On Sunday, 9 November 2025, the Teresian Association in the Dominican Republic made a pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Altagracia, with great enthusiasm, joy and deep Marian devotion, as part of the Jubilee Year.
As Pilgrims of Hope, they travelled to the province of Higüey to meet the Blessed Virgin Mary at the shrine of Our Lady of Altagracia, Protector of the Dominican People. The pilgrims came from Santiago, La Vega and Santo Domingo, places where the TA is present. Friends, collaborators, members of the Association and family members, some 160 people, made the pilgrimage to the house of Our Lady. The integration of adults, young people and children in the activity was remarkable.
Upon arrival, they gathered in the esplanade in front of the Basilica to walk in procession, like the pilgrim People of God, to the main door that leads to the Shrine. Carrying a banner, praying and singing the Salve compose for the occasion, they entered the Basilica to begin the central and most solemn part of the pilgrimage, the Eucharist.
Synodal experience
The Basilica was filled with hundreds of pilgrims arriving from different places. Other pilgrimages also came to honour the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was a true synodal experience, a community of communities. Thus, began the Eucharist, presided over by Monsignor Ramón Benito de la Rosa y Carpio, Archbishop Emeritus of the Archdiocese of Santiago, accompanied by two other priests and altar servers.
Members of the Association were responsible for the special intentions, the introductions, the readings from the Word, and the offerings. Along with the bread and wine, they also presented flowers, salt, light, and some books, expressing the meaning of these offerings in the celebration.
In his homily, Monsignor de la Rosa y Carpio invited us to be living temples of the Lord, to live the experience of being inhabited by the Holy Spirit and to bear witness before the world to the joy of vocation, being God's people who listen, who serve with love and who accompany the poorest and most vulnerable.
Emotions and intentions
At the end of the Eucharist, the delegate of the Teresian Association in the country, Ana Dilia Brisita, gave special thanks to Monsignor de la Rosa and his companions. She also thanked the staff of the Basilica for their welcome and support. In addition, she expressed her gratitude to so many collaborators, friends and family members for their valuable and enthusiastic participation in the pilgrimage, saying:
We have come to the Shrine of Our Lady of Altagracia, here in Higüey, to join the whole Church in the Jubilee Year: ‘Pilgrims of Hope.’ This is a year in which we ‘walk as a people-Teresian Association.’ Furthermore, as an expression of our Marian origins, we have come to thank Mother Mary for her presence and companionship with us and our families.
We have come to place and entrust to the protection of Our Lady, the Mother of God, Mary of Altagracia, each member of the Association and their families, our projects and dreams, and the priority for the five-year period: ‘Teresian Association, people on a journey, share the charism you have received’.
Saint Pedro Poveda precedes us in this when he says: ‘I owe my vocation to Our Lady of Grace; she enlightened me, showed it to me and sustained me’. For him, his relationship with the mother of Jesus, Our Lady of Grace, was a fundamental reference point. He thanks her for his vocation to the ministerial priesthood. And also, at the foot of La Santina, in Covadonga, he entrusted his project, his Work. Poveda said: ‘I would rather see the Work disappear than see Marian devotion diminish in it.’
Mary of Altagracia, we ask for new and holy vocations for the Teresian Association and the whole Church. Mary of Altagracia, protector of the Dominican people, have mercy on us. Look upon us at your feet, humbly begging for your protection, comfort and closeness.
We present the Dominican people and the world before you. Fill us with comfort and love, that we may never lack your favour. Before you we present the Teresian Association and invite you to continue walking with us, to be light in our lives.
Ana Dilia's words expressed the deep feelings, motives and intentions of the Teresian Association in planning this pilgrimage at its National Meeting this year.
TA - Dominican Republic.
TA Translation Team.
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