Christmas Eve- A Very Special Mass in a Cave

It's nice to have friends in high places, our friends the Baratas live near us in the Netherlands and Dave is the Captain of the Coast Guard Unit there.  Last year they got to attend a very special event, a Christmas Eve Mass in a cave in Maastricht, and this year Dave brought us to the cave mass as his guests.

We went down on the 23rd and went to the Baratas regular church.  We managed to get everyone to take a joint photo afterward.

It is a very small congregation and the Baratas keep the whole church running!  It was fun to see them all in action. Dave was the lector, Caroline played the piano, Annie and Barb both sang in the choir and James kept the Hughes kids smiling during the service!

We spent Christmas Eve morning relaxing, eating a wonderful brunch and drinking endless cups of coffee.  Charlie was delighted that for the mass in the caves you had to be 12 years old, so he settled in for a nice afternoon of hanging out with the Barata kids.

What is this mass in a cave we were headed for?  The Baratas had gone last year and described it t but its hard to picture what it would be like and to understand what it was all about. 
Here is a nice description from a blog post on this WW2 site:
http://wwiiresearchandwritingcenter.com/wwii-the-schark-cave-in-maastricht-the-netherlands/

"Every year the Foundation of the Commemoration of the American Christmas Celebration 1944 ( abbr. SHAK1944) organizes a Christmas Eve Mass to commemorate those brave boys who fought for the Liberty of Europe. Every year about 200 American soldiers attend this Service, together with their superiors, the American Ambassador or his representative,  the King’s Commissioner of the province of Limburg, the Mayor of Maastricht  and some other people."                                                                                                 note: (other people=lucky Hughes family)

Here is a great "scene setter" as to what Christmas Eve 1944 was like in Maastricht, Netherlands...(also from the same website)

WWII- The Schark Cave in Maastricht, The Netherlands

This is a guest post written by Jons van Dooren

Maastricht, the most southern city of the Netherlands, was liberated on the 13th and 14th of September 1944. The Ninth Army established its headquarters in Maastricht and stayed there for about five months.

About 800 American soldiers were in Maastricht and surroundings, in part preparing for Germany. They were also protecting the area and Antwerp harbor (all the American supplies were there)  from V1’s and V2’s, launched from Germany.

127th AAA and 131st AAA  Gun battalion had their gun-pits in Maastricht and in the neighborhood. It was their responsibility to  protect the whole area from attacks by planes and bombs. The soldiers belonging to these units were the ones who took down enemy planes and the so called Buzz-bombs. In many cases they succeeded as reports show and Antwerp harbour was “safe”.

In the meantime the coldest winter of the 20th century arrived and the soldiers had to do their duty under extreme circumstances. In the days around Christmas it was minus 32F, extremely cold, and some had to sleep in their tents. An American chaplain, Father Dobrzynski, together with some Brothers of the Immaculate Conception of Maastricht, thought about how to give the boys a kind of Christmas Feeling in these days. They knew of a cave, the Schark cave, which was very safe, and where a Mass could be held on Christmas Eve.

The cave was prepared. Sal Barravecchia, one of the soldiers, created a beautiful mural in which he showed how Freedom was guarded from all sides. About 260 American soldiers attended Mass. After Mass they had coffee and donuts. Most of the soldiers were staying Maastricht, and some came from the Ardennes, where the fighting in the Battle of the Bulge was raging on. They were taken to Maastricht by their trucks.

After Mass they all wrote their names on the wall with charcoal.  This wall is still preserved.

The website itself shows some pictures of the Christmas Eve Mass in 1944, taken by American soldiers.  (this website is run by the organization holds the mass annually)

We drove to Maastricht and arrived early for a reception where we ate wonderful pie and got to meet some of the VIP's.  We then headed out for the cave.  It wasn't a high mountain that were were heading into, really more like a regular hillside.

 

About to head in.

We went down this decorated passageway after the service for hot cocoa and doughnuts.  Back in 44 they also served doughnuts and cocoa to the soldiers after the mass.  Katie was happy they also kept this tradition alive!

One of the first paintings we passed.

Drawings filled the walls.

Even statues were carved and displayed.

I didn't expect all the carvings and drawings. Apparently the soldiers in 1944 were also impressed by what they saw when they came for mass.  At the end they closed by reading a letter that one soldier sent to his mother.  He wrote about the carvings and drawings on the cave walls.  

I found the reading of the letter the most moving part of the whole experience. To hear it in the soldiers own words was just so incredible.  Here is a link to the letter:

Letter from a soldier to his mother describing the mass

The color guard waiting to begin.

They called representatives up from the different services there and had them light a candle to honor some of the men.  Here is the Coastie that was lighting a bunch of them.

A carved altar, not the one used for the ceremony.

Altar used for the mass.

Names signed on the wall by those who attended the mass.

Real photo of the men signing...from the program.

Another shot of the altar.

A group of Dutch soldiers also taking photos to remember their trip.

Looks like it might be snowing but its really just the dust in the cave.

A view of the area from our car before we left.  We parked the car in a field and walked into the cave.

It's tough to wrap up this post as there are so many thoughts swirling around in my head after this event! First we want to thank the Barata's for including us, and the SHAK1944 Association that keeps the tradition alive each year.  We feel so fortunate to have gotten to attend.

If you want to be awed, I encourage you to read some of the letters on the SHAK1944 website that are written by the Dutch people.  Their letters convey their sincere appreciation for the brave American soldiers who left home and family to come and free Europe. 

As Americans visiting 74 years later, we are still so impressed and inspired by the brave soldiers who gathered in the cave to share some fellowship before they headed out to an uncertain fate.  We are grateful for their efforts that made the world a better place for all of us!