The new Roman Catholic feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church will be celebrated at noon Monday with a Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels led by Archbishop Jose H. Gomez.
More than 1,000 kindergarten through 12th grade students from Catholic schools throughout the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and hundreds of faithful will join Gomez for the Mass at the cathedral in downtown Los Angeles.
The students will bring written prayer intentions for the intercession of Mary, the mother of Jesus, to the cathedral. Those prayers will be delivered to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City in July during the Archdiocesan pilgrimage with Gomez.
Faithful attending the Mass will have the opportunity to write prayer intentions for delivery to the basilica before or after Mass.
Representatives from each school attending the Mass will participate in offering flowers to Mary and students from Precious Blood School in the Westlake district will participate in the coronation ceremony.
Pope Francis announced the new annual feast in February. It will be celebrated by Catholics worldwide for the first time Monday, the day after Pentecost, which commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks.
“The image of Mary as the mother of the church helps us to see that the family is essential to God’s plan for creation,” Gomez said. “It also helps us to see our own importance … in the loving eyes of God. As disciples, we are called to take Mary into our homes and into our lives and into our hearts.”
An image of Mary blessed by Gomez can be requested at marian.angelusnews.com.
“There should be an image of Mary in every home,” Gomez said. “My prayer is that families and individuals will place this image in a prominent place, and when they look at it they will remember to pray and make an act of love to our mother.”