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Sunday 22 March 2020
Abomination: ‘Pope Francis’ Asks Mary to Deliver World From COVID-19: ‘We Seek Refuge Under Your Protection’: Pope Francis prays the rosary, imploring God to rid Italy and the world of the coronavirus pandemic
‘Pope Francis’ Asks Mary to Deliver World From COVID-19: ‘We Seek Refuge Under Your Protection’
The prayer of Jorge Bergoglio, also known as Pope Francis, was posted online by Vatican News with an English translation of his remarks.
“O Mary, you shine continuously on our journey as a sign of salvation
and hope. We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick,” he said.
“You, Salvation of the Roman People, know what we need. We
are certain that you will provide, so that, as you did at Cana of
Galilee, joy and feasting might return after this moment of trial,”
Bergoglio stated, referring to Mary’s request of Jesus after the wedding
ran out of wine.
While acknowledging Jesus and the sufferings He bore, the prayer was
directed solely toward Mary for protection and asking that she would
help mankind conform to God’s will.
“We seek refuge under your protection, O Holy Mother of God,” he
said. “Do not despise our pleas — we who are put to the test — and
deliver us from every danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin.”
According to reports, Begoglio also walked to the Basilica of St.
Mary Major on Sunday to appear before the Salus Populi Romani, “Mary,
Protection of the Roman People,” asking that she intercede for those
affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
While acknowledging Jesus and the sufferings He bore, the prayer was
directed solely toward Mary for protection and asking that she would
help mankind conform to God’s will.
“We seek refuge under your protection, O Holy Mother of God,” he
said. “Do not despise our pleas — we who are put to the test — and
deliver us from every danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin.”
According to reports, Begoglio also walked to the Basilica of St.
Mary Major on Sunday to appear before the Salus Populi Romani, “Mary,
Protection of the Roman People,” asking that she intercede for those
affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pope Francis prays the rosary, imploring God to rid Italy and the world of the coronavirus pandemic
Medical workers at Gemelli Hospital in Rome
wear protective suits as they attend an elderly coronavirus patient on
March 16, 2020. (CNS photo/Policlinico Gemelli, handout via Reuters)
“In this unprecedented situation, in which everything seems to be
crumbling, let us help each other to hold fast to what really counts,”
Pope Francis said in a video message as he joined the pastors, the
families and the faithful of Italy in praying the rosary at 9 p.m. Rome
time on March 19, the feast of St. Joseph. Pope Francis implored God to
remove the coronavirus pandemic from Europe and the world and from
Italy, which has surpassed China as the country with the most Covid-19-related deaths.
He
revealed that many pastors had written to him telling of their efforts
to accompany their people “in such a dramatic moment” and to sustain
“the hope and faith” of people. He said he considered this national
prayer “a sign of unity for the whole country.”
The pope was aware
that Italian bishops have invited families across the country not only
to pray together at the same time but also to place a lighted candle in
the window of their home or to hang a white cloth from their balcony as a
sign of hope. He knew, too, that TV2000, the Italian Catholic
television channel, would broadcast the event nationwide.
Francis
said, “The prayer of the rosary is the prayer of the humble and of the
saints who, through its mysteries, contemplate with Mary the life of
Jesus, [who is] the merciful face of the Father.” He added, “And how
much we all need to be truly consoled, to feel ourselves surrounded by
the presence of his love.”
Pope
Francis said, “The prayer of the rosary is the prayer of the humble and
of the saints who, through its mysteries, contemplate with Mary the
life of Jesus, the merciful face of the Father.”
He
said the proof that people experience this consolation and love is
shown in the way “we relate to others, which in this moment coincides
with our closest family members.”
He encouraged people “to be
close to one another, by being the first to show charity, understanding,
patience and pardon.” Recognizing that everyone is “confined within the
walls of our homes,” Pope Francis urged people to “have a bigger heart,
so that the other always finds you available and welcoming.”
This
evening’s bulletin from Italy’s Civil Protection Agency highlighted the
dramatic situation in which this nation of 60 million people finds
itself; the numbers underlined for believers the great need for prayer
as well as the assistance of medical science. The agency reported that
the total number infected by the virus since the beginning of the
emergency in Italy on Feb. 21 is now at 41,035. It said the number currently with the virus is 35,713, an increase of 15 percent in the past 24 hours.
But
it is the death tally that is truly disturbing. The agency reported
that 3,405 people have died as a result of the virus since Feb. 21; that
is more than have died in China since the start of the epidemic there
in December. In fact, yesterday was the worst day in terms of deaths in
Italy: A total of 475 died—the highest number of any country in a single
day. While today’s death toll is slightly lower—427—it is a sign that
the pandemic has not yet peaked in here.
Pope
Francis told his nationwide audience, “This evening, let us pray
together, entrusting ourselves to the intercession of St. Joseph, the
guardian of the Holy Family and the guardian of every family.”
The
report’s only consoling notes are the facts that 4,440 people have
fully recovered so far and that the Italian government has authorized
some 10,000 medical students who have just graduated to work in the
national health service to combat the virus. Another 6,000 people have
come forward as volunteers to assist the health service.
In his
video message, Pope Francis told his nationwide audience, “This evening,
let us pray together, entrusting ourselves to the intercession of St.
Joseph, the guardian of the Holy Family and the guardian of every
family.”
He reminded them that “the carpenter from Nazareth knew
the precariousness and bitterness [of life] and the concern for
tomorrow, but he also knew how to walk in the darkness of certain
moments, by letting himself be always guided without reserve by the will
of God.”
He concluded with a prayer he had composed to St.
Joseph, to whom he has a great personal devotion and on whose feast day
in 2013 he chose to inaugurate his Petrine ministry. He began by asking
the saint’s intercession to God to “protect this nation” and “enlighten
those responsible for the common good, so that they may know—like
you—how to care for the persons entrusted to their responsibility.”
He
appealed to St. Joseph “to grant the intelligence of knowledge to all
who are researching for adequate means [to ensure] the health and the
physical well-being of their brothers and sisters.”
