+39 338 190 24 36 press@famvin.org

Pilgrimage with Mary – Rome: November 27: Procession from the Leonine to the Parish of San Gioacchino in Prati.

In Rome, we have begun the pilgrimage of the sacred image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, blessed (Wednesday, November 11th) in the Vatican by Pope Francis in the presence of the Superior General of the Congregation of the Mission, Father Tomaẑ Mavriĉ, CM and a small delegation of people. On November 26th, at 6:30pm, Marian prayer will take place at the Leonine. Then, on the morning of November 27, the image will be brought to the studios of Tv2000 where a special program in honor of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal will take place and will be televised at 9:06-9:45am. On the same day, there will be a celebration of the Eucharist in the Leonine at 5:00pm and this will be transmitted by facebook (@SuperiorGeneralCM) … in light of the reduced number of persons who are able to be physically present in the church because of restrictions imposed by health officials, this transmission will allow everyone to participate in the celebration. At the conclusion of the Eucharist, the image will be brought in procession to the parish of San Gioacchino in Prati.

Since November 20, the image has been in the parish of Tor Sapienza and November 23 the image will be brought to the Leonine, where it will remain until November 27th when it will be brought to the parish of San Gioacchino in Prati. From there the image will be brought to the community of the Daughter of Charity (November 30th) and the following day (December 1st) the image will be brought to the church of Santa Andrea della Fratte and then on December 4th it will be brought to the community of the Daughters of Charity in Regina Mundi. On December 7th the Daughters of Charity in Santa Ágata will take charge of the image until December 10th when it will be brought to the parish of San Gregorio VII and then on December 12th to the parish of Santa Ana in the Vatican. Then the image will be brought to the parish of Santo Dimingo de Guzman on December 14th, the parish of Santa Francesca Cabrini on December 17th, the parish of San Francisco de Asis on December 19th. Then On December 21st, the image will return to the Leonine where it will remain until December 26th when it will be brought to the parish of San Lucas; on December 29th the image will be brought to Regina Pacis and December 30-31 to the community of the Daughters of Charity in Loreto (AN).

The pilgrimage of the image during the month of December will be primarilly in the various parishes of the city of Rome. The image will be brought to parishes thoughout Italy during 2021 and this pilgrimage has been organized to commemorate the 190th anniversary of the apparitions of the Blessed Mother to Catherine Laboure. The various stages of this pilgrimage and information related to this pilgrimage can be found on the facebook page of the Association of the Miraculous Medal: https://www.facebook.com/Medaglia-Miracolosa-pellegrina-105326204721580/

On the evening of July 18-19, 1830, Catherine Laboure, a young Daughter of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul saw the Blessed Mother and had a lengthy encounter with her. The Virgin stated: The times are very evil! Misfortunes afflict France … the entire world will experience misfortunes of all sorts … But come to the foot of this altar, there abundant graces will be spread over all those who ask for them with confidence and fervor … I have always watched over you. Then, on November 27th, 1830, Catherine Laboure saw the Blessed Mother again, holding a globe in her hand (representing humankind). Catherine contemplated her beauty and accepted the mission of having a medal made: the people who carry this medal will receive many graces.

Through this initiative of the pilgrimage of the image of Mary, the members of the Vincentian Family, faithful to the Word of God and inspired by their charism which calls them to serve God in the person of the poor, recall the fact that even today the Blessed Mother is inviting people to come to the foot of the altar.

After 190 years, Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal continues to watch over humankind and comes, as a pilgrim, to visit and to the meet with the members of the Christian communities spread throughout Italy. Thus, Mary fulfills the promise of love that is contained in her message: I will be remain with you, trust and do not be discouraged.

Elena Grazini

Press Office

Vincentian Family

+39 338 190 24 36

elena@elenagrazini.it

PRESS RELEASE – Pilgrimage with Mary On the 190th Anniversary of the Apparitions of the Blessed Mother to Saint Catherine Labouré

On Wednesday, November 11th, the Holy Father will bless the sacred image of the Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in the Vatican in the presence of the Superior General of the Congregation of the Mission, Father Tomaẑ Mavriĉ, CM and a small delegation of persons responsible for organizing Mary’s pilgrimage to the various communities throughout Italy on the occasion of the 190th anniversary of the apparitions to Saint Catherine Labouré.

In the midst of the difficult situation in which the world finds itself as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and in the midst of a society marked by conflict and tension on every continent, the spiritual children of Saint Vincent de Paul begin, with this Marian pilgrimage, a journey to proclaim the merciful love of God.

