CARDINAL PLACES GOLDEN ROSE IN MARIAN SHRINE AT LORETO

VATICAN CITY, DEC 9, 2000 (VIS) - Today, vigil of the feast of Our Lady of Loreto, in the name of all families throughout the world, Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, offered a golden rose to Our Lady of Loreto in the marian shrine of the same name on Italy's Adriatic coast. The rose, blessed by the Holy Father during the Mass on October 15 for the Jubilee of Families, was presented during a solemn Eucharistic concelebration

A communique released today which highlighted this event explained that "this initiative was born in the context of the Jubilee of Families, who are inspired by the model of the Holy Family of Loreto." It added that members of an Italian family, accompanied by Archbishop Angelo Comastri, prelate of Loreto, had presented the 40 centimeter long rose to the Pope for his blessing on October 15.

Two weddings bands, which mark a couple's commitment to fidelity, form part of the flower's stem. On a cartouche at its base is the prayer: "Queen of Families, make every house a Holy House and every family a Holy Family." This prayer will now be recited every morning in the shrine of Loreto.

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