NOTRE-DAME-DE-LA GARDE Home Page An Astonishing Architectural Style... ...And Astonishing Particularities Our Lady of the Guard in numbers "Our Good Mother" from all directions Let's go Inside... A story of abiding tenacity living Faith To Welcome You FORUM A few books

There is no specific message either, but a call to prayer, a call to welcome the Savior who is presented to us by She who first welcomed him in order to pass him on to the world. The message is the one which is at the beginning of the Gospel, the one the Angels gave to the shepherds on Christmas Eve: "I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in the town of David a savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. And here is a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." The message Our Lady of the Guard gives us may be summed up in a word taken from the Old Testament: "Immanuel", "God with us". Not only near us, nor only in our midst but indeed "with us" which means with all his strenth and his power. Our Lady of the Guard, a place to welcome the Lord, he who is waiting to meet us. Our Lady of the Guard, a place to welcome those who come for private prayer, or to participate in the liturgical celebrations, a place to welcome those who come to ask for reconciliation and those who are waiting for a word which will light up their lives, give them hope for the future. Our Lady of the Guard, a place where everyone is at home. I thank all those in this place who visibly welcome the Lord, and witness to God's love for all men and women, to the tenderness of the Virgin Mary. She is our Mother, our "Good Mother" who leads us to her Son, Christ the Savior.