DID YOU KNOW? The Immaculate Conception
ORIGINS OF THE DEVOTION
The Dogma – Bull Ineffabilis Deus (December 8, 1954)
“Immaculate Conception” is a dogma of the Catholic Church that refers to the conception of the Virgin Mary free from original sin. It was proclaimed on December 8, 1854 by Pope Pius IX by the bull Ineffabilis Deus.
It is noteworthy, however, that this belief in the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary had been contemplated by the Fathers of the Church since the fourth century and moreover when Mary was declared “The Mother of God” at the council of Ephesus in 431.
It is also necessary to highlight that the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception (that concerns the virginal conception of Blessed Virgin Mary herself) is sometimes mistakenly confused with the Dogma of the Incarnation (that refers to the virgin conception of Jesus-Christ).
The Immaculate Conception is celebrated by the Catholic Church on December 8 during the feast dedicated to her. It is a day of observance on which Catholics are required to attend Mass.
The Marian Apparitions of Lourdes (February 11 – July 16, 1858)
The events that will further support the bull Ineffabilis Deus, will be the Marian Apparitions in Lourdes, France, where in 1858, Bernadette Soubirous, a 14-year-old miller's daughter, is said to have been visited 18 times by the Virgin Mary who appeared to her from February 11 to July 16.
Bernadette described her as the lady wearing a white veil and a blue girdle; she had a golden rose on each foot and held a rosary of pearls. She also reported that during the 16th apparition, on March 25, “she said: ‘I am the Immaculate Conception’. At first, the Clergywas very skeptical about the veracity of her story, but after a canonical investigation, on January 1860, the local Bishop declared: “The Virgin Mary did appear indeed to Bernadette Soubirous. Pope Jean-Paul II visited Lourdes three times. And Pope Benedict celebrated there the 150th anniversary of the apparitions. Bernadette Soubirous was canonized in 1933 by Pope Pius XI.
To learn more about Our Lady of Lourdes, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lourdes_apparitions
ON NOVEMBER 28, 2020 WILTON D. GREGORY BECAME A CARDINAL
At the conclusion of the Angelus, on November 25, Pope Francis had announced a Consistory for the creation of 13 cardinals. Among them, Bishop Wilton Daniel Gregory, Archbishop of Washington. On Saturday, November 28, 2020, after three negative Covid-19 tests, while in a 10 days quarantine at a Vatican resident building, Archbishop Gregory and 10 other new bishops that had been able to travel, were allowed to attend that very special and colorful ceremony where Gregory became the first Black American to earn the rank of Cardinal.
With this elevation, Cardinal Gregory has become one of the papal electors. The Catholic Church now regroups 229 cardinals eligible to vote for the next pope. This number includes 128 cardinals under 80 years old among which 73 have been named by Pope Francis. It is worthy to note that even though Pope Francis did not wear a mask for the ceremony, Cardinal Gregory kept his on.
Later on, after the ceremony, the Pope and the new Cardinals payed a visit to retired Pope Benedict XVI now 93 at the Monastery where he resides inside the Vatican. He was pleased to see the new Cardinals and joyfully gave them his blessings. .
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BIBLE VERSE
Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths:
All flesh shall see the salvation of God.
Luke 3: 4, 6
Thank You for your Support
In these difficult and trying times we want to thank you all for having given so much of your time, talent, and treasure to support our Cathedral over the years. Please know that even though public masses have been cancelled for the time being in our house of worship, we are still the Church, the people of God, and can practice our faith by reading the scriptures, praying, watching televised or streaming masses, and caring for one another, especially the elderly in our community.
Under the present circumstances we continue to rely on your generous support with the "Sunday" offering to meet our weekly expenses to pay our utility bills, meet our payroll deadlines, and feed our priests.
This ensures we can keep the parish functional.
As such, we would like to provide you with the following options to continue to support our Cathedral's needs:
1. Mailing a check to the Church Office, payable to Saints Peter & Paul Cathedral
2. Dropping off your offering at the Church Office
3. If you wish to set up a direct deposit, take note of our account number:
BANCO POPULAR ACCOUNT # 193-042940
or
FIRST BANK ACCOUNT #719-1-017057