Starting Friday, February 21st, 2020, the estandarte or banner of Our Lady of Lourdes stands inside the Grotto above the altar of the Shrine while the Venerated Image is being prepared for the Canonical Coronation on Saturday, May 2, 2020.
The next time we shall see the Venerated Image will be on April 29, Wednesday, during the first of the Triduum Masses to be held at the San Agustin Church, also known as the Archdiocesan Shrine of Nuestra Señora de Consolacion y Correa. It was in this church that the Capuchin Fathers stored the beautiful, much-beloved image for safekeeping when Lourdes Church and other structures in the walled city of Intramuros were decimated during World War II.
Let us accompany the Venerated Image as we retrace her journey to NSOLL from San Agustin Church in Intramuros on April 29, to University of Santo Tomas on April 30 and to Santa Teresita Chapel on May 1 before she finally arrives at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes. Let us celebrate all the activities leading to this most historic event in our parish!
#CanonicalCoronationLourdes #NSOLLPH
Since Rome has finally conceded a Pontifical Coronation to the venerated image of Our Lady of Lourdes it would do well for the Capuchins to turn their attention to the image itself by making it the center of the annual festivities rather than being sidelined during her fiesta particularly during the fiesta procession itself. Undoubtedly the image is in good shape even if it was badly repainted recently but it won’t hurt to have it brought it out in procession as in the old days, or at least for her patronal feast every February 11. After all, the custom of a canonical coronation not just affirms a people’s faith but it is also meant to highlight the important role of a particular, specific image in the devotion of the people. So why make measures that would prevent them from being expressly venerated and
practically place them beyond reach when it was never that way in the beginning. It won’t hurt to do a little research on the history of the devotion of their beloved Virgin…
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