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After arrival at Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary in Toledo, Ohio the icon was placed at the center of this magnificent cathedral. The cathedral is made of Massachusetts granite and Indiana limestone.  The dimensions of the church are 285 ft long by 215 ft wide.  The roof is topped by many tiles of different colors including bold oranges, purple-blues, greens and more.

At our first event, which started with a mass then veneration of the icon, 309 people were in attendance.  The mass began at 7:00 pm in this beautiful cathedral made according to the Plateresque style of Spanish art popular in the 15th century. It is a copy of the one in Toledo Spain. Toledo1 Fr. West said that his Cathedral in Newark where he was ordained was beautiful but this cathedral was the most beautiful he has seen in the United States.

The following morning we gathered for mass in the cathedral chapel.  Fr. West and Msgr. William J. Kubacki rector of the cathedral concelebrated the morning mass and Fr. West also preached the homily.  As it happens, the morning mass is filled with people on their way to work after mass.  The devotion of some morning commuters was evident as they took time to venerate the Black Madonna before setting out on their workday. 

After mass Msgr. Kubacki invited us to join he and the chancellor of the Diocese of Toledo for morning prayer.   After prayers and breakfast we got on the road for our next destination.

Chris Morales