This past Sunday was the feast of Our Lady of Altagracia. Many joined in prayer at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, where Archbishop Dolan blessed her image. Please read on for the original news item about the event, and thank you to all who prayed with us on the Feast Day.

Join in celebration with your brothers and sisters here in Milwaukee and in the Dominican Republic!

A major celebration in the Dominican Republic surrounds the feast of Our Lady of Altagracia, celebrated on January 21. She is the patroness of the Island of Hispaniola where our sister parish, Sagrada Familia, is located.

This year her feast is on a Sunday. To celebrate, on January 21, during the 8:00 a.m. mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Archbishop Dolan will “Welcome and Bless the Image of Our Lady of Altagracia.”

This celebration will be an important moment of solidarity with our brothers and sisters in the Dominican Republic, as, on this feast day, thousands of parishioners make a pilgrimage to the official image of “La Virgen de Altagracia,” located behind the main altar of the basilica in Higuey. We invite you to make your own pilgrimage to the Cathedral, to join us in witnessing the installation of her image.

In the diocese of Sagrada Familia, every family is expected to have the image of Our Lady of Altagracia in their living room. In an act of unity with our sister parish, we will welcome her image in our archdiocesan “home parish,” the cathedral.

The celebration will include a blessing of the image in its niche at the Cathedral. After mass, a small reception will take place in the Cathedral's Atrium. There, you will be able to meet with representatives from the World Mission Ministries office and talk with people who have visited our sister parish. You will also have the opportunity to pick up your own image of Our Lady of Altagracia. Fairly traded coffee, grown organically in the parish, will be served, along with light refreshments.

Please contact the World Mission Ministries office at 414-769-3337 or wmo@archmil.org if you have any questions about the event.

We hope you can join us in welcoming our Lady of Altagracia to Milwaukee.