The Shrine of Blessed Basile Moreau in Le Mans, France, celebrated the Congregation’s Patronal Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows with a novena, beginning on September 6. The novena included different opportunities for prayer each day, including Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, and the Rosary.

Then on the feast itself, September 15, the Shrine held a beautiful Mass in the Notre Dame de Sainte-Croix Church, with Fr. Paul-Elie Cadet, C.S.C., Rector of the Shrine and Pastor of Notre-Dame de Sainte Croix Parish, presiding.

The Mass doubled as the back-to-school Mass for the Notre Dame de Sainte-Croix parish community, and so it concluded with the traditional blessing of the children’s school bags. After Mass, parishioners and pilgrims shared an aperitif outside the Church to continue the celebration.

Read about more celebrations of Our Lady of Sorrows from around the Congregation

The title of Mary as Our Lady of Sorrows comes from the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, during which the prophet Simeon says to Mary, "And you yourself a sword will pierce" (Luke 2:35). According to Tradition, Mary suffered seven sorrows in her life, beginning with the very prophecy of Simeon. The other six sorrows are the flight into Egypt, the loss of the child Jesus in the Temple, the encounter with Jesus carrying His Cross, the crucifixion, the reception of Jesus' body from the Cross, and the burial of Jesus in the tomb.