Anniversary celebration to mark the 10th anniversary of the Ambassade du Pays de Rode à Limbourg

10 years Ambassade du Pays de Rode à Limbourg
 Holy Mass
in the Rolduc Abbey, Kerkrade (NL)
Saturday May 18, 2019
11:00 a.m.

Official program of the anniversary celebration

11:00 am to approx. 12:30 pm

High Mass in the Rolduc Abbey Church with the participation of Deken Nevelstein,

Bishop emeritus Mussinghoff, Bishop emeritus Jousten, Deacon Houtema

Musical accompaniment: vocal ensemble "Capella Droezjba"

under the direction of Francoise Aarts-Thissen

approx. 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Reception of invited guests at Rolduc Abbey: ceremonial address, honors,

Presentation of a loan to Rolduc Abbey

approx. 12.30 pm to 1:30 pm

Supporting program for further interested parties with a guided tour of the monastery or

Possibility to stop for refreshments in the monastery

Invitation to all Euregians to the High Mass at Rolduc Abbey Church for download see below.

10 years Ambassade du Pays de Rode

Why an Ambassade du Pays de Rode?
Well over ten years ago, a Kerkrad citizen by the name of Frits Sprokel had an idea:
A walking trail through the old Duchy of Limburg!
Frits Sprokel - an energetic and history-conscious Euregian - deeply rooted in the history of Rolduc Abbey and his Christian-Catholic faith - pointed out the historical connection between the old capital of the Duchy of Limbourg and Rolduc Abbey: The Dukes of Limbourg were buried in Rolduc Abbey! It was therefore an obvious choice to connect the still existing municipality of Limbourg, with its historic town rights, situated in a difficult-to-conquer castle complex on a hill in a loop of the Vesdre river, now embedded in the greater municipality of Limbourg (Hevremont, Goe, Bilstain and Dolhain), with the venerable Rolduc Abbey in the Netherlands via a hiking trail.
The hiking trail, which was meticulously designed by Frits Sprokel and his enthusiastic collaborators with an eye for history and a love of nature, was to start in the old capital of the Duchy of Limbourg and lead to Rolduc Abbey in the form of a stage hike and back to Limbourg via another stage route.

The old Duchy of Limbourg, which today is divided between Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, was once a culturally unified area. Consequently, the idea was born to make the Euregio area, which is now separated by national borders and which largely corresponds to the area of the old duchy, accessible to the population of the Euregio again in its cultural unity. An idea that also includes a European concept:
Cultural and cross-border friendship! In 2009, the time had come! Everything was prepared, a walking route, an explanatory book and an Ambassade du Pays de Rode in the old capital of the Duchy of Limburg, which can rightly call itself the Historical Capital of the Euregio.
While exploring the old capital, Frits Sprokel was able to win over a Dutchman and prominent Limburg citizen, Mr. Jack Buck, who lives in the listed summer residence of the Archbishop of Liège in Limburg, for his project. Mr. Jack Buck agreed to make part of the old bishop's palace, which he and his partner live in, available for use as a cultural ambassade.
The task of this ambassade was to ensure that the idea of a cross-border friendship in the form of the Herzog-Limburg-Pfad hiking trail would become known locally. The relevant local authorities were also to be approached so that, for example, representative cultural monuments such as St. George's Church, the historic St. George's Square and other sights in Limbourg could be restored.

In addition, the ambassade was also intended to raise awareness among the population of the Duchy of Limburg, i.e. today's Euregians, of the revitalization of the hiking trail and the cultural sights and natural beauty worth experiencing along it.
This commonality of culture manifests itself not only in architectural epochs, monuments and cultural assets such as coins. The commonality also lies in the commonality of the Christian faith, which allows the people within the Euregio to be spiritually and emotionally connected with each other, regardless of their current nationality.
For this reason, the inauguration of the Ambassade and the appointment of the first Ambassadeur du Pays de Rode, Jack Buck, in 2009 was not only celebrated by secular authorities, but also by spiritual authorities. In addition to the Queen's Commissioner, Leon Frissen, and representatives of the municipalities involved, in particular the cities of Kerkrade and Herzogenrath, the then Bishop of Roermond, Frans Wiertz, also signed the certificate of inauguration. The bishops of the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium involved in the project celebrated a first open-air mass together in Limbourg in recognition of the cross-border similarities.

