Older and better devotions

On 16 June 2023, a symposium was held in Rome on the topic of "Folk Piety - Old Coat or Misjudged Opportunity?

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A symposium on popular piety was held in Rome on Friday. At the event under the title "Popular Piety - Old Coat or Misjudged Opportunity?", speakers at the Patristic Institute Augustinianum included Auxiliary Bishop Florian Wörner of Augsburg, the National Director of Missio Austria, Father Karl Wallner OCist, the Pilgrimage Rector of Altötting, Klaus Metzl and theology professor Ralph Weimann.

The symposium was organised by the association "Fundatio Christiana Virtus e.V.".

The Catholic television station EWTN.TV broadcast the event live, and the recording of the symposium is available online.

Popular piety more than mothballs and superstition

In a short introduction, Prelate Markus Graulich SD reminded the audience that popular piety takes many forms. Even today, one can see a rosary hanging on many car rear-view mirrors, people light a candle in church or sprinkle themselves with holy water.

Even though popular piety is in danger of being forgotten and has not only fallen into the "odour of the mothballs, but also under the suspicion of superstition", it is still present, says Graulich. Popular piety is "a hunger for God that finds expression in simple gestures."

Wörner: Eucharist at the centre

In his talk, Bishop Florian Wörner (Diocese of Augsburg) gave numerous examples of evangelisation projects initiated in his home diocese. The focus is usually on "the living encounter of the participants with the Lord and his Word", i.e. the administration of the sacraments, a rich offer of confession and opportunities for Eucharistic adoration.

The Auxiliary Bishop emphasised that it is not only major church events with an international flair - such as World Youth Days or youth pilgrimages to Rome - that exert a great attraction on people. A solemn Holy Mass, a good confession, a biblical catechesis that makes the Word of God tangible: all this leads people back to God, said Wörner, and that is ultimately the goal of popular piety in addition to and in connection with the liturgy.

Metzl: Synodality is a pilgrimage to Christ

Klaus Metzl, the rector of pilgrimages at the Bavarian pilgrimage site of Altötting, spoke about pilgrimage as a "spiritual experience".

"Common pilgrimage presupposes an understanding of the goal of the pilgrimage," Metzl explained. "Beyond all earthly pilgrimage goals, it is important - as Jesus admonishes his disciples and thus also us - to seek first and foremost the kingdom of God and his justice."

Today, being on a journey together is often referred to as "synodality", the rector of pilgrimages continued. 

"If the synodalists, the pilgrims, the companions, cannot agree on the goal of their pilgrimage, then the pilgrim community dissolves. It gets lost and goes astray. Separation and isolation are the consequences. The way becomes the goal."

The original image of the pilgrim is Christ himself, emphasised Metzl, whose goal, like the goal of every earthly pilgrim, is the glory of the Father in the Kingdom of Heaven. Only when every pilgrim has this reference to Christ is "one on a good path to reach one's goal - popular piety knows that quite well".

Professor Ralph Weimann next explained how sacramentals work. According to the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium on the Sacred Liturgy, adopted by the Second Vatican Council, sacramentals are "sacred signs by which, in some imitation of the sacraments, effects, especially spiritual, are signified and obtained by virtue of the intercession of the Church". Simple blessings such as the grace of the table or non-sacramental consecrations such as the consecration of Mary are part of the everyday life of the Church.

Weimann lamented that appreciation for the sacramentals had declined in recent decades. Sacramentals were not "mumbo jumbo", but had to be practised "with devotion and faith" to be effective. "In dealing with the sacramentals, one can conclude the vitality of popular piety," Weimann is certain.

Wallner: "We need mission!" 

Father Karl Wallner OCist, the former rector of the Benedict XVI College in Heiligenkreuz and current national director of Missio-Austria, emphasised that popular piety is also always missionary. Popular piety responds to a transcendental need of man; especially the need for folklore, for a sense of community, is satisfied by the missionary awakenings within the Church, which are fed by the spirituality of popular piety.

"If people have no saints, they create idols for themselves," Wallner warned. "We Catholics actually venerate Christ indirectly in the saints, for one is holy only through participation in His grace."

Wallner condemned the envy he sometimes perceived within the Church when certain Catholic actions received more popularity than others. He encouraged learning from successful concepts instead. "Plagiarism is obligatory," said the Cistercian monk with a twinkle in his eye.

In conclusion, Father Karl Wallner emphasised the special role of popular piety in the new evangelisation:

"Christianity has never been a religion of cold intellectuality; our bulging theological libraries are necessary, but they do not convert anyone. For mission to succeed as a revival of faith, it needs atmosphere, sensuality, childlikeness, emotions, the experiences of healing and comfort, the feelings of community and spiritual home. Missionary awakening begins where a heart opens enough for God's Spirit to touch and guide it."

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