08/30 - Missionary Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Visit The University of Scranton

The Missionary Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe will visit The University of Scranton on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2002. The image will be on display from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. in the university's Royal Theatre, located in the Joseph M. McDade Center for Literary and Performing Arts. The event is open to the public and free of charge.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is the Patroness of the Americas and Protectress of the Unborn. The missionary image, which measures 4 feet by 6 feet, is an exact replica of the original Miraculous Image of Our Lady. The late Cardinal Posadas of Mexico blessed the image in 1991, and the International Rosary Congress at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception circulates the image in an effort to end abortion in the United States. The original image is kept in the Basilica in Mexico.

Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to a poor Indian named Juan Diego in December 1531 in Mexico City, and told him to ask the local bishop to build a shrine in her name. The bishop asked for proof of her appearance, and when Our Lady appeared to Diego again several days later, she told him he would find roses growing on a nearby hillside. Diego wrapped the roses in his cloak to carry them to the bishop, and when he opened it, the roses fell to the ground. They left behind an image of the Blessed Mother, and it is this cloak that is enshrined today in the Basilica.

Juan Diego was canonized as the first Indian saint in the Americas by Pope John Paul II in July 2002 during the Pope's visit to the Basilica in Mexico.

The missionary image is being brought to campus through the efforts of the Rev. Brendan G. Lally, S.J., associate campus minister and rector of the Jesuit Community at The University of Scranton.

For more information regarding the missionary image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, contact Fr. Lally at (570) 941-6155, or e-mail lallyb1@scranton.edu.

In an effort to encourage respect for life at all stages, The University of Scranton will host a conference on campus Oct. 14-15. The Respect Life Symposium: From Conception to Natural Death is being sponsored by the Diocese of Scranton and the Jesuit Community of Scranton. His Eminence Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua, Archbishop of Philadelphia, will give the keynote address at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 14 in the university's Auditorium. Other events include a concert by internationally acclaimed musician Tony Melendez, and presentations by Dr. John Haas, President of the National Catholic Bioethics Center, Frances X. Hogan, Esq., partner at the law firm of Lyne, Woodworth and Evarts, LLP, and Dr. William B. Hurlburt, Consulting Professor in the Program in Human Biology at Stanford University.

For more information about the symposium, contact the Office of Parish Ministries of the Diocese of Scranton at (570) 207-2213, e-mail opm@epix.net, or visit the Web site at www.dioceseofscranton.org.