Places of Pilgrimage - Germany & NY
Quotes of Blessed Marianne Cope
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May 2007
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BLESSED MARIANNE COPE FIRST AMERICAN HONORED IN LOURDES BASILICA BY BANNER DISPLAY
"For bringing us this banner raising ceremony, we thank our Bishop James M. Moynihan, of the Diocese of Syracuse, New York, for making the request on our behalf. We offer gratitude to Pere Patrick-Louis Desprez for his letter of request and to the Rector of theSanctuaries, Pere Raymond Zambelli who responded favorably to our request. Lastly, we thank the Bishop of Lourdes and Tarbes Jacques Perrier, who approved the request. We acknowledge and thank our cherished friends, Pere Regis-Marie de la Teyssonniere and the North American Lourdes Volunteers, in the person of Marlene Watkins."
Sister Patricia Burkard, OSFGeneral MinisterA small yet dauntless group of 20 or more embarked on a grand adventure: A Pilgrimage to Lourdes, France. The purpose of the pilgrimage was to be present at the banner raising celebration of Blessed Marianne Cope in the St. Pius X Underground Basilica. Bishop James M. Moynihan of the Diocese of Syracuse, NY had officially requested that her banner be represented among the Saints and Blesseds.
On December 12, 2006, Pere Raymond Zambelli, Rector of the Sanctuaries at Lourdes, responded favorably to the request and so on May 5, 2007 the Sisters of St. Francis, relatives of Blessed Marianne and friends of the Community witnessed her banner being raised, thus making her the first American represented at Lourdes in the Basilica.
Mother Marianne’s banner is situated along the ramp that allows the ill to view her while being carried or wheeled down into the main body of the underground Basilica for various religious ceremonies.
Commentary from Cause Director: Recently, in September, at the time Pere Regis Marie was here, a very practical question was posed to him. The banners at the Basilica are movable and are rotated or placed in different locations at times. The question was whether or not Blessed Marianne's banner is still very visible. He assured us that Mother's banner indeed is in the same place as it held during our visit. And, of course, he let us know that having the banner of Pope John XXIII on the reverse side of the arrangement helped her keep her position---Two cheerful people and so much good done by these two holy positive thinking souls!!!