The venerable image of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) was episcopally crowned on Sunday, Oct. 4, the feast day of the Santisimo Rosario Parish, located inside the oldest existing university in Asia.
Led by Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula, the episcopal coronation was conducted through a decree he issued on July 16, recognizing the long-standing local devotion to and miracles associated with the image.
‘Let this coronation of our Blessed Mother foster our communion. Let reconciliation and solidarity win over our divisions in our families and communities,’ he said.
He called on people to be ‘agents of communion, like Mary, our Queen,’ saying, ‘Let us reach out our hands and open our hearts to welcome and accompany those who feel abandoned or alienated.’
As UST said, the image is one of the vestiges of the institution’s old campus in Intramuros. While the artist behind it has not yet been identified, the image is believed to have been made in the early to mid-1800s.
The decree issued by Advincula stressed that ‘the solemn coronation … is the most fitting honor to the Mother of God as this Christian community celebrates with gratitude.’
For Fr. Glen Mar Gamboa, OP, the crowning of the image is not an honor for her own sake, pointing out that ‘it acknowledges what the Church has always taught, that Mary, crowned in glory, leads us always to Christ.’