Seven Processionals for the Roman Pilgrimage Basilicas

I) The Loyal Sheep (Saint Peter's at the Vatican)

II) May Christ Be Our Life (St. Paul's-outside-the-Walls)

III) Blessed Be the Lord (Saint John's at the Lateran)

IV) Hail, Holy Mother (Saint Mary Major)

V) Serve God in Love (Saint Lawrence-outside-the-Walls)

VI) We Should Glory in the Cross (Holy Cross in Jerusalem)

VII) Spirit of Strength and Courage (Saint Sebastian)

Highlights

• Inspired by the seven pilgrimage basilicas of Rome
• English congregational refrain and verses in English, Italian and Latin
• Effective way to unite your liturgies to those of the Millennium celebrations in Rome!

Description

With the establishment of the Jubilee Year by Pope Boniface VIII in AD 1300, Rome became a spiritual pilgrimage center for Western civilization. Seven churches (later proclaimed basilicas) developed as particular sites for pilgrims' visits, and neighborhoods - veritable townships - sprang up around them to provide food, housing, shopping and protection for the travelers to Rome.

Tradition holds the following basilicas to be the sites of special devotion. Heading the list would be the major basilicas, including the tombs of Saint Peter at the Vatican and of Saint Paul-outside-the-Walls, as well as Rome's cathedral, Saint John at the Lateran, and the largest Marian church in the city, Saint Mary Major. Three minor basilicas are also included: Saint Lawrence-outside-the-Walls, Holy Cross in Jerusalem, and Saint Sebastian.

CanticaNOVA Publications presents this series of processionals inspired by the Roman Pilgrimage Churches, each with appropriate texts in English, Italian and Latin. Parishes looking for an effective way to unite their liturgies with those of the Millennium celebrations in Rome will find here abundant opportunities for music that links the American congregation with the pilgrims in the Eternal City.

For more information on the basilicas that serve as the inspiration for these processionals, please see our Musical Musing article, Processionals for the Roman Pilgrimage Basilicas.