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The Diocese of Lincoln is joining a dozen churches in answering Pope Francis’ 2022 call to prepare for the 500th anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 2031 and they’re celebrating in style. The diocese will take part in a series of 12 Masses that will take place nationwide for the Year of Jubilee. The series of celebrations are part of “Project Guadalupe 2031,” an initiative led by Archbishop Cordileone of the Archdiocese of San Francisco in partnership with the Benedict XVI Institute.
According to a presser from the Diocese of Lincoln, Project Guadalupe 2031 is a new, multi-year initiative to inspire more U.S. Catholics to answer Pope Francis’ call:
“I urge all members of the pilgrim Church in the Americas, pastors and faithful,” Pope Francis said, “to participate in this celebratory journey that aims to promote an encounter with God through Our Lady of Guadalupe, for the renewal of the social and ecclesial fabric of these peoples and communities.”
In the announcement, the prelate noted that the appearance of the Blessed Mother to “a poor, indigenous farmer in Tepeyac” was the point at which Christianity was birthed in the Americas. He expressed his hope that all Christians, and especially Catholics, would “join us in preparing to welcome Mary into our hearts and homes.”
Mass of the Americas
To this end, a series of 12 Masses will be held during the Jubilee Year of Hope, with stops already scheduled in California, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Nebraska. In addition, Archbishop Cordileone will also preside over a special Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in Mexico, built over the very spot where Mary appeared to St. Juan Diego.
The Masses will be notable for their music, as they will feature Frank La Rocca’s Mass of the Americas, a unity Mass to Our Lady of Guadalupe and Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception commissioned by Archbishop Cordileone. The Mass of the Americas utilizes texts in Spanish, English, Latin, and Nahuatl, an indigenous language of Mexico, raising Mexican folk hymns to Mary through the high sacred music tradition of the Church.
“This is the fulfilment of a great dream of mine, praise God — to bring this beautiful unity Mass to Our Mother to the place she appeared a half a millennium ago,” said Archbishop Cordileone.
Pilgrimage
In order to facilitate fantastic music, a large festival choir will be organized with help from Jubilate, an arm of Perform-International. Hundreds of voices from across the United States are expected to gather at Our Lady of Guadalupe’s Shrine, where Composer Frank La Rocca will be present, and the choir will be directed by Richard Carrillo.
Project Guadalupe 2031 invites all Christians to join them in the pilgrimage to Mexico. While the event is gathering choirs for the journey in order to add voices for the Mass of the Americas, it welcomes non-singers to the pilgrimage as well. More information on the pilgrimage travel plans can be found here.
Home Enthronement Campaign
While many will be traveling to Mexico on the pilgrimage, those who will not travel have an opportunity to participate from their homes. As part of the Guadalupe Project 2031, Archbishop Cordileone and the Benedict XVI Institute have launched a new Our Lady of Guadalupe Home Enthronement Campaign.
The home enthronement of an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a way to ask for the protection of the Blessed Mother and a commitment to pray to Jesus Christ alongside her. With the goal of establishing 100,000 home enthronements of Our Lady, the Benedict XVI Institute has arranged a downloadable support package that includes a set of enthronement prayers approved by the archbishop, an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and a new Litany for Our Lady of Guadalupe and the American Saints from the Institute’s poet-in-residence James Matthew Wilson.
While the package is free to download, the campaign is also collecting donations that will go towards helping to educate and inspire greater devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe and through her, win souls to Christ. A generous and anonymous donor has pledged to match all donations under $50,000 at a 2-1 ratio; this means that $25 becomes $75, $50 becomes $150, etc.. Those who donate $100 or more will receive a printed booklet of Wilson’s new litany.
Learn more about the pilgrimage and the Home Enthronement Campaign at the official website of Project Guadalupe 2031.
And today we celebrate...