Thousands travelled from across the Diocese of Phoenix to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary under her title of Our Lady of Guadalupe this month (Oct. 19) at the annual Arizona Rosary Celebration.
Organizers of the 50th anniversary of the event said the celebration drew one of the largest crowds ever to the Phoenix Convention Center, surpassing 5,000 attendees in person and thousands more who watched via Facebook and YouTube.
Arizona Rosary Celebration, organized by the Knights of Columbus, Arizona State Council, with assistance from the Diocese of Phoenix, Legion of Mary, Catholic Daughters of America and other lay organizations, featured a procession, matachín dancers, the praying of the Rosary and a presentation by a budding Marian expert.
Fr. John Nahrgang of the Diocese of Phoenix, who is in his final year of studies in Rome, was the invited presenter. A convert to Catholicism who was ordained to the priesthood in 2018, Fr. Nahrgang was asked by Bishop John Dolan to pursue a doctoral degree in Mariology, the study of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The emphasis in Fr. Nahrgang’s studies in Rome has been on the apparitions, image and messages of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
During his presentation to the crowd, Fr. Nahrgang tied those messages to the Year of Hope declared by Pope Francis as well as TILMA, the seven-year pastoral plan developed by Bishop Dolan. TILMA is an acronym for the Spanish words meaning Testify, O Church, to the Light of the Mystery of Love (Testifica, oh Iglesia, a la Luz del Misterio de Amor.)
One of Our Lady’s messages to St. Juan Diego was that he should not worry about his uncle who was gravely ill. “Let nothing worry you, disturb you; don’t grieve over your uncle because he will not die of it for now, you may be certain that he is already healed.” The humble Juan Diego took comfort in the Blessed Mother’s words, and “we should also allow these words of our Blessed Mother to penetrate our hearts and give us peace and hope,” Fr. Nahrgang said.
He pointed to the miraculous image of Our Lady on St. Juan Diego’s tilma, noting the 10 million conversions that took place in the wake of the apparitions. “Hope in Christ dawned on a massive scale and a new Mexico was beginning,” Fr. Nahrgang said.
“Even if we can’t make it to her sacred house in Mexico City, having a blessed image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in our home mystically extends the reach of her sacred house to our home.”
Click to watch Fr. Nahrgang’s talk, it begins at 59:26
