Sisters of St. Basil at Mount St. Macrina to Celebrate 75th Annual Pilgrimage

Uniontown, Pa.  -- The 75th Annual Pilgrimage in Honor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help will be held at Mount St. Macrina, Uniontown, Pa., September 4-7, 2009 (Labor Day weekend).  This year, the weekend’s activities and programs are inspired by the theme of “75 Years of Grace”.

“We want to share with you the graced journey that will be the 75th Pilgrimage. Mount Saint Macrina is such a place of prayer where we come together to glorify our great God.  It is a place where each pilgrim can touch some power that one may not readily touch at home,” said Sister Seraphim Olsafsky, OSBM, Provincial, Sisters of St. Basil the Great.  

The weekend will offer pilgrims the opportunity to participate in religious services and an array of activities, including the beautiful Divine Liturgy, Mystery of Reconciliation (Confession), the popular children’s procession and the inspiring candlelight procession.  There will also be enriching educational opportunities for both adults and children, including special programs for children, teens and young adults.  Private pastoral counseling, a session on bereavement, and education and discussion forums are also planned.  Pilgrims will also have the opportunity to purchase icons, religious gifts, and cards.
The Annual Pilgrimage in honor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help is a special ministry of the Sisters of St. Basil.  This prayerful event has been held each year over Labor Day weekend following a decree issued by Pope Pius XI, March 25, 1935.  Pope Pius XI gave the Sisters a beautiful Icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, requesting them to spread devotion to the Theotokos under that title.  Ever since, countless pilgrims have come to pay honor to Our Lady of Perpetual Help, placing their needs, their hopes and desires in prayer before this holy Icon.  During Pilgrimage, the original icon is enshrined near the Mount St. Macrina House of Prayer.  It is carried in procession during the opening of the Pilgrimage and during the various other services throughout the weekend.

The Pilgrimage provides for the diverse spiritual needs of many pilgrims who frequent this major unifying event in the life of the Byzantine Catholic Church.  Its participants include clergy and faithful from across the country.  It holds the distinction of being the oldest and largest Byzantine Catholic Pilgrimage in the United States.

For further information about the 75th Annual Pilgrimage in Honor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, visit www.sistersofstbasil.org or call the Monastery at (724) 438-8644.

The Sisters of St. Basil the Great respond in sensitivity and service to the needs of the Catholic Church and of the people.  Their ministries encompass prayer, education, communications, cultural and heritage studies, translation and publication of liturgical books, religious education and organizational work, iconography and fine arts, health-related services, retreat work, social and pastoral ministry, and ecclesiastical arts and sewing.  Sisters also serve in the Chanceries of the various Byzantine Catholic Eparchies (Dioceses), and in the Generalate, their headquarters in Rome.  The Sisters are known internationally for their annual Pilgrimage in Honor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

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Contact:    Susan McCarthy
Director of Communications
Sisters of St. Basil
500 W. Main Street
Uniontown, PA  15401
(724) 438-8644

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