This not only documented the commonality of our spiritual, cultural and regional-historical roots. At the same time, the fact that it was an open-air fair also drew attention to the fact that the historical monument of St. George's Church is in need of restoration and that efforts should be made to reopen it so that visitors to the open-air fair can once again experience St. George's Church as the roof of their shared faith at some point in the future.
With this mission in mind, the Ambassade took on its cultural mission on a voluntary basis in 2009. After the sudden and unforeseen death of the first Ambassadeur du Pays de Rode, Jack Buck, in 2011, the continuation of the Ambassade project had to be considered. At the request of Frits Sprokel, Dr. Jörg Schmitz-Gielsdorf, who was familiar with the tasks on site, agreed to take on the responsibility of continuing the project. At a ceremony in Limbourg in 2012, he was officially appointed by the secular and ecclesiastical authorities to take responsibility for the continuation of the Ambassade.

Appropriate contacts were established with local politicians and initiatives created to free up funds for the restoration of the old duchy town. A daunting task for one of the smallest and poorest municipalities in Wallonia! But the enthusiasm generated by the idea of a shared history and by the volunteers of the Ambassade and the Dutch organizations supporting it in the background, the Stichting HLP and the St. Catherine Guild, was able to spread the spark both to regional politicians and to the French-speaking inhabitants of what is now Limbourg!
Many initiatives were implemented. Every year since then, the Hertog-Limburg-Pad memorial town festival has been opened with an open-air fair. The now very popular and well-attended historical town festival, which is organized locally by the Ambassade du Pays de Rode with the help of the Stichting Hertog-Limburg-Pad, shows the friendship in the Euregio with the waving flags of Rolduc Abbey!
The restoration of the historic St. George's Square in the center of the castle town, the creation of a new parking lot in the immediate vicinity of the city walls of Limbourg, the restoration of the old fortress walls and the further project of the restoration of the St. George's Church describe the cooperation of the Ambassade.

In addition, many local initiatives have been supported by the Ambassade du Pays de Rode during its first ten years. It provides the population visiting Limbourg with important information about the Duchy of Limbourg and the Pays de Rode cultural area - so called because of the clearing of trees in the Duchy in ancient times. Concerts, book readings, meetings and guided tours regularly make the population aware of the common cultural heritage.
The Ambassade is therefore dependent on the voluntary work of people. The variety of tasks and the necessary commitment demand a great deal of the volunteers' free time. On this anniversary day, we would therefore like to thank above all those who make the idea of cultural and cross-border friendship a reality through their voluntary work at the Ambassade!
Reality is the word that is felt in the heart:

PRO DEO

With your financial support for the non-profit Stichting HLP, you are helping us to carry out cross-border friendship activities as documented over the last 10 years. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for every donation!
Your donation!
To the account of the
Stichting Hertog Limburg Pad, RABOBANK (NL)
IBAN: NL44 RABO 0369 0032 68
Our thanks!

What happened?

After a very beautiful course of the well-filled Episcopal Holy Mass accompanied by the choir "Capella Droezjba" in the church of Rolduc Abbey, the visitors were allowed to turn their attention to the rest of the program. At the official reception, the invited guests from near and far gathered to listen to the keynote speech on the history of the Duchy of Limbourg. The lecture ended with an outlook on the further development of the Euregio Meuse-Rhine. Ambassadeur Dr. Jörg Schmitz-Gielsdorf pointed out that next year marks the anniversary of the history of the Duchy. The Euregio Meuse-Rhine will then be able to look back on 1000 years of history that shaped the common culture in the historic Duchy of Limburg. The idea of celebrating a joint cross-border festival in the Euregio to promote friendship between peoples was very well received by representatives of the region. Will we succeed in inviting the Dutch and Belgian royal families to our region for the 1000th anniversary celebrations?

The idea is born! Now we need to act quickly to launch an honorable and worthy program for the Euregio! Participating municipalities such as Kerkrade, Herzogenrath, Eupen and Limbourg could celebrate the cultural diversity of Europe in a cross-border program! How about a festival of traditional costumes, flag-waving and dancing to traditional music from the different countries and regions of Europe?

The Ambassade du Pays de Rode would like to take this opportunity to once again thank everyone involved for their attendance, their commitment and their future cooperation!

In particular, we would like to thank all the donors whose generosity supported the work of the non-profit Stichting HLP.

Your Ambassadeur du Pays de Rode

Dr. Jörg Schmitz-Gielsdorf