On the evening of Sept. 8, the parish community of Saint Clare of Assisi gathered outside Saint Joseph Church in Swedesboro to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe with the blessing and dedication of a new parish grotto for the Patroness of the Americas.
“This grotto is a show of devotion to our faith, (to help us) grow closer to God,” said Claudia Trani-Melgar, director of communications for the parish, as well as its coordinator of Hispanic Ministry.
The devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe is traced back to the 16th Century, when she appeared to Saint Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill in Mexico, as a show of her love and protection to the marginalized.
The grotto — complete with a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe, fountain, rocks, patio, roses and a prayer of consecration to the Blessed Mother — is the fruit of two separate events that took place recently and were designed to create Missionary Disciples: the National V Encuentro for Hispanic Catholics, and the Diocese of Camden’s own Convocation of Catholic Leaders.
Consistent with the parish’s desire to foster “one parish, one community” among its worshippers, the new Marian initiative will “unify the community in creating a space for integration and common veneration, and show that everyone is welcome,” Trani-Melgar said.
Our Lady of Guadalupe can be a support and intercessor to her son, Jesus, for “immigrants, the poor, mothers in need, and all people who need support,” she added.
Trani-Melgar praised the work of the parishioners and clergy who made the grotto possible, whether through labor or fundraising.
“Brick by brick, we got it built,” she said.
Each marker of the structure’s progress proves that its creation “was on Mary’s time, not our own.”
The grotto itself was built in May, the month of Mary. The statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe, coming from Mexico, was installed on Aug. 15, the feast of the Assumption of Mary. The blessing and dedication was on Sept. 8, the feast of the Blessed Mother’s Nativity.
Its installation was on the 10th anniversary of the parish’s creation, as a merger between Saint Michael Parish in Gibbstown; Saint Joseph Parish; and Saint John Parish in Paulsboro. Among the clergy present at the Mass, blessing and dedication were Father Edward Kennedy, parish administrator; Father John J. Franco Cardenas, parochial vicar; and Father David Grover, former pastor.
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