Pope Entrusts South America Visit to Our Lady
Rome, July 05, 2015 (ZENIT.org) As he has done on the eve of his previous Apostolic Visits to various countries, Pope Francis went to the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome on Saturday evening around 7:00 p.m. and prayed before the image of “Mary, Salus Popoli Romani.” He remained in prayer for close to 20 minutes and placed on the altar before the icon of Mary a bouquet of flowers that were of the colors of the flags of the three countries he is to visit: Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay. He then returned to the Domus Sanctae Marthae.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,The Pope left Rome Sunday morning at 9:15 a.m., local time, and arrived in Quito shortly before 3 p.m., local time. This is the ninth International Pilgrimage of Pope Francis since his election to the See of Peter on March 13, 2013…The Pope returns to Rome on July 13.
On 11/11/2006 the US Bishops consecrated the United States to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We are under her protection.Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Let us join with Pope Francis, entrusting not only this visit but all of his ministry and the ministries of all the clergy and people of the Church to Our Lady. She continues to intercede for all of us, her children, given to her by Jesus on Calvary.
That’s nice to hear.On 11/11/2006 the US Bishops consecrated the United States to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We are under her protection.
I believe POpe Francis dedicated his pontificate to her as well and consecrated the whole world.
It probably did not gain much attention in 2006, but it is good to remember today in the midst of such confusion inside and outside the Catholic Church: we have been placed under her protection. Mary has been Patroness of our Country, from its early days as a nation. In 1846, eight years before Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, the Sixth Council of Baltimore formally chose the Blessed Virgin Mary conceived without sin as the Patroness of the United States. We have been under her protection for a very long time. Sadly, however, in our day we have seen a decline in devotion to the Blessed Mother among Catholics in the USA as well as other parts of the world. I recently quoted in another thread words of Pope St. John Paul II in an address to Legion of Mary members in 1982:… The United States has renewed its consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary! At noon today, November 11, 2006, the United States renewed its consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary under the title of the Immaculate Conception. Archbishop Pietro Sambi celebrated the Mass at the Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C., and Father Andrew Apostoli, a familiar face on EWTN, gave the homily. In that homily, Fr. Apostoli quoted John Paul ll by saying, “Fatima is more important today than it was in 1917.”
We cannot be presumptuous. Even though we have been placed under her protection, each of us must do our part to remain there! God invites us into His Holiness and we must say our “Yes” as Mary did. He does not force us to be holy; nor to take Mary as our Mother, we need to choose to love Him and Her, freely. The two sins agains hope are presumption and despair. Our Hope must be in God and in our Lady’s intercession. Without Him we can do nothing. Mary’s protection is only from His Power coming through her. We need to persevere in faith, hope and above all charity.…Where the Mother is, there too is the Son. When one moves away from the Mother, sooner or later he ends up keeping distant from the Son as well. It is no wonder that today in various sectors of secularized society, we note a widespread crisis of faith in God preceded by a drop in devotion to the Virgin Mother…
Concerning the Pope’s consecration of the world to Our Lady:Lisbon, Portugal, May 14, 2013 / 12:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- At the Holy Father’s personal request, Cardinal Jose Polycarp, the Patriarch of Lisbon, consecrated the pontificate of Pope Francis to Our Lady of Fatima on her feast day. Addressing Our Lady of Fatima during the ceremony, Cardinal Polycarp said, “Grant (Pope Francis) the gift of discernment to know how to identify the paths of renewal for the Church, grant him the courage to not falter in following the paths suggested by the Holy Spirit, protect him in the difficult hours of suffering, so that he may overcome, in charity, the trials that the renewal of the Church will bring him.”
VATICAN CITY –– Tens of thousands of pilgrims from all over the world gathered under unseasonably warm and sunny weather in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday to witness Pope Francis consecrate the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Holy Father performed the consecration before the image of Our Lady of Fatima, asking Mary’s help to “revive and grow faith.” Oct. 13 marked the 96th anniversary since the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to shepherd children Jacinta Marto, her younger brother Francisco and Lúcia dos Santos at Fatima. It also took place as the Year of Faith draws to a close on the Feast of Christ the King, Nov. 24. (from National Catholic Register)
Perhaps Mary can intercede on this matter.Although 84 percent of Latin American adults report they were raised Catholic, only 69 percent currently identify as such, said the Pew Research Center in Washington. At the same time, Protestants have gained members. About one in 10 Latin Americans were raised Protestant, but nearly one in five now call themselves Protestant. About 4 percent of Latin Americans report they were raised with no religion, but 8 percent say they have no tie to any faith.
Dear outremer,I wonder if on this trip, the Pope will discuss the notable decline of the Catholic faith in his native Latin America?
Pope’s popularity can’t stop the decline of Catholicism in Latin America
Perhaps Mary can intercede on this matter.
Our Blessed Mother certainly continues to intercede for all her children, but she cannot do for us what we must do for ourselves. Each of us must seek the Lord in order to find Him, ask in order to receive His Grace, and knock on the door of His Heart to have Him open to us and pour forth His Holy Spirit in greater abundance. In the evening of our lives, St. John of the Cross wrote, we will be judged on our Love. Did we love God’s Truth enough to seek Him? Jesus is our way, our Truth and our Life, and He founded only One Church.In addition, evangelization efforts by Protestant churches seem to be having an impact: Across Latin America, more than half of those who have switched from the Catholic Church to Protestantism say their new church reached out to them (median of 58%). And the survey finds that Protestants in the region are much more likely than Catholics to report sharing their faith with people outside their own religious group.