Annual Pilgrimage in Honor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help

The Tradition of Pilgrimage

The Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help at Mount St. Macrina in Uniontown, Pa., has been held every year since 1934 when it celebrated the blessing of the then-newly acquired Motherhouse for the Sisters of St. Basil the Great. 

The annual tradition of this special ministry took root the following year with the gift of an Icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, sent by Pope Pius XI with the request that the Sisters spread devotion to the Mother of God under this title.

Pilgrimages are an aspect of all religions, pointing to a universal need.  In the Christian tradition, a pilgrimage is seen as an occasion for a conversion experience – a change in the pilgrim’s life.

In ages past, the faithful traveled the sacred journey of pilgrimage on foot to a holy place or shrine of special significance.  Believers walked great distances, sometimes enduring considerable personal suffering because they knew that the way of getting there was just as important as their destination.

The association between pilgrimage and traveling on foot is preserved at Mount St. Macrina through the many processions that take place during the weekend, accompanied by the singing of prayers and hymns in honor of God and his Mother.

This symbolic walking on pilgrimage is a reminder that, as a Church, we are a pilgrim people on a holy journey whose destination is union with God.

The Sisters of Saint Basil invite all to share in the many blessings of pilgrimage and offer their prayers on your behalf for a spiritually fruitful journey of the heart.