Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Mexico City (Agenzia Fides) – Millions of faithful around the American continent will be spiritually united on Wednesday, September 8, at 8pm, to participate in the recitation of the Rosary to Our Lady of Guadalupe, which will be taking place for the first time in the evening and as a community. Everyone will carry candles and walk the path up the hill of Tepeyac to the entrance of the Basilica of Guadalupe. Leading the procession will be the Archbishop of Mexico City and Primate of Mexico, Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera.
The event, organized by the Archdiocese of Mexico, which sent a notice to Fides, is part of the program for the "Santa María de Guadalupe, Our Shield and Patroness of our Freedom" Day, organized on the occasion of the Bicentennial celebration of Mexico's Independence.
The date of September 8 was chosen because the Church celebrates the feast of the birth of the Virgin Mary. The canon of the Basilica of Guadalupe, Father Eduardo Chavez Sanchez, in charge of Guadalupe Rosary, said he will pray "so that Mexicans may find true freedom and independence from sin, death, selfishness, and the love of money that so plagues our country."
The day's program also includes a presentation by Cardinal Rivera Carrera, a speech titled "Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of the Civilization of Love" given by the Chief of the Knights of Columbus, and another short talk by Fr. Chavez Sanchez on "Santa Maria de Guadalupe, Our Shield and Patroness of our Freedom - the meaning of the Black Virgin in the fight for Mexico's independence."
According to Father Chavez Sanchez, there will also be more than three million people in the U.S. joining in the Rosary, as well as hundreds of thousands of people across the continent that will follow the event through the site www.rosarioguadalupano.com, various television and radio chains, and Catholic stations that will broadcast the event free of charge. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 04/09/2010)
