Corona of the Immaculate Conception

As we approach the patronal feast day of the United States, it's the perfect time to mention a beautiful devotion to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.

The Corona of the Immaculate Conception is a chaplet composed by a Jesuit priest who was one of North America's great explorers: Father Jacques Marquette.

Unfortunately, the Corona is not very well known. There's another, better known devotion called the "Chaplet of the Immaculate Conception" written by St. John Berchmanns. But in terms of authorship and historical context, Marquette's Corona has a special significance for Americans and Canadians.

Let's set the stage with an account of the Corona from Marquette's Jesuit superior Fr. Claude Dablon, writing from Montreal in 1677:

"Some months before his death, he [Marquette] said every day with his two men a little Corona of the Immaculate Conception which he had devised as follows: After the Credo, there is said once the Pater and Ave, and then 4 times these words: Ave filia Dei patris, ave mater filii Dei, ave sponsa Spiritus Sancti, ave templum totius Trinitatis: per sanctam virginitatem et immaculatam conceptionem tuam, purissima Virgo, emunda cor et carnem meam: in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti, — concluding with the Gloria Patri, the whole repeated three times."

For a long time I never found an actual Corona of the Immaculate Conception for sale anywhere. So I went ahead and made my own with cord/twine, 15 blue oval beads, and a miraculous medal.

The Rosary Workshop now offers a fancier version of the Corona. You can also use St. John Berchman's Chaplet of the Immaculate Conception, which has the same arrangement of beads.

How to Say the Corona of the Immaculate Conception

1. On the medal, say the Apostles' Creed.
2. On the first bead, say 1 Our Father and 1 Hail Mary.
3. On each of the next 4 beads, say a Corona Prayer:

Hail Daughter of God the Father,
Hail Mother of God the Son
Hail Spouse of the Holy Spirit,
Hail Temple of the entire Trinity.
By thy holy virginity and Immaculate Conception,
O Virgin most pure,
cleanse my heart and my flesh.
In the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

4. End with 1 Glory Be.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 two times.

If you'd prefer to say the chaplet in Latin, the text of the Corona prayer can be found italicized in the passage from Fr. Dablon above.

Advent Hymns and Carols

Amanda at The Homely Hours has a list of Advent hymns and carols for each day of the season. It's a great compilation, and a timely reminder for us to keep the spirit of the season.

There is so much beloved Advent music. I doubt many who know it would be eager to toss it aside--even for a few extra weeks of Christmas carols.

The Roof Collapse atop St. Peter's Church

So the roof collapsed on a Church in Rome today. No one was hurt, thank God.

This was the Church built atop the Mamertine Prison where St. Peter was imprisoned in Rome: known as San Giuseppe dei Falegnami or San Pietro in Carcere. The titular cardinal of San Giuseppe is Francesco Coccopalmerio. Remember him?

A Church's roof just fell in. This week. Where the first Pope was chained, imprisoned, and then miraculously freed. The Church under the titular leadership of Francesco Coccopalmerio.

Fun fact: a related cathedral in Rome is St. Peter in Chains. There is a legend that Pope Leo I compared the chains of this church to those of Mamertine Prison, and they miraculously fused together. The current Cardinal titular of this Church? Donald Wuerl.

All just coincidences, I'm sure. Just like the lightning striking the Vatican.