ADORATION/ SILVER ROSE
The Silver Rose Program promotes prayer for respect for life, for the spiritual renewal of each nation, and for the advancement of the message of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Visit https://www.kofc.org/en/what-we-do/faith-in-actionprograms/life/silver-rose.html for more information on the Supreme Council website.
The Silver Rose Program was started by Brother Knights in Council 2312 in Monterrey, Mexico almost 57 years ago. They asked Catholic youth in Laredo, Texas and London, Ontario, Canada to start the first relay of running of the Rose beginning in London, Ontario, Canada. The First Rose was blessed by Bishop John C. Cody in London then flown to New York and received by a local council. From there it was transported to Supreme Knight Luke E. Hart who then delivered the Rose to the district officers in Dallas, Texas. A Brother Knight received the Rose and sent it to Laredo, Texas where the Catholic youth from Monterrey, Mexico accepted it at the International Bridge. After receiving the Silver Rose, they ran it to Monterrey where it was displayed at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The first Silver Rose Run was a natural rose. The following year Catholic youth wanted to make a Silver Rose Run but the natural rose was no longer usable. Knights from council 1134, Reverend Edward Garfield, and Bishop John C. Cody decided to have a rose made from bronze because it would be sturdier and last longer than a natural rose. This rose was sent to Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Monterrey, Mexico.
After hearing of the creation of a bronze rose Council 1134 and Catholic youth in Monterrey had a Brother Knight make a rose using silver because it is one of the precious metals in Mexico. Brother Miguel Montoya (a jeweler) made the first Silver Rose in 1961 and all subsequent Silver Roses until 1997.
In the 1990s Supreme Knight Virgil Dechant initiated the Silver Rose as a Supreme Council program. Three Silver Routes were established in the United States and Canada. One similar to the original route; the second in Manitoba moving to British Columbia, down the Pacific Coast before heading east to Arizona then onto Texas; the third route began in New York, then traveled down the eastern seaboard through several southern states before arriving in Texas. After the three Silver Roses arrived in Laredo, Texas they were transported to the Basilica of Our Lady Guadalupe in Monterrey for the closing prayer service held on December 12th, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe celebration.
There are now eight Silver Roses traveling through various routes in Canada, the United States and Mexico. Three of the Silver Roses will arrive in Mexico, three others will complete its journey in Texas, another one in Washington, D.C and the eighth one will end its travel at St Mary’s Church in Haven, Connecticut. Visit the Running of The Rose website at www.runningoftherose.org/en/ for additional information on the Silver Rose program.
In 2001 at the 119th Annual Meeting of the Supreme Council in Toronto, Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson designated the Silver Rose Program as part of the Culture of Life Program. Materials available for the Silver Rose Program include prayer booklets and prayer cards in English and Spanish, flyers, news media releases, and parish bulletin announcements.
This year Alaska was added to the West Coast Silver Rose route. The Silver Rose has already begun its journey in Alaska on March 4, 2018, will travel through British Columbia in April 2017, then travel down through Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, California, Arizona, New Mexico, and finally arrive in Texas in early November this year. From Texas the Silver Rose will be transferred to Mexico for its destination at the Basilica in Monterrey on December 12, 2018, Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Due to the Coronavirus all in-person Silver Rose prayer servers are suspended until further notice. California was scheduled to receive two Silver Roses this year on different routes. This will allow all 16 chapters to receive the Silver Rose this year. The Route 7 Silver Rose was scheduled to be received on March 29, 2020 from our Brother Knights in Hawaii. Currently it remains in Hawaii until Silver Rose prayer services resume. It was scheduled to travel throughout California for 14 weeks beginning in Northern California. On June 5, 2020 it was scheduled to be transferred to Brother Knights in Lake Havasu, Arizona. A schedule was distributed February 05, 2020 to the Chapter Presidents. Both Silver Roses will be transferred, to Brother Knights in Texas, to their final destination the Basilica in Monterrey on December 12, 2020, Our Lady of Guadalupe celebration.
The Silver Rose is fragile and is stored in a special container. It must be handled carefully. Prayer booklets and cards accompany the Silver Rose. Additional prayer booklets and cards can be ordered from the Supreme Supply Department. Further information will be provided after it becomes available. We have 35 days to move the Silver Rose from Nevada and move it through California before transferring it to Arizona. The Silver Rose will be transferred to our Brother Knights in Yuma, Arizona on September 16, 2020.
Again, we are honored to have the Knights on Bikes organization provide an escort for the Silver Rose as it travels throughout California. Chapter President Dan Hargis for the California Knights on Bikes states it is an honor for him and his fellow riders to be part of the Silver Rose run in California. The Knights on Bikes has chapters in 37 states.
They are a Band of Brother Knights whose mission is to promote charity works within their communities and camaraderie among fellow motorcycle riders who are Catholic. Their motto is “In God We Trust and Ride.”
Gerald R. Fong, Chairman
(916) 689-9418
jeffyfong@comcast.net