By US Conference of Catholic Bishops -

WASHINGTON, D.C. | This Friday, May 1, at 3 p.m. on the east coast, Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles will lead the country in a prayer which consecrates the United States to Mary, Mother of the Church. Canada, too, has chosen this day to offer prayers and to consecrate their country to Mary, Mother of the Church.

“This will give the Church the occasion to pray for Our Lady’s continued protection of the vulnerable, healing of the unwell, and wisdom for those who work to cure this terrible virus,” said Archbishop Gomez, president of the U.S.Conference of Catholic Bishops, in an April 23 letter to his fellow U.S. bishops.

Each year, the Church seeks the special intercession of the Mother of God during the month of May. “This year, we seek the assistance of Our Lady all the more earnestly as we face together the effects of the global pandemic,” Archbishop Gomez continued.

The consecration on May 1 follows a similar action of the bishops’ conference of Latin America and the Caribbean (CELAM) who consecrated their nations to Our Lady of Guadalupe on Easter Sunday.

The renewal of consecration planned for May 1 does not change the designation of Mary as the Patroness of the United States under the title of the Immaculate Conception. Rather, this prayer reaffirms and renews previous Marian entrustments, and unites Catholics in solidarity with Pope Francis, who recently established the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, as a source of protection and strength.

Pope Francis also is encouraging Catholics throughout the world to pray the rosary throughout May. He also shared two new prayers to implore the help of the Virgin Mary during the coronavirus pandemic. See story here. 

Archbishop Gomez invites all the bishops and faithful to join him this Friday from their respective dioceses. A liturgy guide to assist the faithful in this prayer can be found here: http://www.usccb.org/about/communications/upload/consecration-usa-mary-mother-of-church.pdf.

Catholics can tune into the USCCB’s social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; or watch through the Miami archdiocese website, www.miamiarch.org.

For additional information and a link to the Facebook feed, go to: https://lacatholics.org/consecration/.