Confraternity Candidates Pledge to Follow Jesus through Mary

The Confraternity of Our Lady of La Leche welcomed 10 candidates into their association on Oct. 7 at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche at Mission Nombre de Dios in St. Augustine.

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Father Erlin Garcia, the rector of the shrine, presented the candidates to Bishop Erik Pohlmeier to be blessed and consecrated to the Virgin Mary. In his homily, Bishop Pohlmeier encouraged all members of the confraternity to follow the example of Mary by choosing God above all else.

 

“We have Jesus calling out to us, if you really want to honor Mary well, then follow the example of our Blessed Mother,” said Bishop Pohlmeier. “None of us can be chosen to carry that great gift – to be the mother of the one who nurses at her breast, the living God – yet we can follow the example by loving that child that was placed in her hands.”

 

The Confraternity of Our Lady of La Leche is a public association of the faithful whose members make commitments to deepen their faith daily, to strive to live in a state of grace and to live by its statutes. The confraternity was reinstated in 2019 by Bishop Felipe Estévez, after more than 400 years since the Spanish brought the devotion to St. Augustine.