history of families. Several generations are active in the parish.
Ogilvie’s family has been active in the parish for three generations. Some parishioners are the fifth or sixth generation in their family at St. Mary of the Assumption.
“Our hopes are that those who come will see the beauty, feel the presence of God in the church and come out with a wonderful feeling and awe that Christ is alive in the church, and we’re doing good things – doing good things within our parish – and serve the Lord,” she said.