How Rome’s War on the Latin Mass Casts a Shadow Over the Pilgrimage of Tradition
Each year at Pentecost, thousands of faithful Catholics lace their boots and shoulder their banners for the pilgrimage from Notre-Dame de Paris to Chartres Cathedral—a visible, vibrant witness to the vitality of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) and the spiritual hunger of young families and priests drawn to the Church’s ancient rites. But this year, the road to Chartres has been shadowed by a new bureaucratic obstacle: a coordinated move by French bishops, reportedly under direction from Cardinal Arthur Roche, to curtail the freedom of priests to celebrate the traditional sacraments en route¹.
The developments, first reported by Rorate Caeli, centre around a letter dated 6 May 2025 from Archbishops Jordy of Tours and Lebrun of Rouen. The letter, addressed to the bishops of France, outlines “directives” issued by Cardinal Roche on 8 April. The timing is provocative—just weeks before the Chartres pilgrimage, and mere days into the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV, who has so far remained silent on the matter. Though the document bears Roche’s name, many now await to see whether the new Pope will endorse or correct his predecessor’s increasingly aggressive policy toward traditional communities².
The directives stipulate that:
- Priests ordained before the 2021 motu proprio Traditionis Custodes must obtain permission from each diocesan bishop through whose territory the pilgrimage passes in order to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass³.
- Priests ordained after 2021 must apply directly to the Dicastery for Divine Worship for permission⁴.
- All priests are strongly encouraged to be able to celebrate the Novus Ordo⁵.
- Confessions during the pilgrimage must be heard using the new rite of penance⁶.
To those unfamiliar with the Chartres pilgrimage—organized by the lay association Notre-Dame de Chrétienté—these may seem like procedural clarifications. In reality, they are calculated restrictions, aimed at subjugating the most successful traditional Catholic event in the world to the regime of Traditionis Custodes. The pilgrimage is not a diocesan initiative. It is lay-led and international, drawing priests and pilgrims from around the globe. Yet, under the guise of “unity,” every priest must now negotiate a web of diocesan red tape just to offer the Mass of the Ages along a 60-mile route walked by over 18,000 pilgrims in 2024⁷.
Observers have noted that the directives effectively place traditional priests under a presumptive ban unless explicitly licensed at every step of the journey⁸. The contrast with priests offering Mass in the modern rite—who face no such burdens—is stark. And the message is clear: Tradition is to be tolerated, at best. It is not to flourish.
That these directives come from Cardinal Roche is unsurprising. His tenure as Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship under Pope Francis was marked by a zeal for uniformity and central control⁹. Critics within and beyond France have described his approach as punitive, excessive, and lacking any pastoral sensitivity¹⁰. But the question now posed is whether Roche speaks for Pope Leo XIV.
The new pope’s silence has unsettled both reformers and restorers. His inaugural address was steeped in the rhetoric of continuity and mercy, but devoid of concrete signals. Will he correct the course of his predecessor, or allow the machinery of suppression to grind on?
The pilgrimage to Chartres is more than a spectacle—it is a symbol of resistance, reverence, and renewal. The families, scouts, seminarians, and clerics who make the three-day journey embody a living tradition that no decree can extinguish. That is why they are feared. That is why they are targeted. And that is why the world is watching to see whether Pope Leo XIV will allow their shepherds to scatter them on the road.
Until then, the pilgrims walk. And the smoke of the thurible, mingled with the dust of the path, continues to rise toward Chartres.
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Footnotes
¹ “The Bishops of France and Cardinal Roche Still at War Against the Traditional Pilgrimages of France,” Rorate Caeli, 19 May 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid. The directive invokes the disciplinary framework set by Traditionis Custodes (2021), art. 5.
⁴ As per Roche’s April 8 2025 instructions cited in the Rorate article.
⁵ Ibid. Emphasis on integration into the “liturgical life” of the Church echoes Desiderio Desideravi (2022).
⁶ Ibid. This would appear to contradict existing permission for use of the older form of confession under Universae Ecclesiae (2011), art. 21.
⁷ “Pilgrimage to Chartres,” Notre-Dame de Chrétienté, official statistics, 2024; Le Figaro, Pentecost coverage, 2024.
⁸ Analysis based on implications of multiple diocesan authorisations. Cf. Catholic Herald, editorial, 12 May 2025.
⁹ See Cardinal Roche’s circulars, especially the 2021 “Responsa ad Dubia” on Traditionis Custodes.
¹⁰ Commentary from Dom Alcuin Reid, Fr Claude Barthe, and anonymous sources cited in La Nef, April 2024.
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