Dear Friend,

As we approach the Feast of Our Lady, Queen of Palestine on October 25, our hearts at Holy Child Program are filled with gratitude, joy and hope. Many who have passed through our school have seen the large framed image of Our Lady of Palestine that graces our main wall with her serene gaze as a reminder of peace, faith and protection. She watches over our students, teachers and families. She is a unifying figure for all Christians in the Holy Land - she is their mother and unique to the Holy Land as that is the land of her birth.

The Feast Our Lady, Queen of Palestine was first established in 1927 by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Luigi Barlassina who sought the Virgin Mary's loving protection over Palestine and the Holy City of Jerusalem. The Holy See approved this feast in 1933 inviting the faithful everywhere to join in prayer to the Blessed Mother for peace and blessing upon her native land.

For centuries, Christians have turned to Mary not as a symbol of nations or politics, but as a loving Mother of Jesus and of all humanity. She is the one we approach for comfort, unity, and for strength to carry on in our daily lives. At Holy Child Program the same spirit of love and unity shines through our mission of Instilling Hope through Healing. Just as Our Lady brings comfort and restoration to those that turn to her, our HCP community seeks to heal hearts, nurture minds and inspire hope in every child we serve.

As we celebrate her feast this year, we will look upon her image in our school and be reminded that we, too, are part of Blessed Mother's native land. May she bless our students with wisdom, our teachers with strength, our community with peace. And may her protection that was lovingly sought over a century ago, continue to embrace our school and all that enter it.