22,000 gather and pray at Guadalupe Festival
Over 22,000 people gathered at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale Arizona on Saturday August 8, 2009 to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe in the concluding event of the First International Marian Congress of Our Lady of Guadalupe held in Phoenix, Arizona. Sponsored by the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, the Congress presented a series of lectures discussing the apparition of the Blessed Virgin to the indigenous peoples of Mexico in 1531 and the effect of that visitation on the catholic Church in the Americas. The lectures includes a detailed study of the tilma upon which the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe appears.
The festival, which included testimonies, prayer, songs and dance was the culmination of the Congress and featured such renowned personalities as actor and producer, Eduardo Verastegui, and Immaculee Ilibagiza, author and survivor of the Rwandan Holocaust. Ms. Ilibagiza shared the horrific events that happened in her country and how she was spared by the grace of God. Eduardo spoke of his conversion and the power that God has to change lives for the better.
The program included the recitation of the Rosary with meditations read by people from around the world and the decades lead in various languages by representatives from the different nations.
Bishop Olmsted from Phoenix and Bishop Lori from Bridgeport, CT joined the crowd in prayer. Bishop Olmsted also spoke of the attraction of true beauty and the need to appreciate the beauty in our lives that comes from God.
Thew crowd, largely Hispanic cheered throughout the day with cries of "Viva" in response to the the different musicians.
Throughout the day the joy of living and the recurrent theme that we should live lives that respect the right to life from the womb to the tomb, resonated in the talks, the songs and the prayers.
What was very disappointing though was the failure of the press and the media to cover the event. There were no local stories on the news or on the radio, nor was there anything in print. as of this posting, there was not even anything on the internet or on the wire services, either secular or religious.
At a time when prayer and action are the two most important things that we can do given this current crisis, it is a shame that no one took the time to cover the event.
Well I was there and now you know a little bit about what happened her in the Valley of the Sun.
The festival, which included testimonies, prayer, songs and dance was the culmination of the Congress and featured such renowned personalities as actor and producer, Eduardo Verastegui, and Immaculee Ilibagiza, author and survivor of the Rwandan Holocaust. Ms. Ilibagiza shared the horrific events that happened in her country and how she was spared by the grace of God. Eduardo spoke of his conversion and the power that God has to change lives for the better.
The program included the recitation of the Rosary with meditations read by people from around the world and the decades lead in various languages by representatives from the different nations.
Bishop Olmsted from Phoenix and Bishop Lori from Bridgeport, CT joined the crowd in prayer. Bishop Olmsted also spoke of the attraction of true beauty and the need to appreciate the beauty in our lives that comes from God.
Thew crowd, largely Hispanic cheered throughout the day with cries of "Viva" in response to the the different musicians.
Throughout the day the joy of living and the recurrent theme that we should live lives that respect the right to life from the womb to the tomb, resonated in the talks, the songs and the prayers.
What was very disappointing though was the failure of the press and the media to cover the event. There were no local stories on the news or on the radio, nor was there anything in print. as of this posting, there was not even anything on the internet or on the wire services, either secular or religious.
At a time when prayer and action are the two most important things that we can do given this current crisis, it is a shame that no one took the time to cover the event.
Well I was there and now you know a little bit about what happened her in the Valley of the Sun.
posted by Jakubczyk on Life | 2:47 PM
