Canonical Coronation: Our Lady of Guadalupe crowned patroness of Cebu archdiocese

Thousands of devotees yesterday flocked to the Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish Church to witness the canonical coronation of Our Lady of Guadalupe as the principal patroness of the Cebu Archdiocese.

The canonical coronation of Our Lady of Guadalupe had the permission from the Vatican's Discipline of the Sacraments through Pontifical Decree Prot. N552/06/L that the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship issued last May 9 and signed by Vatican prefect Francis Cardinal Arinze.

Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal led the coronation rites after his homily, thanksgiving and invocation, and reading of the Papal Bull that authorized the canonical coronation of the image.

After the canonical coronation, the Litany of Loreto was recited and a procession of the crowned image around the parish was held.

Yesterday also marked the 104th anniversary of the salvation event when the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was carried in a procession around the main streets of Cebu City to stop a cholera epidemic at the time.

Cardinal Vidal, in his homily, said that even if there is no cholera epidemic, the people now are still hurting politically and economically, and caused the destruction of morality especially among the youths.

"Nagpadayon ang kadawo sa gahom ug ang kahakog sa dungog...sakit lang gihapon ang gibati sa daghang mga bata ug batan on nagmakulang sa maayong pamatasan ug natudluan na hinoon ug nakabaton sa mga hiwi nga gawi," he said.

Vidal then prayed to the Lady of Guadalupe, who is the Mother of Perpetual Help, to help the youth and their parents and teachers in school.

Sacred images of our Lord, the blessed Virgin or the Saints -as sources of spiritual consolation for the faithful in the parish or diocese- are singularly honored by crowning as the acknowledged patron, protector and advocate of a particular place.

A canonical coronation is a coronation rite done in the name of the Pope, of a highly revered image, icon or painting of the Lord Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Saints in a country, province, city, parish or archdiocese, said a Church official.

The process of canonical crowning of a miraculous image starts when parishioners and devotees tell their parish priest they wish for their patron's image. Among those to be considered in crowning a patron are the latter's manifestation of great spiritual favors to the faithful.

The parish priest then starts the documentation of the petition and related events, which are then presented to the bishop who, in turn, conducts an inquiry and validates the details in the document.

If convinced, the bishop either discusses the matter further with the archbishop or directly petitions the Vatican for the privilege.

There are quite a number of crowned images in the country but the first canonically crowned Marian image was that of the Our Lady of the Rosary of La Naval de Manila, which was later enshrined in Sto. Domingo Church in Quezon City on October 3, 1907.

The next was Our Lady of Peñafrancia de Naga in 1924, then Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag in April 1926.

The first ever recorded crowning was done in the 8th century by Pope Gregory III (731-741 A.D.) who donated a golden diadem for the holy images of Jesus, Mary and the saints inside St. Peter's Church in Rome. - Jasmin R. Uy