For The Catholic Messenger
Each year, from early March through the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe in mid-December, Knights of Columbus councils facilitate the journey of the Silver Rose along routes from Canada to Mexico. The Silver Rose will travel through the Diocese of Davenport July 2-10.
Every stop the Silver Rose makes throughout the pilgrimage is a rosary-centered occasion for Knights, parishioners and community members to pray for respect for life, for the spiritual renewal of each nation, and for the advancement of the message of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The Silver Rose Program began in 1960, when the first rose — a real, live one — was blessed by a bishop in Ontario. The rose then traveled to New York and then to Texas where it was taken across the border into Mexico. The rose ended its pilgrimage at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Monterrey on Dec. 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. To better ensure future annual trips, a silver rose was ultimately made. Today, due to the popularity of the program throughout the North American continent, eight silver roses travel unique routes.
This is the schedule of Silver Rose prayer services in the Diocese of Davenport:
July 2: St. Patrick Parish-Iowa City, 5 p.m.
July 3: Ss. Mary & Mathias Parish-Muscatine, 5 p.m.
July 4: St. Joseph Parish-Columbus Junction, 5 p.m.
July 5: Holy Family Parish-Fort Madison, 10:30 a.m.
July 6: St. Alphonsus Parish-Mount Pleasant, 9:30 a.m.
July 7: St. Mary Parish-Fairfield, 5:30 p.m.
July 8: St. Mary of the Visitation Catholic Church of St. Joseph Parish-Ottumwa, 5:30 p.m.
July 9: St. Mary Parish Hall in Oskaloosa, 6:30 p.m.
July 10: St. Mary Parish-Grinnell, 6 p.m.
For more information go to https://www.iowakofc.org/silverrose.
