What was begun through preaching in the pulpit in words was now confirmed and supplemented through dramatic actions which appealed to all the senses and made an unforgettable impression on the people. For this reason Eugene was emphatic that these ceremonies take place and that they be well prepared. In 1837, after twenty years of practical experience, he insisted:
Among these practices are some that are considered as essential and others that can be done according to the situation. What is prescribed in the Rule, as for example the entry of missionaries into a place they are going to evangelise, cannot be suppressed, even temporarily, except by an explicit authorization from me.
The consecration to the Blessed Virgin,
the renewal of baptismal promises,
the promulgation of the law,
the procession of the Blessed Sacrament,
the funeral service and the instruction after the Gospel of the Requiem High Mass as well as the procession and absolution at the cemetery,
the first procession known as the penitential procession,
the exercise preparatory to the act of contrition
and the separate act of contrition for men and women,
the general Communion,
are obligatory in all the missions.
Letter to Eugene Guigues, 5 November 1837, O.W. IX, n. 652.
In the coming days I will deal with each of these ceremonies, so important for the communication of the message to the colourful people of Provence.