Pope Francis blesses Our Lady of
Luján statues during General Audience
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| Our Lady of Luján |
During the General Audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis meets
Bishops of the Forces from both the UK and Argentina where they exchange a
replica of the statue of Our Lady of Luján, which was brought to the UK by
British troops during the Falkland War in 1982.
During the ceremony in St Peter’s Square, the two copies
were blessed by Pope Francis.
The statue of the Virgin Mary, Patroness of Argentina, will
be returned to its native country,
A replica, will be presented to the Catholic Military Cathedral
of St Michael and St George in Aldershot, England.
After his installation as Bishop of the Forces, Bishop Mason
was contacted by Bishop Olivera, who asked if the statue could be returned.
The offer of a replica for the Aldershot Cathedral was also
made, which Bishop Paul was more than happy to accept.
The story goes that when Argentinian troops invaded the
Falkland Islands in April 1982, they brought with them the statue, a copy of
the 1630 original, which is located in the Basilica of Lujan in Argentina.
St John Paul II visited the original statue in Luján in
1982.
The statue which was left behind in a Church in Port Stanley
was then packed up on a military transport to the UK and ended up at the
Catholic Military Cathedral of St Michael and St George in Aldershot.
It has stayed there since as a focus for prayer offered for
the fallen of both sides of the Falklands conflict.
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