AFTER blessing the Antipolo Cathedral with the title of “international shrine,” Pope Francis continues to shower it with gifts and gave the Our Lady of Antipolo the “golden rose,” the highest honor given by the head of the Catholic Church.
In a statement, the Antipolo Cathedral said the papal gift was brought by Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella, who is the Pro-Prefect for the Section of New Evangelization of Dicastery for Evangelization of the Vatican, on Monday.
“His Holiness, Pope Francis, has given the International Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage, Antipolo City, the gift of the golden rose (Rosa d’Oro). This papal gift was brought to the Philippines from Rome and offered at the foot of the image of Nuestra Señora de la Paz y Buen Viaje,” said the Antipolo Cathedral.
“Archbishop Fisichella announced that the golden rose was a gift from Pope Francis and offered it in front of the Virgin of Antipolo,” it added.
The Antipolo Cathedral said the golden rose is considered the highest honor given personally by the pontiff to a Marian image and/or a shrine across the world since it is a commissioned gift from the Pope himself.
It noted how, since the Middle Ages, roses made of pure gold have been traditionally blessed by the Pope every fourth Sunday of Lent and is kept until it is granted by a pontiff to an image or a shrine.
The gift of the golden rose to the Our Lady of Antipolo in the Antipolo Cathedral marks the first time it happened in the Philippines.
On the other hand, it is only the third time that such an honor is given to an Asian shrine after the tomb of St. Francis Xavier at Se Cathedral in India and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in Palestine.
It was only back in March 2023 when the Vatican approved the petition designating the Antipolo Cathedral as an international shrine, the first in the Philippines.
The solemn declaration of the International Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage took place just last January 26 and was led by Papal Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Charles Brown.
