Marikina shrine granted canonical coronation

FILE PHOTO: Pope Francis leads the Angelus prayer at the Vatican, January 7, 2024. Vatican Media/­Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

Pope Francis has granted the canonical coronation of the image of Our Lady of Fatima, enshrined in the Diocesan Shrine and Parish of Saint Paul of the Cross in Marikina City.

According to the Diocese of Antipolo, where the parish belongs, it received the news from the Vatican’s Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of Sacraments on Feb. 14, as reported by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines news site.

According to the Vatican, a canonical crowning is a pious institutional act in which the Pope, through a bull, designates a crown or stellar halo to be added to a Marian image under a specific devotional title in its locality.

READ: Canonical coronation for Nuestra Señora de Fatima de Marikina

The same Marian image was episcopally crowned by the diocese on Oct. 17, 2010, but its decree was only released nine years later in 2019.

Although not required, an episcopal coronation is considered a stepping stone for the canonical coronation of an image.

Bishop Ruperto Santos of Antipolo called the pontifical coronation an “enormous and symbolic gift … [from the Pope that] will surely deepen our devotion to the Mother of our Lord Jesus, who is also our mother.” —DEXTER CABALZA