page_title: Pilgrimage of the Relics, Maastricht
section_title: 1874: Revival of the septennial pilgrimage
hierarchical_section_title: Pilgrimage of the Relics, Maastricht / History / 1874: Revival of the septennial pilgrimage
caption_attribution_description: English: Cartoon published in satirical Dutch magazine Uilenspiegel, 16 August 1873, ridiculing the Maastricht religious procession of 27 July 1873.
context_page_description: The Pilgrimage of the Relics or Maastricht Septennial Pilgrimage is a seven-yearly Catholic event in the Dutch city of Maastricht. Originating in the Middle Ages, it developed from a pilgrimage to the grave of Saint Servatius into the present-day religious, historical, cultural and commercial enterprise. Highlights in the programme are the displaying or unveiling of the relics in the main churches and secondly, the processions with the town's main relics. The next pilgrimage will take place in 2025.
context_section_description: From the mid-19th century Catholicism began to flourish once again in Maastricht and elsewhere in the Netherlands. Catholics' self-esteem was boosted by the reestablishment of the episcopal hierarchy in the Netherlands in 1853. Catholics now wanted to express their faith in public. In 1867 Joannes Paredis, bishop of Roermond, reinstated the feast of the holy bishops of Maastricht. Four years later he introduced the feast in honour of the relics of all saints. Many relics that had lost their containers during the French period were given new reliquaries, predominantly in the Gothic Revival style. At the same time, a renewed interest in medieval art became apparent. An important step in the reassessment of Maastricht's religious patrimony was the publication of Bock and Willemsen's illustrated catalogue of the church treasures in 1872. The French edition of 1873 moreover contained additional texts about the medieval pilgrimages, which may have contributed to the revival of the tradition one year later. Also in 1873, the Treasury of the Basilica of St Servatius, after extensive restoration works led by Dutch architect Pierre Cuypers, opened to the public. Part of the opening ceremony was a short procession with several reliquaries that went from the old treasury via Vrijthof to the new treasury. The procession with three bishops and over 50 priests was illegal as it clearly ignored the ban on processions that was included in the 1848 Dutch Constitution. Catholics in the Netherlands were impressed; others made fun of the "Maastricht cortège of relics".
  The success of the 1873 procession stimulated  F.X. Rutten, dean of St Servatius', to reinstate the septennial pilgrimage in 1874. Papal permission was obtained from Pope Pius IX, who also revived the medieval plenarary indulgence for those who completed the pilgrimage. The medieval custom of showing the relics from the dwarf gallery was not revived; instead the relics were exhibited in the church and during a procession. The relics remained on view for two weeks on a pedestal in the choir of St Servatius'. The route of the procession was the same as the previous year: leaving the church from the south-east portal, via Vrijthof and Keizer Karelplein to the north portal and the treasury in the cloisters. This time judicial action was taken against dean Rutten. The case went on for years; the dean persisted despite losing every single case. This and similar cases led to heated discussions in Dutch Parliament. It did not stop the Catholics taking to the streets: in 1878 six processions were held in Maastricht and in 1881 the second 'modern' pilgrimage went ahead.
caption: Caricature mocking the "cortège of relics" (Uilenspiegel, 16 August 1873)
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