Traditionally, the Rover branch of the Scouts of Europe meets every year on All Saints’ Day during the Vézelay pilgrimage. One of the highlights of the pilgrimage: entering the basilica for the vigil of adoration to the sound of the Kyrie of the “beggars”.
This year again, thousands of truck drivers shuddered to the notes of the Kyrie des “gueux” as they entered the Vézelay basilica at the end of three days of pilgrimage. More than 2,000 scouts, aged 17 to 19, from all corners of France and Europe, journeyed from November 1 to 4, 2023 towards the eternal hill, under the benevolent patronage of Saint Mary Magdalene. A time to break away from everyday life, pray and grow together, give thanks for the past year and offer the year to come.
On the eve of the closing mass, celebrated this year by Dom Jean-Charles Nault, abbot of Saint-Wandrille abbey, a large vigil of adoration and forgiveness took place. Traditionally, this is when the eight sections converge towards the basilica. HASWhen night falls, the truckers, equipped with torches and forked sticks, then knock on the immense doors of the basilica. When they open, a human tide in uniform religiously pours into the interior of the cathedral. The relics of Saint Mary Magdalene open the way, the Blessed Sacrament closes the procession, while the scouts, exhausted but happy and proud, take their place in the basilica.
