Benedict XVI prays in Fatima

In Fatima the Holy Father prayed before the statue of Our Lady at the chapel of the apparitions and presented her with a golden rose.

Here is the text in English of the prayer the Holy Father pronounced, in tandem with singing by the crowd of pilgrims.

My emphases and comments.

Holy Father:
Our Lady,
Mother of all men and women,
I come before you as a son
visiting his Mother,
and I do so in company
with a multitude of brothers and sisters.
As the Successor of Peter, [I am always interested in these intense moments of close meetings of the Petrine and Marian.]

to whom was entrusted the mission
of presiding in the service
of charity in the Church of Christ
and of confirming all in faith and in hope,
I wish to present to your
Immaculate Heart
the joys and hopes
as well as the problems and sufferings
of each one of these sons and daughters of yours
who are gathered in the Cova di Iria
or who are praying with us from afar.

Mother most gentle,
you know each one by name,
you know each one’s face and personal history,
and you love them all
with maternal benevolence
that wells up from the very heart of Divine Love.
I entrust and consecrate them all to you,
Mary Most Holy,
Mother of God and our Mother.
Cantors and Assembly: We sing to you and we praise you, O Mary (v. 1)
Holy Father:

The Venerable Pope John Paul II,
who visited you three times here in Fatima
and thanked the "unseen hand"
that rescued him from death
in the assassination attempt on 13 May
in Saint Peter’s Square almost thirty years ago,
wanted to offer to the Shrine of Fatima
a bullet which gravely wounded him
and was placed in the crown of the Queen of Peace.
It is a profound consolation
to know that you are crowned
not only with the silver
and gold of our joys and hopes,
but also with the "bullet"
of our anxieties and sufferings.

I thank you, beloved Mother,
for the prayers and sacrifices
that the shepherd-children
of Fatima offered for the Pope,
led by the sentiments
that you inspired in them in the apparitions.
I also thank all those who,
every day,
pray for the Successor of Peter
and for his intentions,
that the Pope may be strong in faith,
bold in hope and zealous in love.
Cantors and Assembly: We sing to you and we praise you, O Mary (v. 2)
Holy Father:

Beloved Mother of us all,
here in your Shrine at Fatima I consign
the Golden Rose
that I have brought from Rome
as a homage of gratitude from the Pope
for the marvels that the Almighty
has worked through you
in the hearts of so many who come as pilgrims
to this your maternal home.

I am sure that the shepherd-children of Fatima,
Blessed Francisco and Jacinta
and the Servant of God Lucia of Jesus,
are united with us at this hour of prayer and jubilation.
Cantors and Assembly: We sing to you and we praise you, O Mary (v. 5).

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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6 Comments

  1. Mike says:

    What joy, having such a Pope!

    What joy, having such a Mother!

    What joy, to you, O Most Blessed Trinity!

    Bless us now and forever.

  2. Andy Milam says:

    I am very appreciative of this particular Holy Father. He is such a breath of fresh air. Orthodoxy abounds. While it certainly isn’t my position to question the Holy Father, I do have a question in general and I’d like to see what others think:

    He is very liberal in granting the Golden Rose. In the 20th century, it became a very rare thing to see and thus, it was a great honor to be bestowed. I believe that only 13 were given over the course of the century (although I could be wrong, but that number seems correct). Pope Benedict has given 8 on his own in 5 years. I am all for tradition, don’t get me wrong, but to make that which is seen as a great honor simply a perceived expectation lessens the impact of the reception. Am I off base? If I am I would love to hear other thoughts on this….

    STLSTW

  3. Mitchell NY says:

    Would that be the same Golden Rose they use to give Catholic heads of State? Do they still even do that, for example in Spain, or Malta? I think it is a beautiful custom that if not practiced can be revived and presented to Catholics of all backrounds. Even the most poor who do much for the Church. It is so great that the Holy Father chose to go to Fatima on this visit. It means a great deal to many of us who believe the visions..

  4. LouiseA says:

    All of the roses given by Pope Benedict were given to The Blessed Mother at various Marian Shrines. Why not give Our Lady this great honor? Other popes gave them to people, but BXVI is giving them to Our Lady only! I wouldn’t call that being too liberal!

  5. Mario Bird says:

    Re: Petrine and Marian.

    Ditto, and I think this juxtaposition is one of the most brilliant vignettes in Gibson’s “Passion.” When Peter faces Mary after denying Jesus, he is abject and seeking consolation, confessing his sin to her, and yet so conscious of his own impurity thus proximate to the Immaculate that he adamantly refuses her touch. I also wonder if Peter is in some way seeing Mary as an image of the Church, and realizing how the temporal reality of the Church so fails to measure up to the Spotless Bride. What suffering, both for Peter and for Mary, at that moment!

    At 1:30 here – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOkHw12W_Zg&feature=related

    I don’t remember whether that scene is in Blessed Catherine Emmerich’s book. I lose it at that point every time I watch the movie.

  6. irishgirl says:

    What a beautiful prayer!

    My eyes filled with grateful tears as I read it!

    I echo Mike’s words!

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