A rose made of Mexican silver to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe as patroness of the Americas and of the pro-life movement is currently touring through Colorado. The Silver Rose pilgrimage, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, will visit parishes throughout Colorado between the months of June – August.
Parishes are invited to host the Silver Rose with a one-hour liturgy to increase devotion to Mary, respect for human life and the spiritual renewal of each nation. Local Knights
councils will assist with organizing the liturgies. Everyone is invited to attend them.
“The Knight’s Silver Rose program honors Our Lady of Guadalupe and affirms dedication to the sanctity of human life,” said Stephen Sweeney, a Knight organizer of the event. “The prayer services include Liturgy of the Word, a rosary and consecration to Mary [of pro-life efforts].”
Some parishes also choose to celebrate a Mass, organizers said.
Our Lady of Guadalupe is an icon of the pro-life movement as her appearances to the peasant St. Juan Diego nearly 500 years ago in what is modern-day Mexico City ushered in the largest mass conversion of a people in the history of the Church from a religion that involved human sacrifice.
Dressed as an Aztec princess, Mary appeared to Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill in December 1531 and asked him to tell the bishop of her desire for a church to be built where people could take their prayer requests for her intercession. The bishop, however, asked Juan for a sign to prove the request came from Mary. At Mary’s direction, Juan found a sign — roses not native to the land blooming from the frozen ground on Tepeyac Hill. After filling his cloak with them, Juan hurried to the bishop. Upon opening his cloak, the roses fell out and Juan and the bishop saw a more wondrous sign — an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe miraculously imprinted on the cloak. Convinced, the bishop built the church. The cloak bearing the image remains on view at the Guadalupe Shrine in Mexico City where it draws millions of pilgrims annually.
Every year, runners from villages across Mexico light torches at the Guadalupe Shrine in Mexico City and relay them to their home churches to arrive on Dec. 12. For the Silver Rose pilgrimage, instead of carrying a torch, Knights steward a silver rose to recall the miracle of Guadalupe and Mary’s promise of aid. The final destination of the silver rose is the Guadalupe Basilica in Monterrey, Mexico, where the Silver Rose program was initiated in 1960 by the Columbian Squires, youth group of the Knights of Columbus.
Since its inception, which started with a single live rose, the program has grown to relay eight silver roses, which take different routes from their March departure, half from cities in Canada, to their final destination.
“The routes cover several provinces in Canada and most U.S. states,” said JR White, a Knight organizer of the event.
In addition to promoting Marian devotion and the dignity of all human life, organizers said the pilgrimage embodies international brotherhood and builds unity among the Knights.
The Knights urge parishes interested in participating to contact them as soon as possible.
To host or find a Silver Rose liturgy or get more information about the Knights, contact Sweeney at 303-880-9820 or stephen.sweeney@archden.org or White at 303-330-6245 or wjr35000@juno.com.
Silver Rose Pilgrimage Host Locations
Date/Parish/City
July 5 – St. Gabriel (Colorado Springs)
July 7 – Pax Christi (Highlands Ranch)
July 8 – St. Patrick’s (Colorado Springs)
July 12 – St. Paul’s (Pueblo West)
July 17 – St. Therese Circle (Pueblo)
July 19 – Holy Cross (Thornton)
July 22 – St. Mary’s (Greeley)
July 25-26 – St. Dominic’s (Security)
July 28 – St. Michel’s (Aurora)
Aug. 1 – Our Lady of Fort Carson (Fort Carson)
Aug. 2 – Light of the World (Littleton)
Aug. 3 – St. Francis Assisi (Longmont)
Aug. 4 – St. Paul’s (Colorado Spring)
Aug. 6 – Our Lady of Pines (Conifer)
Aug. 7 – Queen of Peace (Aurora)
Aug. 8 – Mt St. Francis (Colorado Springs)
*Article updated July 1, 2020
