During this difficult time of Coronavirus, I will be sharing excerpts from the book, Magnificat: Mama Mary’s Pilgrim Sites, a collection of 24 testimonies by people whose lives were changed by Mama Mary. I hope that these articles remind us that Mary is with us during this difficult time. May you find solace in these personal testimonials. ~ Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, editor of Magnificat.
2024 Update: A Catholic religious book that I collected and edited has a new edition - MAGNIFICAT: MAMA MARY'S PILGRIM SITES gathers 24 people's accounts of Marian sites wherein they found comfort, solace, and sometimes miracles. The pilgrim sites include familiar shrines in Lourdes, Vailankanni, Guadalupe, Fatima, Ephesus, as well as lesser known ones including several in the Philippines (Antipolo, Manaoag, Odlot, Caysasya and more). It is available from Amazon.
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St. Maryam Dearit
ERITREA – Shrine of St. Maryam Dearit, Keren
Eritrea’s Christian population is composed mainly of Orthodox and Catholics. Italian influence is evident in the churches of the latter, especially at the Asmara Cathedral where a replica of a miraculous painting of Our Lady of the Rosary in Pompeii continues to attract visitors.
Mother Mary is deeply revered here and it is common practice to add “Mariam” to Eritrean surnames. An example is Gebremariam, which means “servant of the Virgin Mary.”
Christians and Muslims often make pilgrimages to the city of Keren, where a miraculous bronze statue of our Lady is enshrined inside the trunk of a huge Baobab tree.
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WHEN THE BLACK AND RED SEAS MEET
Aimee Gaboya Ortega-Lucero
TRAVEL became an opportunity when I worked for the United Nations and I did just that -- reaching no less than the “ends of the earth.” This prerequisite, among others, motivated me to join peacekeeping missions when my desk job at its New York Headquarters, as well as my personal life, became stale and confining.
