Symphonie, a Breton draft mare, may not yet know what awaits her. On Saturday June 18, she will begin a 1,100 km journey from Nantes (Loire-Atlantique) to Sainte-Anne-d’Auray (Morbihan), passing through several Breton sanctuaries. On the carriage, which she will pull until September 11, the day of her arrival in Sainte-Anne-d’Auray: a statue of the Virgin who has already crossed France in 2020 on the occasion of the great M pilgrimage of Mary. Behind the energetic step of the horse, walkers of all ages will take place for half a day, a day or more.
Brittany already knows the Tro Breizh whose pilgrims join the Breton cathedrals in stages, year after year. La Troménie, on the other hand, is not a pilgrimage but a pardon consisting of a long circular procession in a given place. Unique and innovative, the Troménie de Marie will circumnavigate Brittany in three months.
At the origin of this somewhat crazy project, a Nantes couple from Finistère: Tanguy and Claire de Penfentenyo. In 2020, Claire participates in the M de Marie. ” With each step I took, I told myself that this had to be transposed to Brittany. She persuaded her husband – who doesn’t like to walk – to join her for five days and organize this big Marian march.
“ I saw, in the villages visited, young people decide to come with us the next day, parishioners happy to attend a vigil of adoration. This rural awakening convinced me to follow my wife’s idea “, he confides.
A prayerful walk
“ This summer, in the villages where we will pass, those interested will also be able to join us for as long as they wish. » Participants will receive a booklet prepared by Father André Guillevic, spiritual advisor for the event. They will find prayers, hymns to Mary, teachings and messages from the five Breton bishops.
The organizers involved the bishops of the dioceses visited in their approach by meeting them one by one. Denis Moutel, Bishop of Saint-Brieuc and Tréguier, greets their “boldness, but also sobriety and economy of means. It makes sense, at a time of year when everyone is on the move, to take it slow and stop at Marian shrines. There are so many of them in Brittany! There is a real desire for “forgiveness” here: to move to a place of worship far from home, to meet by meeting Mary, to be reconciled by invoking her and asking for her protection. »
Daily worship vigils
It is in this diocese that Claire, a 58-year-old grandmother, will walk, who will leave the Paris suburbs to walk for six days in the north of Brittany, in July. ” I will recharge my batteries, join God and place in the heart of the Lord the intentions of my loved ones”, she explains. She will participate in mass every morning, before the start of the walk at 9:30 a.m. Her days will be punctuated by moments of sharing, rosaries, times of silence… , at 8 p.m., the adoration vigil at the church with the parishioners.
A few days before the start, the organizers are still looking for priests to allow the walkers to receive the sacrament of reconciliation on the way. La Troménie de Marie is not intended to be repeated every year; now is the time to take advantage of it!
To know
From June 18 to September 11, 2022, free participation. On September 10 and 11, 2022, in Sainte-Anne-d’Auray, events, masses, evenings… Program and itinerary: www.latromeniedemarie.bzh
or contact@latromeniedemarie.bzh