Viva Cristo Rey (Long Live Christ the
King) was the motto for this year’s Call to Chivalry Summer
Camp for boys held at the Feliciana Retreat Center in Norwood,
La. from June 29 - July 9. The camp was co-sponsored by the
American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property
(TFP) and St. Louis de Montfort Academy.
This year’s camp motto was immortalized
by militant Mexican Catholics, called Cristeros, who
fought to defend the Faith during the Mexican Revolution of
the 1920s. Facing martyrdom, the Cristeros, such as
Fr. Miguel Pro and Luis Segura Vilci, would proclaim their Faith
instants before death by shouting “Viva Cristo Rey!”
in a loud voice.
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More important that the games, the camp offered intellectual
and religious formation. |
To learn more about these amazing Catholics, thirty-seven
boys, ages 12-18, traveled from all over the South and as far
away as Scotland and Ireland to attend. Camp activities included
horseback riding, canoeing, archery and paintballing.
More important than the games, the camp offered
intellectual and religious formation on topics such as: the
history of the Mexican martyrs and Cristeros, Christ
the King, the meaning of life, the Ten Commandments, persecution
of Catholics in America, the medieval order and the Revolutionary
process that has been decimating the remnants of Christian civilization
for centuries.
“This year’s meetings were fantastic!”
said camp attendee Kenneth Murphy. “I really enjoyed learning
about history and defending the Faith from a Catholic perspective.”
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On July 4, camp participants were fortunate to watch Baton
Rouge’s firework display on board the ship-museum
U.S.S. Kidd. |
On July 4, camp participants were fortunate to
watch Baton Rouge’s firework display on board the ship-museum
U.S.S. Kidd, moored in the Mississippi River. “I have
watched Baton Rouge’s fireworks display every year since
I can remember,” said camp participant Philip Lebouve.
“But watching the fireworks on board the Kidd was a totally
new experience.”
July 6 was “Cristero day.”
The camp was decorated in a Mexican theme with ponchos, spurs
and sombreros. After normal daytime activities, which included
horseback riding, archery and swimming, the boys feasted on
Mexican food.
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After dinner on Cristero day there was a play
depicting a Cristero martyr. |
After dinner there was a play depicting a Cristero
martyr and making an application for today, followed by an embellished
game of prison break.
The camp ended in hallmark TFP style with medieval
games and a medieval banquet in the camp’s outdoor pavillion.
Several of the boy’s parents worked together to provide
a Cajun banquet fit for a king that included five different
types of meat, potato salad, beans and jambalaya. Parents joined
their sons in the dinner presided over by Msgr. Bergreen of
St. Agnes Parish in Baton Rouge.
After dinner awards were announced, souvenirs
given and slides of the camp projected.
As the evening finished, the boys left tired,
well-fed and ready to defend the Faith in today’s hostile
culture following the example of the Cristeros.
