On Sunday, December 12, 2021, the Holy Rosary will be prayed at 10:00 am in Saint Peter’s Square, in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and, at 12:00 am, Pope Francis will pray the Angelus Marian prayer, reported the Pontifical Commission for Latin America (PCLA).
In a press release, the Pontifical Commission for Latin America stated: “With evangelical joy, walking with the whole Church, we share with you that Pope Francis took up the PCLA’s proposal to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas and the Philippines, on Sunday, December 12 in Saint Peter’s Square.”
“Moved by faith, love and hope we, as Church, and as the whole of the human family, express our love to the Mother of all, the Blessed Virgin Mary of Guadalupe, in closeness and fidelity to the Successor of Peter, Pope Francis,” explained the PCLA.
Representatives of Different Peoples and Cultures
Thus, convoked and gathered “with Latin American sensibility, we will pray the Holy Rosary as a sign of ‘unity in difference’; each decade will be prayed by representatives of different peoples and cultures, expressing our intentions for the Catholic Church worldwide, attentive to the cries of the rejected on the existential peripheries, moved by the victims of the pandemic caused by COVID-19, before Her firm and lively look that welcomes us, saying: “Listen, understand, littlest son of mine, let nothing frighten or afflict you. Let not your heart be troubled. Do not fear that or any other sickness or anguish. Am I not here, who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow? Am I not your health? Aren’t you on my lap?”
Angelus with Pope Francis
Finally, the PCLA says that the moment of prayer, animation, and singing “will culminate with a prayer presided over by Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, in harmonious tune with all the faithful present, ready to take part in the Angelus prayer with the Holy Father at midday.”
The press release also highlights the prudent health measures, “guaranteeing fraternally” the entrance and circulation of participants in the Square, taking part in this Guadalupan celebration, “as People of God, as Latin American and Philippine communities present in Rome, as residents and pilgrims, as men and women religious, as Cardinals and Bishops, as members of the Diplomatic Corps and of the Roman Curia — all.”
Translation by Virginia M. Forrester
