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Catholic pilgrims travel to the small Italian town of Loreto to stand inside the Holy House of Mary, preserved in a basilica, in which traditional holds the Virgin Mary was born, raised, and greeted by the Angel Gabriel at the Annunciation. (Flyer20061 [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)
Nov. 15, 2019
Lorena Rojas
San Francisco Catolico
The pastor and faithful at Our Lady of Loretto Parish in Novato welcomed the news that Pope Francis has decreed a new optional feast, Dec. 10, to honor their patron saint.
A decree published Oct. 31 by the Congregation for Divine Worship set the optional December feast day for Our Lady of Loreto, who since the Middle Ages has symbolized the holy family and the sacredness of all families and has heard the prayers of millions seeking solace, intercession and guidance in their vocation.
The readings and prayers for the new feast day will be added to the general Roman calendar and will appear in the Liturgy of the Hours, liturgical prayer books and those used in the celebration of Mass.
“Excellent and very ‘new’ news!” said Our Lady of Loretto parochial vicar Father Tony Vallecito, who thinks the decree will be an opportunity to get to know more about Our Lady of Loreto. “We are going to have to do something with the community that day.”
Among parishioners expressing gratitude and surprise was Alma Pech.
“I am very happy because I have always fought to give more recognition to the Virgin of Loreto,” she said. “I hope that at least we can do a Mass and a rosary in her honor on December 10.”
Our Lady of Loreto is considered in many countries the patron saint of aviation, airmen, pilots and flight attendants.
“Many parishioners want to know more about her,” Pech said.
Natalia García, an immigrant from Mexico who actively attends and participates in the parish rosary prayer group, welcomed the decree.
“I always carry a holy card with the Virgin of Loreto surrounded by many angels,” she said. “She is asking for more from our community and to be celebrated. We have to love her like a mother, respect her and venerate her.”
Catholic pilgrims travel to the small Italian town of Loreto to stand inside the Holy House of Mary, preserved in a basilica, in which traditional holds the Virgin Mary was born, raised, and greeted by the Angel Gabriel at the Annunciation.
“This shrine recalls the mystery of the Incarnation, leading all those who visit it to consider ‘the fullness of time,’ when God sent his Son, born of a woman, as well as to meditate both on the words of the Angel announcing the Good News and on the words of the Virgin in response to the divine call,” states the decree.
The Holy House of Mary in Loreto, Italy, has been a popular pilgrimage site since the Middle Ages with Galileo, Mozart, Descartes, Cervantes, St. Therese of Lisieux and many popes and saints visiting throughout history.
Historic documentation shows that the Holy House of Mary was brought from Palestine to Italy in the 13th century.
“In the Holy House, before the image of the Mother of the Redeemer and of the Church, saints and blesseds have responded to their vocation, the sick have invoked consolation in suffering, the people of God have begun to praise and plead with Mary using the Litany of Loreto, which is known throughout the world,” the decree states.
Pope Francis visited the Holy House in Loreto earlier this year on the Solemnity of the Annunciation, during which he called Loreto “a privileged place where young people can come in search of their vocation.”
“It is necessary to rediscover the plan drawn by God for the family, to reaffirm its greatness and irreplaceability in the service of life and society,” Pope Francis said in Loreto March 25.
“The Holy House of Mary is the 'home of the family,'” he said during his visit, noting that “in the delicate situation of today’s world, the family founded on marriage between a man and a woman takes on an importance and an essential mission.”
In a homily in 1995, St. Pope John Paul II called the Holy House of Loreto, “the house of all God’s adopted children.” He continued:
“The threads of the history of the whole of humankind are tied anew in that house. It is the Shrine of the House of Nazareth, to which the Church that is in Italy is tied by providence, that the latter rediscovers a quickening reminder of the mystery of the Incarnation, thanks to which each man is called to the dignity of the Son of God.”
Catholic News Agency contributed.