Each year the Scottish Catholic Youth Service organises a major Pilgrimage event for teenagers and young adult Catholics. This year the venue was Pluscarden Abbey. So young pilgrims from all over Scotland arrived here around midday on Saturday 26 September. There had been some late cancellations, so numbers were not quite as high as had been hoped. Nevertheless, we had something like 200 young people, several accompanying Priests, several Religious Sisters, and Archbishop Leo Cushley of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, who presided at the Mass.
Happily the sun shone on the occasion, which began officially at 1.00 p.m. sharp, with opening prayers and announcements.
According to the Programme, at 1.15 p.m. the young people were to be shown the public areas of the monastery, with suitable guides, explanations and historical backgrounds filled in.
So Pluscarden brethren stationed themselves respectively in the Nave, the Transepts and the Choir, and groups of pilgrims passed from one place to another. Actually that all seemed to work well.
Then at 2.00 p.m. the young people were divided. Teenagers went to the Yew Tree field for vigorous games, interspersed with opportunities to hear something about monastic and religious life, and to ask questions. Meanwhile the young adults gathered in the Transepts to hear questions put to a panel. The panel consisted of a Pluscarden monk, a Dominican Sister, a Mercy Sister, a Sister of St. John and a Sister member of The Work. Bishop Hugh was able to join the assembly briefly for this, and made his own valued contribution. Questions were, for example: what sort of person becomes a monk or a Religious? What do monks do all day? What made them choose or decide on their vocation? What difficulties do they find in living it out? Why do they wear odd clothes? Do they ever have weekends off?
Then at 3.00 all came together again for Choir Practice: looking at some of the Gregorian pieces to be sung at the Mass.
Mass began at 3.30: a Vigil Mass of the Sunday. As with our Diocesan Pilgrimage, the central doors between Chancel and Transepts were opened, with the Bishop's Chair and the Lectern placed under the tower, and large screens placed to enable those in the Transepts to follow all that happened at the Altar in the Chancel.
Happily the excellent team of servers from St. Sylvester's parish Elgin was at hand: as usual well rehearsed, and entirely competent, reverent and prayerful. The Pluscarden Choir and Schola led the singing for all the Ordinary and Proper Gregorian pieces of the Mass, as we habitually have them. Many of the young people had probably never heard such music sung at Mass before. Archbishop Cushley preached; at the end inviting all present to join him for next year's event, at World Youth Day in Korea!
After Mass, all headed down to our large car park below the Lodge, where vending vans were available with suppers for all. But people had long return journeys ahead of them, so after a rather short interval the coaches pulled away; the normal calm and peaceful atmosphere returned to the Abbey grounds, and Vespers were sung, just as usual, on time, and as for any normal Saturday evening.
