On August 15, the Dominican Republic celebrates the centenary of the coronation of Our Lady of Altagracia, its patroness.
BP. JOSÉ DOLORES GRULLÓN
When we had the American intervention in 1916, there was no way the Americans wanted to sign a pact saying when they were leaving. It looked like they intended to stay to make one more colony. So the Archbishop of Santo Domingo came to Rome and spoke with Pope Benedict XV and told him: look, she is the only one who can free us from this American intervention. And so it was, the Pope granted the coronation wishing that the country would be free from all foreign powers.
Tens of thousands of people attended the Lady of Altagracia's coronation ceremony in 1922.
BP. JOSE DOLORES GRULLON
And that was such a big act that the people were saying, “She is our only queen and sovereign” and “good riddance.” And the same month, it seems that once the Americans saw the power of the people and their desire to remain a sovereign people and for independence, they immediately called Peinado, a politician of ours, and they made the pact.
The Vatican announced that on August 15 of this year a special envoy of the Secretary of State, Edgar Peña Parra, will visit the Dominican Republic. He will participate in the closing celebrations for the centenary of the coronation.
JRB
TRANS: OG
