The Diocese of Tarlac will celebrate the canonical coronation of the Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de Capas at the Our Lady of Sorrows Parish church in Tarlac in May.
This was announced by Father Melvin Castro, the parish’s head pastor, on January 14. “Canonical coronation of the Mater Dolorosa confirmed May 31, 2021,” he wrote in a social media post.
In October 2020, the Diocese of Tarlac announced that Pope Francis has approved the canonical coronation of the Mater Dolorosa.
The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of Sacraments approved the petition on October 1.
Father Castro said although it would be the first such coronation in the diocese’s 57-year history, the devotion to the Mater Dolorosa have started as early as 1923.
The priest said the Vatican’s approval only “affirms our faithful’s devotion to the Mater Dolorosa.”
In 2018, the image was honored with an episcopal coronation.
The Our Lady of Sorrows, Our Lady of Dolors, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows (Latin: Mater Dolorosa), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names by which the Virgin Mary is referred to in relation to sorrows in her life.
As Mater Dolorosa, it is also a key subject for Marian art in the Catholic Church.
The Seven Sorrows of Mary are a popular Roman Catholic devotion. In common religious Catholic imagery, the Virgin Mary is portrayed, sorrowful and in tears, with one or seven long knives or daggers piercing her heart, often bleeding.
The feast of Our Lady of Sorrows is liturgically celebrated every September 15, while a “Feast of Friday of Sorrows” is observed in some Catholic countries.
