Our Lady of Providence is the patroness of Puerto Rico. Join us for a luncheon in her honor following the noon Mass. Devotion to Mary, Mother of Divine Providence began in the first house of the Congregation of the Clerics Regular of St. Paul (Barnabites) in Rome at San Carlo ai Catinari church around year 1611. Around 1580, The Italian painter Scipione Pulzone created a work titled "Mater Divinae Providentiae," which depicted the Blessed Mother cradling the Infant Jesus. This painting was given to the Barnabite religious order in 1663. It was placed on the altar of a chapel on the first floor of the Saint Charles rectory behind the main altar. In 1732, a copy of the painting was placed in a location adjacent to the main altar of the church of San Carlo ai Catinari in Rome, where it drew many faithful visitors. In 1888, Pope Leo XIII ordered the solemn crowning of the "Miraculous Lady" and approved the Mass and Office of Mary, Mother of Divine Providence. History tells us that in the 19th century, Msgr. Gil Esteve (Spain ) was assigned as bishop of Puerto Rico. It was then that he quickly made devotion to Our Lady of Divine Providence known in the island. Jan. 2, the day of Msgr. Gil’s arrival in the island, was set as Our Lady’s feast. However, Puerto Rico having been discovered on Nov. 19, 1493, when Christopher Columbus first set foot in the island, seemed to be the perfect choice for her feast for our Holy Father Paul VI when the decision was made to have Our Lady of Divine Providence as Patroness of the island. Back in 1969, Paul VI stated the need to unite this historic moment with the solemnity of Mary.