Pope to recite final Rosary on 31 May to invoke the end of the pandemic
Francis will address the prayer to an image of Our Lady to whom he is very devoted, that of the Virgin Mary Undoer of Knots, to whom he will entrust five “knots” to be untied.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Pope Francis will mark the end of the month of prayer, on 31 May, reciting the Rosary in the Vatican Gardens, at 5.45 pm Rome time, to invoke the end of the pandemic and the restart of work and social activities,
Francis will address the prayer to an image of Our Lady to whom he is very devoted, that of the Virgin Mary Undoer of knots, to whom he will entrust five “knots” to be undone.
Francis himself opened the month of month of prayer reciting the Rosary before the icon of Our Lady of Succour in St Peter's Basilica. Titled Prayer by the Church was fervently being made to God (Acts, 12:5), the prayer marathon includes the participation of 30 shrines around the world.
With respect to the prayer, the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation issued a statement today, noting that this month “many testimonies of great involvement have arrived from all over the world”.
“Following the live broadcasts in the media it was possible for millions of people to pray the Rosary every day in the way that every culture and every country naturally expresses it. The various cultures have coloured the prayer showing the solidity of the faith of Christian communities in the world”.
“To mark the end, Pope Francis will address the prayer to an image of Our Lady to whom he is very devoted, that of the Virgin Mary Undoer of Knots.
“The icon with this particular representation of the Virgin is in the Church of St Peter am Perlach, Augsburg, Germany. It consists of an oil painting on canvas made by German painter Johann Georg Melchior Schmidtner around 1700.
“Pope Francis has always shown a strong devotion to this image and has spread its adoration particularly in Buenos Aires and across Argentina. The painting represents Our Lady intent at undoing the knots of a white ribbon stretched between two angels, surrounded by biblical scenes symbolically referring to images of hope, mercy and victory over evil”.
“Bishop Bertram Johannes Meier of Augsburg will come to Rome with a unique copy of the original icon, which was carried across Bavaria during a 2015 pilgrimage of the Bavarian dioceses to Augsburg, and will give it to Pope Francis who will dedicate it according to his intentions”.
“The choice of this image is intended to represent a special prayer for Our Lady to intercede and ‘undo” the sufferings that have bound the world in this period of health, as well as also economic, psychological and social crises.
“Pope Francis will entrust the Virgin with five prayer intentions, five 'knots' to be undone, to nurture hope in humanity.
“The first knot to be undone is that of wounded relationality, loneliness and indifference, which have deepened at this time.
“The second knot is dedicated to unemployment, with particular attention to that of young people, women, family breadwinners, and those trying to protect their employees.
“The third knot is the tragedy of violence, particularly in the family, at home, towards women or the social tensions generated by the uncertainty of the crisis.
“The fourth knot refers to human progress, which scientific research is called upon to support, sharing discoveries that they may be accessible to everyone, especially the weakest and poorest.
“The fifth knot to be undone is that of pastoral care: May local Churches, parishes, oratories, pastoral and evangelisation centres regain enthusiasm and new impetus in their whole pastoral life, and may young people be able to marry and build a family and a future.”
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31/05/2021 21:11
