PERRYVILLE – The annual May Procession will be held on the grounds of Saint Mary’s of the Barrens on Sunday, May 5, at 1:00 p.m. The procession will form in front of the historic church, which is the home of the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. All are welcome and are encouraged to attend.
The Rosary will be recited as the group processes to the grotto on the Rosary Walk. At the grotto, roses will be presented to Our Blessed Mother by the First Communicants, and written petitions received from members of the Association of the Miraculous Medal from throughout the United States will be presented to Mary by the eighth grade Confirmands. A heart-shaped display covered with rose petals, representing prayer requests received from members, will be placed at the grotto.
Assisted by the St. Vincent de Paul Parish Choir, familiar Marian hymns will be sung. All will join in a prayer service. Maria Wibbenmeyer, the Prefect of the “Children of Mary” Sodality of St. Vincent High School, will have the honor of crowning the statue of Our Blessed Mother. The May Court attendants are Claire Otte, Emersyn Pitts, and Addilyn Schnurbusch, along with their escorts, Garrett Brickhaus, Braden Pech, Logan Hornberger, and Carter Naeger, who are members of the high school St. Vincent de Paul Society. The Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus will present a sword salute during the crowning ceremony.
Fr. Clay Kilburn, C.M., Spiritual Director of the Association of the Miraculous Medal, will be the Presider, and a “Tribute to Mary” will be given by Fr. Pat McDevitt, C.M.
Fr. Pat McDevitt was born in Chicago, Illinois, and was ordained in 1986. Fr. Pat has served the Congregation of the Mission as a professor at DePaul University in Chicago and as the Superior of the DePaul Centre in Nairobi, Kenya. Currently, he serves as the Provincial for the Congregation of the Mission of the Western Province.
Visitors are encouraged to bring a chair or blanket due to the limited seating at the grotto. For more information, please contact the Association of the Miraculous Medal at 1-800-264-MARY (6279) or ammfather@amm.org.
Following the May Procession, a Spanish Mass will be held inside the National Shrine Church at 3:00 p.m. Fr. Prudencio Rodriquez. C.M., will preside. The celebration will include a live choir and an investiture in the Miraculous Medal.