Statue of Blessed Virgin Mary Crowned - Diocese of Lake Charles

LAKE CHARLES – With the pull of a cotton cord, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, Apostolic Nuncio and Ambassador of the Holy See to the United States, unveiled the crowned statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Thursday evening, August 22.

The event marked the major observance on the diocesan level of the centennial of the 1913 blessing and dedication of Cathedral church, which replaced the structure destroyed by the Great Fire of 1910.

Bishop Glen John Provost celebrated the Mass on the Feast of the Queenship of Mary, during which the crowning rite took place. The Bishop was joined by Archbishop Viganò, bishops from dioceses in Louisiana and Texas - Archbishop Gregory Aymond and Auxiliary Bishop Shelton Fabre of the Archdiocese of New Orleans; Bishop Michael Jarrell of the Diocese of Lafayette and Bishop Sam Jacobs of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux attended. Bishop Robert Muench of the Diocese of Baton Rouge; Bishop Michael Duca of the Diocese of Shreveport: Bishop Ronald Herzog of the Diocese of Alexandria; Bishop Curtis Guillory of the Diocese of Beaumont, Texas; and Abbot James Liprie, O.S.B. of Mother of the Redeemer Monastery in Opelousas were also present. All the bishops are pictured above and more images of the special day can be viewed at http://live.lcdiocese.org/resources/image-galleries/view/36.html

The special Jubilee Year called for by Bishop Provost in December 2012 to honor the Cathedral centennial continues until Friday, Dec. 13.

Archbishop Viganò, in his homily, and as the personal representative of Pope Francis to the United States, brought the Holy Father’s greetings. His homily can be read by clicking: http://live.lcdiocese.org/news/press-releases/1430-2013-09-27-16-43-04.html

“I express to you his heartfelt good wishes and the assurance that he is prayerful communion with all of you, as he draws you into his paternal embrace,” the Archbishop said. “You are well aware of the great love and devotion of the Holy Father to the Blessed Mother, as first shown on the morning after his election as Pope, and then before and after his journey to Rio de Janeiro for World Youth Day, when he went to the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome to venerate her and to ask for her special intercession.”

Archbishop Viganò, at left, noted that Pope Francis had only the day before announced the Pope would give special honor to the Blessed Mother by having the statue of Our Lady of Fatima brought to Rome on Oct. 12-13 to commemorate Mary’s final apparition to the three shepherd children - Lúcia Santos and her cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto. He also reminded those in attendance that this statue of Our Lady has on her head a beautiful golden crown.

“Tonight we join together here, to also honor the Mother of God,” he continued. ‘We give thanks for the many blessings this Diocese has received through her intercession, as we celebrate this Jubilee year. At this Holy Mass, gathered around your Bishop and in union with the whole Church throughout the world, we acknowledge Mary as our Queen by crowning her to show our love and devotion. How pleased the Lord must be to have his Mother honored by us in such a way.”

The Archbishop also pointed out that throughout the ages people of all faiths have looked upon Mary and venerated her in her role as the Mother of God.

“The angel Gabriel told the lowly handmaid in Nazareth that her Son, the Messiah, would inherit the throne of King David and he would rule forever,” he said. “Therefore, her Queenship is a share in the kingship of her Son. Elizabeth, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, when Mary visited her, called Mary, carrying Jesus in her womb, ‘mother of my Lord’.

“In all the mysteries of Mary’s life, she is closely associated with Jesus and her work has been to assist Him, so that His work and mission would be accomplished to bring about the new creation. How much we can learn from Mary, ever faithful, who remained by her Son at the foot of the Cross. From the very depths of her being, she was sharing in the chalice of salvation, taking part to the bitter end in the suffering that true love and fidelity many times require.”

Ending his homily, Archbishop Viganò spoke the words of the prayer Pope Francis used to conclude his recent encyclical – The Light of Faith.

   Mother, help our faith!
   Open our ears to hear God’s word and to recognize his voice and call.
   Awaken in us a desire to follow in his footsteps...
   Help us to be touched by his love, that we may touch him in faith.
   Help us to entrust ourselves fully to him and to believe in his love, especially at times of trial, beneath the shadow of the cross, when our faith is called to mature.
   Sow in our faith the joy of the Risen One.
   Remind us that those who believe are never alone.
   Teach us to see all things with the eyes of Jesus, that He may be light for our path. And may this light of faith always increase in us, until the dawn of that undying day, which is Christ himself, your Son, our Lord!

Father Derek Covert, the Judicial Vicar, read the official decree from the Holy See, the Nuncio then read a prayer before the crowning, and followed with his sharp tug of the cord unveiling the crown that graced the head of the statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which can be seen at left.

Before the final Blessing, Bishop Provost noted that the feast day of the Queenship of Mary was established by Pope Pius XII established in 1954. “On that occasion His Holiness crowned the most venerated image of Mary in the Western world—the icon of Salus populi Romani in the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome. From the earliest centuries of Christian history, Mary, under this title of “protector of the Roman people,” has watched over the trials of the Eternal City and her inhabitants and welcomed the veneration of her children.”

With a nod to Archbishop Viganò, Bishop Provost pointed out that the Nuncio had done “the singular privilege of crowning in the name and by the authority of the Holy Father the image of Mary, our Salus populi Lacus Carolini. For almost a century now she has watched over our region, the joys and sorrows of its people, and prayed for them in time of relentless attack from violent storms in the Gulf.”

Bishop Provost also thanked the Archbishop for his presence as well his brother Bishops, priests, deacons, religious and laity for being present for the Crowning. He also thanked all those who made the celebration possible saying “through long hours of deliberation and work, for programs, receptions, music and ceremony, we gratefully entrust you to Mary’s prayers.”

The crowning of Mary under various titles has a very long history in the Church, both in the East and in the West. Beginning with the Council of Ephesus (A.D. 431), the long held practice of crowning Mary, also known as the coronation, began to develop further and spread more rapidly. It was at the Council of Ephesus that the traditional title Theotokos, the Mother of God, was reaffirmed and definitively held against the Nestorian heresy. Since then the custom of the Blessed Virgin Mary wearing a regal crown has enjoyed the favor of the sensus fidelium under the guidance of the Magisterium. The growth of this custom led to the development of a liturgical rite in which the Blessed Virgin Mary is invoked as queen. The “Introduction” to the rite states that Our Lady is rightly regarded as queen since she is the Mother of the Son of God, who is the messianic King. Furthermore, it states that she is the perfect follower of Christ. Mary is the perfect follower of Christ because she believed the words spoken to her by the angel and did the will of God. Therefore, she has undoubtedly won the “crown of righteousness” promised to those who believe in and follow Christ.

The Jubilee Year called for by Bishop Provost was meant to renew the commitment of all the faithful to the mission of Christ in the Diocese of Lake Charles and to deepen Catholic unity in the same. In providing the permission for the crowning, the Apostolic Penitentiary granted plenary and partial indulgences during this year for the benefit of all of the People of God making pilgrimages to our Cathedral or offering pilgrimage prayers in the Diocese of Lake Charles.

More information on indulgences, from a story written by Father Nathan Long, may be found by clicking here.

Earlier in the afternoon several hundred individuals greeted Archbishop Viganò during a two-hour long public reception (see photo at right) held in The Historic Calcasieu Marine Bank Building in downtown Lake Charles.