The Luxembourg-American community have announced that a new processional banner will be premiered for the closing procession of the Octave (Oktav) pilgrimage, celebrating the 400th jubilee of Our Lady of Luxembourg, on Sunday 25 May 2025.
The banner will be the third, given as a gift by the Luxembourg-American community to the Notre-Dame Cathedral of Luxembourg, following two previous banner presentations in 1892 and 1966 respectively.
Kevin Wester, owner/operator of Luxembourg Adventures with Kevin Wester tour company, explained that in the 19th century, Our Lady of Luxembourg became a symbol of national identity to Luxembourg immigrants in America. The first Luxembourg American banner for the Octave procession was as a result of an 1885 visit to the procession by Luxembourg immigrant Rev. Nicholas Moes. He duly approached Nicholas Gonner, an influential Luxembourger in America, who encouraged donations for financing of the project. In 1892, the first banner (which comprised a set of three) was presented. The main banner displayed Our Lady of Luxembourg on top of the American eagle and surrounded by faithful from different levels of society. The two side banners depicted the American stars and stripes. The set of banners was blessed at the annual Octave Mass for Luxembourgish Americans at Notre-Dame Cathedral in May 1892 and formed part of the Octave’s closing procession. Members of the American Luxembourg Society in the Grand Duchy continued to carry the banner annually in the Octave’s closing procession for over 100 years.
In 1966, Chicago Luxembourgers donated a second banner in honour of the 300th jubilee. This banner depicted an image of Our Lady of Luxembourg on the front, with the American Eagle and the text “In God We Trust” on the back. This banner was blessed during the 1966 Octave Mass for Luxembourgish Americans and was carried, together with the 1892 banners in the closing procession. The first (1892) banners were retired after this procession and the new 1966 banner was carried annually in the Octave’s closing procession, until recent years.
In 2022, Archbishop of Luxembourg, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, made a pastoral visit to the Midwest USA. Kevin Wester and Mike Ansay, Honorary Consul of Luxembourg in Wisconsin, organised this visit. Cardinal Hollerich invited them both to bring a tour group to the 2025 Octave celebration of the 400th jubilee of Our Lady of Luxembourg. A new 2024 Luxembourg-American processional banner, to commemorate the jubilee, was duly commissioned and, together with the 1892 and 1966 banners, will be carried in the closing procession of the 2025 Octave on Sunday 25 May.
The new banner, designed by Luxembourgish artist Jacques Schneider, is currently being fabricated by Bernard-Kauffman and will depict Our Lady of Luxembourg, surrounded by the stars and stripes of the American flag. The lighter blue colour of Our Lady and the Christ child is described as reflecting the blue of the Luxembourg flag and Our Lady’s status as patroness of the country. The gold of the crowns and the base of the image are reported to symbolise divinity in Heaven and on Earth. The back of the banner names the communities in the United States of America that have displayed public images of Our Lady, as well as the names of the five donors whose support was instrumental in the production of the 2024 banner.
In addition to the jubilee banner, three new banner holders for procession, along with stands for display and three archival plastic covers, are being made in Luxembourg.
Cardinal Hollerich is set to bless the new Luxembourg-American banner during the 138th Octave Mass for Luxembourgish Americans, offered for the living and deceased members of the Luxembourg-American community, which will take place at the Glacis Chapel in Luxembourg-Limpertsberg on Saturday 24 May 2025. This Mass is open to the general public.
HOM
