The faithful can join in prayer as part of renewal of consecrations to Mary in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, both on the national level May 1 and in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis May 3.

“This will give the church the occasion to pray for Our Lady’s continued protection of the vulnerable, healing of the unwell and wisdom for those who work to cure this terrible virus,” said Archbishop Jose  Gomez of Los Angeles about the U.S. bishops joining the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops in consecrating the two nations to the care of the Blessed Mother under the title, “Mary, Mother of the Church.”

The national consecration reaffirms the U.S. bishops’ previous consecrations of the United States to Mary, the first taking place in 1792. Archbishop Gomez will lead the 2 p.m. national prayer and the faithful can join in the ceremony via the USCCB’s Facebook page, as well as Twitter, and Instagram.

In the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Archbishop Bernard Hebda and Bishop Andrew Cozzens will pray for the nation and renew the archdiocese’s own consecration to the Blessed Virgin in a 2 p.m. May 3 Family Rosary Devotion at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul.

The local rosary, crowning of Mary, consecration and other prayers will not be a public gathering because of stay-at-home and social distancing restrictions prompted by COVID-19. But it will be streamed live on the Cathedral’s Facebook page and on the archdiocese’s website.

The May rosary procession in the archdiocese is marking its 73rd year. Sponsored by the archdiocese’s Office of Worship in collaboration with the Family Rosary Procession Association, the event over the years included Knights of Columbus honor guards, first communicants and hundreds, sometimes thousands of parishioners from around the archdiocese processing from the State Capitol to the Cathedral.