While Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity sojourned in San Antonio, the Oblate School of Theology became a planning meeting stop with Franciscan Friar of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Province Brother Tyler Harris OFM. It was also a significant prayer stop for Sister Mary Ann Spanjers and Sister Julie Ann Sheahan. Pope Francis’ has reminded all of us about the coming 500th anniversary of our Lady’s apparitions in Guadalupe in 2031,.This was a perfect spot to pray with Mary at the Lourdes Grotto & Tepeyac De San Antonio.
The replica of the original grotto to Our Lady of Lourdes is beautiful. It marks the date that the Mother of God appeared to Bernadette Soubirous, a young peaseant girl, on February 11, 1858 in Lourdes, France. This particular site was blessed and dedicated on December 7, 1941. Since then, many have come to pray for loved ones, healing and other special intentions. Archbishop Robert E. Lucey, D.D., the Archbishop of San Antonio, blessed this shrine.
Marian apparitions have led to mass conversations and a renewed devotion to Our Lady. While this shrine honors Our Lady, it also remembers the Missionaries of the Oblate who minister to the Latino communities of the U.S., Mexico and South America.
To conclude, we share a few lines of St. Francis of Assisi’s litany of greetings describing Mary’s Role in the plan of salvation from our own Franciscan tradition. It is entitled “A Salutation of the Blessed Virgin Mary”.
“Hail, O Lady,
Holy Queen,
Mary, holy Mother of God,
Who are the Virgin made Church,
chosen by the most Holy Father in heaven
whom he consecrated with HIs most holy beloved Son
and with the Holy Spirit the Paraclete,
in whom there was and is
all fullness of grace and every good.”
