The Silver Rose, a program of the Knights of Columbus honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe, is coming to Delaware for the first time later this month. It will be visiting parishes in all three counties in the state over a three-week period beginning Aug. 18.
Every March, silver roses are stewarded by Knights of Columbus councils along routes from Canada to Mexico. Each stop along the pilgrimage is a rosary-centered occasion for Knights, parishioners and members of the community to pray for the respect of life, the spiritual renewal of each person, and for the advancement of the message of Our Lady of Guadalupe, according to the Delaware State Council of the Knights.
The Silver Rose begins its journey each year and travels from town to town along eight routes. Most end in Mexico on Dec. 12, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, but one ends in Washington, D.C., and another at St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, Conn., where the Knights of Columbus were founded.
Prayer services will be held at the following parishes:
Aug. 18, 3 p.m.: St. Anthony of Padua, Ninth and Dupont streets, Wilmington. Hosted by the St. Pius X Council.
Aug. 19, 6 p.m.: Immaculate Heart of Mary, Shipley and Weldin roads, Wilmington.
Aug. 20, 7 p.m.: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, 345 Bear-Christiana Road, Bear. Hosted by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Council.
Aug. 29, 7 p.m.: Holy Cross, 631 S. State St., Dover. Hosted by Dover Council.
Sept. 8, 2:30 p.m.: St. Jude the Apostle, 152 Tulip Drive, Lewes. Hosted by Msgr. Desmond Council.
The first rose, in 1960, was a live one, blessed by a bishop in Ontario, Canada. It traveled to New York and Texas, where it was taken into Mexico. Its journey ended on Dec. 12 at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Monterrey.
The Silver Rose program was expanded in 2001. At that time, Carl Anderson, the supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus, said it reaffirmed the organization’s dedication to the sanctity of human life.
“It is to the Blessed Mother that we turn in prayer as we work to end the culture of death that grips our society,” Anderson said. “As we think in terms of ‘One Life, One Rose,’ it is most appropriate that we turn to Our Lady of Guadalupe, who made known her will through Juan Diego and the miracle of the roses.”
Other parishes interested in hosting the Silver Rose should contact Felix Spitelle, state life director of the Knights of Columbus, at (302) 658-2713 or fspitelle@yahoo.com.
