On the occasion of the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Pontifical Commission for Latin America announced the recitation of the Holy Rosary on December 12.  

Newsroom (24/11/2021 2:43 PM, Gaudium Press) The Pontifical Commission for Latin America (PCAL) announced today that a rosary will be recited in honour of Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Peter’s Square.

The prayer will take place on December 12, 2021, at 10:00 am, marking the feast of the Patroness of America and the Philippines, the Virgin of Guadalupe.

“Moved by faith, hope and charity, we express our love for the Mother of all, the Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe, in closeness and fidelity to the successor of Peter, Pope Francis,” the announcement read.

People representing different cultures will recite each decade. The Rosary is dedicated to praying for the intentions of the excluded and the victims of the pandemic.

The Rosary will end with a prayer presided by Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. The Holy Father will pray the Angelus as usual, immediately after the Rosary.

The Commission invites everyone to participate in this moment of prayer, particularly the Latin American community present in Rome, both residents and pilgrims.

The apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe

The feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe celebrates her apparitions to the indigenous St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin on Tepeyac hill between December 9 and 12, 1531.

Our Lady commissioned the young Juan Diego to ask the local bishop, Juan de Zumárraga, to build a shrine in her honour.

Since the bishop doubted the apparition’s authenticity, Our Lady made roses sprout on the hill of Tepeyac in the middle of winter. Juan Diego gathered them on his mantle as proof of the apparitions of the Blessed Mother.

As Juan Diego showed the roses to the Bishop, Our Lady’s image was printed on his mantle. (FM)

(With information from VaticanNews)

Compiled by Gustavo Kralj