PH Church joins preparations for 500th anniversary of Guadalupe apparitions

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) announced that local churches are taking part in the preparations for the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the apparations of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

"In the spirit of our fraternal bonds with the bishops of Mexico, the CBCP has expressed its commitment to the Conferencia Episcopado Mexicano in particiapting in the Novena Intercontinental Guadalupana. This nine-year preparation for the 500th anniversary of the Guadalupe apparations in 2031 was inaugurated by the late Pope Francis on December 12, 2022," said CBCP Gilbert Garcera in the Pastoral Exhortation on the visit of the Madre Peregrina de Guadalupe image from Mexico to the Philippines.

"Its objective is to promote a renewed encounter with God through the Our Lady of Guadalupe, seeking new paths to revive faith in order to celebrate 500 years of the Guadalupan Event," he added.

Garcera further said the CBCP received the invitation of the bishops of Mexico in 2025 to participate in the global novena.

He added that the bishops have committed the participation of Guadalupe shrines in the country undr the guidance of the Association of Catholic Shrines and Pilgrimages of the Philippines until the year 2031.

With this commitment, a replica of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and an image of St. Juan Diego will be brought to churches in the different parts of the country from June 13, 2026 to December 12, 2026 as part of global efforts to spread the devotion.

It can be recalled that from December 9 to12 in 1531, a glowing young woman appeared before Juan Diego in present-day Mexico City identifying herself as Our Lady of Guadalupe.

This apparition was confirmed by Pope Benedict XIV through the Sacred Congregation of Rites in 1754, which granted permission to celebrate Mass and Office for the Our Lady of Gudalupe on December 12.

The bishops also announced that the act of consecration and entrustment to Our Lady of Guadalupe will be recited in all Masses in the churches that the image will be visiting.

"His Eminence, Jose F. Cardinal Advincula, Archbishop of Manila lovingly gave the image the title Madre Peregrina de Guadalupe, emphasizing the Virgin Mary's role as a visiting mother as she visited her cousin Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-56)," said Garcera.

"During her visit to churches across our nation, we are called by Our Lady of Guadalupe to consecrate ourselves to her as our Blessed Mother," he added. — BAP, GMA News