The feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary Queen of Palestine: an occasion for fraternity

Taking advantage of the presence of the Lieutenants and Magistral Delegates of the peripheral articulations of the Order in the various continents, this year the feast in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary Queen of Palestine was held on November 15 at the Palazzo della Rovere, headquarters of the Grand Magisterium of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre.

Grand Master Cardinal Edwin O’Brien, together with the Apostolic Administrator of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and Pro Grand Prior of the Order, Abp. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Abp. Bernard-Nicolas Aubertin, Grand Prior of France, Msgr. Maurizio Malvestiti, ad interim Regent for Northern Italy, Governor General Leonardo Visconti di Modrone and Lieutenant General Agostino Borromeo welcomed the many friends who came to celebrate the feast of the Patroness of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, chief among them Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

Like every year, the reception was an opportunity to exchange experiences and promote greater awareness about the life of the Order. In particular, Rome based friends of the Order were able to experience the internationality of our Pontifical institution, thanks to the presence of the heads of the various Lieutenancies.

The decision to gather together under the mantle of the Blessed Virgin Mary Queen of Palestine always allows us to bring the joy of encounter to the heart of the Order’s mission: support for the Church in the Holy Land, the Land of Jesus and his mother, the Land where we can retrace the steps of the history of salvation. Let us gladly recall the words that the Holy Father entrusted to us on the following day (November 16) on the occasion of the audience granted us: “To the work of material aid to people who are so harshly tried, I urge you to always associate prayer, to constantly invoke Our Lady, whom you venerate with the title of ‘Our Lady of Palestine’. She is the caring Mother and the Help of Christians, for whom she obtains strength and comfort in sorrow from the Lord.”

(December 2018)