Our Lady of Arabia
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| Our Lady of Arabia The Queen of Peace العربية كنيسة سيدة الوردية | |
|---|---|
 Depiction of the canonically crowned image. | |
| Location | Ahmadi, Kuwait |
| Witness | Bishop Teofano Stella, OCD |
| Approval | Pope Pius XII Pope John XXIII |
| Shrine | Our Lady of Arabia Parish, Ahmadi, Kuwait |
Our Lady of Arabia is a Roman Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary holding a scapular and the Child Jesus as venerated in Kuwait and Bahrain by its faithful devotees.
The image was advocated by Pope Pius XII who authorised its devotion, while Pope John XXIII granted a Canonical Coronation to the venerated image on 25 March 1960 through Cardinal Valerian Gracias. On 5 January 2011, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments proclaimed her Patroness of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia and designated the feast of the image Saturday preceding the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time with the permission to celebrate it also on Sunday.
History
The original image is derived from an image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel brought to Ahmadi, Kuwait on 1 May 1948. On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception 1948, the priest, Father Teofano Ubaldo Stella of the Carmelite Order had it framed and brought out for veneration. In 1949, the Legion of Mary used their own image of Miraculous Medal, which encouraged Father Stella to commission an image in Italy under the sculpting company Rosa and Zanzio Ditta to carve a statue of the Madonna and Child using a cedar of Lebanon.[1] The image was brought to Pope Pius XII who also venerated the image and authorised its Marian title.
On Orthodox Christmas, 6 January 1950, the statue was returned to Kuwait for public veneration by the faithful.
In 1954, Kuwait soldiers travelled to Rome in the occasion of the 100th centennial Marian year commemorating the Dogma the Immaculate Conception and presented another replica copy of the image at the parish of Saint Teresa in Rome. The same image was brought to Pope Pius XII on 16 September 1954 who blessed the statue at Castel Gandolfo. In May 1956, Pius XII sent a special candle to the new parish built in Ahmadi, especially chosen by him from the Candlemas ceremonies in Rome.
In 1956, Bishop Stella petitioned the Holy See to proclaim the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Arabia as the Patroness of Kuwait. Pope Pius XII granted his consent via the Papal bull Regnum Mariae on 25 January 1957. A solid gold crown bejewelled with precious rubies and diamonds was crafted then brought to Rome, which Pope John XXIII personally blessed on 17 March 1960. Bishop Stella donated a particular Pearl to the crown as well.
The Canonical coronation was further authorised by Pope John XXIII which occurred on 25 March 1960 via the Papal legate Cardinal Valerian Gracias of Bombay. In 2011, Pope Benedict XVI approved the patronage by assigning the Marian title was the principal patroness for the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia.
Pontifical approbation
- Pope Pius XII authorised the devotion to the statue on 17 December 1949 at the Apostolic Palace, to which he also consented to be photographed venerating the image. The same Pontiff made the Marian title Patroness of the Arabian peninsula in 1957.[2]
- Pope John XXIII issued a Papal bull granting her Canonical coronation on 25 March 1960 via the Archbishop of Bombay, Cardinal Valerian Gracias. The pontifical document was signed and attested by Cardinal Domenico Tardini dated 9 January 1960.
- Pope Benedict XVI approved her title as Patroness for the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia on 5 January 2011.