Bishop Rhoades declares a Marian Year
for the Diocese of Harrisburg!

The reason I am declaring this Marian Year in our diocese is spiritual: to lead all of us closer to the Lord Jesus through deeper devotion to Mary.
Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, Diocese of Harrisburg

Annoucement of Marian Year

There are five special prayer intentions designated for the Marian Year. All are invited to pray in a special way, imploring our Blessed Mother’s intercession, for:

• For the return of non-practicing Catholics to the Church.
• For a more just and peaceful world and an end to all terrorism and violence. 
• For the protection of human life from the moment of conception until natural death. 
• For the protection of marriage and the strengthening of family life. 
• For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life.  

A Pastoral Letter for the Diocesan Marian Year by Most Reverend Kevin C. Rhoades, Bishop of Harrisburg: Our Pilgrimage of Faith, Hope and Love

This image of the Assumption was crowned at the Diocesan Pilgrimage to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., on October 24, 2009. The statute will then travel to parishes, schools and institutions of the diocese for Marian celebrations throughout the Diocesan Marian Year. The 4-foot-tall statue, painted in traditional colors and decorated in gold and silver leaf, was crafted by Demetz Studio in Ortesi, Italy. It is inspired by the painting “Assumption of the Virgin” by Bartolome Esteban Murillo, painted in 1678 and now housed at the Museo del Prado in Madrid.

The statue will be at St. Mary’s Church March 25-29, 2010.

Gate of Heaven, hear our prayer.
Blessed Mother, lead us to your Son.
Draw us, Mary, to your heart.
Lead us home to God.

Scheduled events for the Marian Year:

• April 24, 2010 – Marian Symposium at the Cardinal Keeler Center in Harrisburg, a diocesan symposium with catechetical and theological presentations on the Blessed Virgin Mary, with special emphasis on the mystery of the Assumption. This will include a component on the Theology of the Body and a consideration of how Mary’s Assumption reveals the nobility and dignity of the human body.
• August 15, 2010 – Outdoor Mass and Marian Procession in Berwick on the Solemnity of the Assumption.
• Diocesan Marian Music Festival, a concert of sacred music in Harrisburg. (Date to be announced)
• October 2, 2010 – Diocesan closing celebration, a Pilgrimage to the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, Emmitsburg, Maryland.