On the night of July 18-19, 1830, the Blessed Mother appeared for the first time to Catherine Labouré, a young Daughter of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul. This was a rather lengthy encounter in which the Blessed Mother stated: The times are very evil. Misfortunes afflict France and the entire world will experience misfortunes of every sort … But come to the foot of this altar, there abundant graces will be spread over all those who ask for them with confidence and fervor. They will be given to the great and the small. On November 28, 1830, the Blessed Mother appeared again to Catherine Labouré, holding in her hands a small globe (representing humankind). Catherine contemplated her beauty and accepted the mission to make a medal: the persons who wear this medal will receive great graces.

Pilgrimage with Mary on the 190th anniversary of the
apparitions of the blessed mother to saint Catherine Laboure

Today, the world is deeply troubled. Poverty is spreading and has become more accentuated as a result of the pandemic. On November 15th we will celebrate the Fourth World Day of the poor, with the theme, stretch forth your hand to the poor. In his message for that day, Pope Francis wrote: The present experience has challenged many of our assumptions. We feel poorer and less self-sufficient because we have come to sense our limitations and the restriction of our freedom. The loss of employment, and of opportunities to be close to our loved ones and our regular acquaintances, suddenly opened our eyes to horizons that we had long since taken for granted. Our spiritual and material resources were called into question and we found ourselves experiencing fear. In the silence of our homes, we rediscovered the importance of simplicity and of keeping our eyes fixed on the essentials. We came to realize how much we need a new sense of fraternity, for mutual help and esteem

The members of the worldwide Vincentian Family, faithful to the Word of God, inspired by the charism which calls them to serve God in the person of the poor and encouraged by this initiative of the Blessed Mother to go on pilgrimage, want to remind us that the Blessed Mother continues to invite men and women to approach the foot of the altar.

In his message on the occasion of the Missionary Vocations Festival, the Superior General, Father Mavriĉ, recalled the following words of Saint Vincent which the Congregation of the Mission has recently reflected upon: our vocation is to go not to one parish, not just to one diocese, but all over the world (CCD:XII:215). He then went one to say: I hope that these words of Saint Vincent help us to revitalize our foundational vocation as missionaries and to do this from the perspective of our universality and internationality.

Today, one hundred ninety years later, Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal continues to watch over humankind and engages in this pilgrimage in order to visit and meet with the ecclesial communities throughout Italy, thus fulfilling the promise of love that is contained in her message: I will always be with you, trust, do not be discouraged.

Our Lady will begin this pilgrimage on Tuesday, December 1 and will continue through November 22, 2021, with the following schedule:

12/01/2020 – 01/01/2021: Lacio, Marche, Umbría

01/02/2021 – 02/03/2021: Campania

02/04/2021 – 02/28/2021: Calabria

03/01-2021 – 03/31/2021: Sicilia

04/01/2021 – 04/30/2021: Apulia, Basilicata and Bbruzzo

05/01/2021 – 05/31/2021: Toscana and Liguria

06/01/2021 – 06/30/2120: Piamonte and Lombardia

09/12/2021 – 10/13/2021; Emilia Romagana and Treveto

10/19/2021 – 11/22/2021: Cerdeña

Through means of this Missionary and Marian initiative, the coordinating group of missionaries, members of the Congregation of the Mission, under the leadership of Father Valerio Di Trapani, are promoting the spread of evangelization material: a pocketbook on Saint Catherine Labouré (Vincentian Liturgical Center), a pocketbook on the Miraculous Medal (Vincentian Liturgical Center), the Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Novena Prayers (Vincentian Liturgical Center), the liturgy for receiving the image of Our Lady, pamphlets about the Vincentian Family in Italy, banners about the event, and articles on the Miraculous Medal.

The various branches of the Vincentian Family, parishes and other ecclesial institutions are invited to participate in this Marian pilgrimage that will last for three days (fulfilling all health requirements that have been established as a result of COVID-19). Events will include: celebration on receiving the image, eucharistic celebration, celebration of Mercy, Marian-Vincentian catechesis, meeting with children, youth and adults, prayer for vocations, Marian cenacles in the homes of the poor and the infirm (nursing homes and drop-in centers), financial initiatives to support the Vincentian missionary works.

Elena Grazini

Press Office

Vincentian Family

+39 338 190 24 36

elena@elenagrazini.it

press@famvin.org +39 338 190 24 36