Pope Francis has granted the canonical coronation to the image of Our Lady of Loreto, patroness of Manila’s district of Sampaloc.
The approval came more than two months after Cardinal Jose Advincula of Manila asked for the special crowning of the image, which is enshrined at the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Loreto in Sampaloc.
A pontifical coronation is a pious institutional act, wherein the Pope, through a Papal bull, designates a crown or stellar halo to be added to a Marian image under a specific devotional title in a particular area or diocese.
The news was relayed to the shrine by the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in a letter dated May 6, but was only made public during Mass on Sunday, June 23.
Fr. Enrico Martin Adoviso, the shrine’s rector, said the image’s crowning with a “precious diadem” will be held on her feast day, December 10.
The pontifical coronation, he added, will be led by Archbishop Charles Brown, apostolic nuncio to the Philippines, and Cardinal Advincula.
The shrine also said it would announce more information on the pontifical coronation through its Facebook account.
Founded in 1613, the Parish of Sampaloc located on J. Figueras St. (formerly called Bustillos) is home to the centuries-old image of the Virgin Mary as Our Lady of Loreto.
On Dec. 5, 2005, then Manila archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales elevated the parish as an archdiocesan shrine due to the influx of pilgrims over the years.
Just last December 1, the four centuries-old Marian statue received episcopal coronation from the Manila archbishop.
In March 2023, the Manila City government declared Our Lady of Loreto as the official “Patroness of Sampaloc” because of her long-standing cultural and religious significance to the community.
