The Star of the Sea Walk of Prayer

The Brotherhood of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady Star of the Sea organises the Walk of Prayer. The Brotherhood consists of members (hereafter: Brother Masters) and honorary members. Brother Masters can only be male persons, who have reached the age of eighteen years, are practising Roman Catholics and have a good devotion to Our Lady Star of the Sea.

The Bishop of Roermond is patron of the Brotherhood. Also involved are the parish priest of the Slevrouwe, who is also director and advisor of the Brotherhood, as well as the sexton of the basilica.

The Walk of Prayer is walked by the above-mentioned groups and persons, parishioners, pilgrims and other believers and interested parties. The Little Walk of Prayer can be walked at any time on one's own initiative or in small groups of parishioners and pilgrims.

The history and development of the Walk of Prayer cannot be separated from the history of the statue of Our Lady Star of the Sea. The statue of Mary Our Lady Star of the Sea probably dates from around 1470. The name “Star of the Sea” recalls a miracle that allegedly took place in 1684. A nobleman was said to have been caught in a storm at sea and he made a promise that if he survived the danger he would erect an altar to the statue of Mary of the Franciscans of Maastricht. Having survived the storm and returned home safe, he kept his promise and had an altar built in the Franciscan church on which the statue of the Virgin Mary was given a place. This is said to have prompted the statue of Mary to be named “Star of the Sea” from then on.

The Walk of Prayer originated five centuries ago with the Franciscan fathers, who traditionally held a grand procession with the statue of Mary on Easter Monday, from their monastery on Sint-Pieterstraat (today's archive building). The Walk of Prayer has always been walked by the same route since then.

During the periods of the city's history when the statue of the Star of the Sea could be venerated and processions were allowed to take place, the Walk of Prayer was walked. There have been periods when the Walk of Prayer fell into disuse and had to be rediscovered, including at the time of French rule.

The tradition had almost disappeared until the Brotherhood took the initiative in 2017 to walk the Grand Way of Prayer at least once a year as a regular part of the Diocesan Feast of the Star of the Sea on October 10. Since then, the Grand Way of Prayer is annually walked again, not only on October 10, but also on special occasions. The Little Walk of Prayer is also walked more frequently again, now on Saturday mornings before Fraternity Mass.

Safeguarding actions 2023-2025

• Draw up a communication plan aimed at parishioners and parishioners of other parishes in and around Maastricht.
• Draw up a communication plan aimed at younger generations, marginal church-members, pilgrims and other denominations and deploy new communication channels for this purpose.
• Organise lectures and discussion evenings for new target groups, such as young people and marginal church members.
• Invite other parishes in and around Maastricht to walk the Walk of Prayer with us.
• Evaluate the trial of the Little Walk of Prayer on the first Saturday of the month and explicitly investigate the influence of terraces and shoppers.
• Draw structural attention to publications about the Walk of Prayer, for example by selling them through bookshops.
• Include the Walk of Prayer in the catechesis programme of the student chaplaincy.
• Let younger brother masters be ambassadors especially in their own circles.
• Involve schools and the student chaplaincy in the development of teaching programmes and information material for children and young people and invite them to evaluate the Walk of Prayer after they have walked it.”