Programme D

The magnificent beuaty of the Roman Catholic Easter in the cathedral of the Virgin Mary before Týn in Prague

4 TO 6 DAYS

In the “ chrám Panny Marie před Týnem“ (the cathedral of the Virgin Mary before Týn) there still lives the splendour and glory of the Latin liturgical passion. We are not of course concerned with Lefćbvre traditionalism. In accordance with the constitution Sacro sacrorum II of the Vatican council Latin remains the mother tongue of the Catholic Church. It was not the intention of popes John XXIII and Paul VI or even the Fathers of the council to ban the use of Latin and to make its use extinct.
It was decreed that in each town there should remain at least one cathedral in which the introduction of the people's language was not introduced. In this cathedral, the sacred mass would be conducted in Latin, this would of course have to take place in front of the new altar and facing the people. We repeat this is not the Triadentine mass. Unfortunately, many diocese have interpretted the introduction of the language of the people for services as an proposal to liquidate Latin. It appears that many respectable French or Italian Catholics are convinced that a mass in Latin is equivalent to the Triadentine mass.
Come and enjoy the Easter holidays and the celebration of the crucifixion in Prague and taste the unique atmosphere in the cathedral of “ Panny Marie před Týnem“ (Our Lady Mary before Týn). It is not the type of occassion, which you may expect i.e. conservative and museum like, but it is a spiritual atmosphere of a live and young congregation.

Programme:

Day 1.   Monday, Thursday
Arrival and transfer to your hotel. According to your time of arrival you will be taken on a half day tour of “ Staré Město“ (the Old Town) or we will ensure you have a short well informed panoramic circular tour of the historic parts of Prague. Regardless of the latter at 6 p.m. divine service will be in Latin at “ Týnský chrám“ (the Týn cathedral) - the last supper of the Lord will be celebrated, the washing of the feet of the twelve apostles etc., which is expected to end circa 8 p.m. You will then be taken to your hotel fro dinner and overnight stay. Those of you who are interested may stay on in the cathedral for the service commemorating the awakening at the Gesthemeny gardens, which takes place at 9 p.m. and lasts about one hour.

Day 2.   Good Friday
You will have a whole day tour of Prague with Lent lunch cooked in the old Czech style, in the centre of the city. At 4.30 p.m. we will listen to Stabat Mater by Antonín Dvořák at “ chrám sv. Jakuba“ (the cathedral of St. Jacob), which was founded in 1232 and has the second largest aisle in the Czech Republic, after the cathedral of St. Vitus in the castle Hradčany, and the most beautifal acoustics, the best Prague musicians will be performing the piece. At 6 p..m we will got to the Good Friday Latin divine service of the Holy Cross taking place in the “ Týn chrám“ (cathedral). Before returning to the hotel, Lent dinner will be at about 9 p.m. cooked in the old Czech food style.

Day 3.   Easter Saturday
Between 9.30 a.m. an 1 p.m. we will go on another half day excursion of Prague and have lunch at the hotel. Your afternoon will be left free. We recommend that you take a rest because of the lateness of the night divine services. At about 8 p.m. we will have dinner followed by Latin divine service at 10.30 p.m. in the cathedral of “sv. Týn“, where we will be celebrating the witnessiing of the Easter fire and and taking, procession, exultet, crucifixion, blessing for the adults and the sacred mass. The service is expected to end at about 2.30 in the morning, after which you will be taken to your hotel for well earned sleep.

Day 4.   Easter Sunday
At about 10.30 a.m. we will take you to the centre of Prague for the Crowning Mass by W.A. Mozart in the “ chrám sv. Jakuba“ (St. Jacob cathedral), where the choir will be singing the Mass in Latin. We will have a magnificent Easter lunch in the Art Nouveau hotel Paríž (one of the smartest hotels in Prague). In the afternoon we wil go out of Prague to see Karlštejn, which is an imposing castle of the holy Roman emperor and Czech King Karel IV (Charles IV) - "the father of the realm" an enlightened monarch and staunch supporter of the arts.
For those who are interested they can attend masses in their own languages, dependent on the availability of guides. These can be in Italian, Spanish, English and German, taking place in a variety of Prague chuches. You can also go on an optional boat trip with music and drinks available, followed by dinner and return to the hotel.

Day 5.   Easter Monday
You will be taken to the centre at 10.30 a.m. for Latin Mass with music by Joseph Haydn, taking place at 11 a.m. at the “ chrám sv Jakuba“ (St. Jacob's cathedral). After mass we will travel to Konopiště castle, where we will have lunch in the Myslivna (game keeper's lodge). We will go on all three tourist routes in the castle, which was the summmer residence of the successor to the throne of Franz Ferdinand d'Este, who was murdered in Sarajevo in 1914. We will also see the largest collection of statues of St. George in the world and take a walk through the beautiful English garden to the barn for our dinner. Here you will be presented with the most successful and most sophisticated presentation of Czech cuisine in an atmosphere created by buildings from the past Czech country side and its folklore. We then return to Prague for overnight stay.

Day 6.   Last day
Transfers for departure. Should your time schedule permit it, we would be delighted to offer you an optional visit to the exhibition of Modern 20th. century art and architecture. N.B. In the cathedrals it is not possible to reserve seats, nor even to set aside a section for your disposal. Attendance at the divine services is of course free, even in the three cases of the first class interpretation of world music. It is not only necessary to be suitably dressed for these auspicious occasions, but due to the time of year you should ensure that this formal attire will keep you adequately warm as we have quite noticeable cold spells at these times of the year. This is particularly important for the night services. The participants will be given Latin texts free.