Guadalupe image starts Philippines pilgrimage; Marcos leads consecration
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From the Website of CBCP
links https://cbcpnews.net/cbcpnews/guadalupe-image-starts-philippines-pilgrimage-marcos-leads-consecration/
Guadalupe image starts Philippines pilgrimage; Marcos leads consecration
A nationwide peregrination of the pilgrim image of Our Lady of Guadalupe began Saturday in Manila, with Catholic leaders calling on the faithful to deepen service to the poor and strengthen spiritual unity across nations.
The opening Mass at the Manila Cathedral drew a packed congregation of devotees, diplomats and government officials, including President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who led the prayer of consecration of the nation to Our Lady of Guadalupe at the close of the liturgy.
The image is a cloth replica of the tilma associated with St. Juan Diego and has been brought into contact with the original image enshrined at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico.
In his homily, Cardinal Jose Advincula said Our Lady of Guadalupe reflects God’s closeness to the poor, the forgotten and those living on society’s margins.
He said Mary’s appearance to St. Juan Diego in 1531 in simple form shows that divine love reaches ordinary people in their own language and lived reality.
“The apparition of Our Lady in Guadalupe is not only a historical event, it is a call to imitate Mary’s compassion for the poor,” Advincula said. “This deep compassion of hers was not abstract. It was attentive to the real needs of the people.”
He said Mary remains a model for believers amid modern distractions, ambitions and anxieties, noting that today’s world continues to be marked by multiple forms of poverty and suffering.
“Mary challenges us to see Christ in the suffering, the lonely and the forgotten, and to respond with mercy, solidarity and concrete acts of service,” Advincula said.
Devotees venerate the pilgrim image of Our Lady of Guadalupe at Manila Cathedral on June 13, 2026. PHOTO FROM THE MANILA CATHEDRAL
The Manila archbishop also urged the faithful to embrace interior conversion as the pilgrim image travels nationwide, saying devotion must be matched by deeper spiritual renewal.
“Let us ask not only for her protection, but also for a share in her heart,” he said.
A message from Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes of Mexico City was read during the Mass, conveying greetings to Philippine bishops and describing the Philippines and Mexico as “sister nations” long united in faith.
Aguiar said Marian devotion has served as a symbol of love, tenderness and unity that transcends cultures, languages and time, calling Mary a bond among Christian communities.
He said Our Lady of Guadalupe emerged in a period of cultural encounter and conflict in 16th-century Mexico, becoming a bridge of reconciliation between indigenous and Spanish worlds.
“God communicates through the cultural categories of the people whom he loves,” he said, noting that Guadalupe’s message reached the indigenous through their language and experience.
He added that the pilgrim image sent to the Philippines is intended to renew hope and strengthen devotion ahead of the 500th anniversary of the apparitions.
The image will remain at the Manila Cathedral until June 18 before traveling to churches across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
CBCP Website
Article links
https://cbcpnews.net/cbcpnews/guadalupe-image-starts-philippines-pilgrimage-marcos-leads-consecration/
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