Shortly before 4:00pm today, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Holy Father, Pope Francis went to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major where he stopped for a moment in prayer before the image of the Salus Populi Romani.
Then, about 4:15pm, the Pope went to the Piazza di Spagna for the traditional Act of Veneration of the Immaculate Virgin. For this occasion, the Pope composed and recited a special prayer for the Act of Veneration.
Oh Mary, our Mother,
Today the people of God in celebration
venerate the Immaculate,
always preserved from the contagion of sin.
Accept the gift I offer
on behalf of the Church in Rome
and throughout the world.
Knowing that You, our Mother, are completely free from sin
gives us great comfort.
Knowing that evil has no power over You,
fills us with hope and fortitude
in the daily struggle that we must fulfill against the threats of the evil one.
But we are not alone in this struggle, we are not orphans, because Jesus, before dying on the cross,
has given You to us as a Mother.
We, therefore, despite being sinners, are your children, sons of the Immaculate,
called to the holiness that shines through You
by the grace of God from the beginning.
Animated by this hope,
we pray today for Your maternal protection for us, for our families,
for this city, for the whole world.
May the power of God's love,
that preserved You from original sin,
through Your intercession, free humanity from every spiritual and material slavery,
and make us win, in hearts and in events, God's plan of salvation.
May grace prevail in us, Your children,
over pride, that we may become merciful
as our heavenly Father is merciful.
In this time that leads us
towards the feast of the Nativity of Jesus,
teach us to go against the tide:
to divest ourselves, to lower ourselves, to give ourselves, to listen, to be silent,
to decentralize ourselves,
to make room for the beauty of God, the source of true joy.
Oh Immaculate, Our Mother, pray for us!
Then, about 4:15pm, the Pope went to the Piazza di Spagna for the traditional Act of Veneration of the Immaculate Virgin. For this occasion, the Pope composed and recited a special prayer for the Act of Veneration.
Act of Veneration
Composed and recited by the Holy Father, Pope Francis
at the Piazza di Spagna
Oh Mary, our Mother,
Today the people of God in celebration
venerate the Immaculate,
always preserved from the contagion of sin.
Accept the gift I offer
on behalf of the Church in Rome
and throughout the world.
Knowing that You, our Mother, are completely free from sin
gives us great comfort.
Knowing that evil has no power over You,
fills us with hope and fortitude
in the daily struggle that we must fulfill against the threats of the evil one.
But we are not alone in this struggle, we are not orphans, because Jesus, before dying on the cross,
has given You to us as a Mother.
We, therefore, despite being sinners, are your children, sons of the Immaculate,
called to the holiness that shines through You
by the grace of God from the beginning.
Animated by this hope,
we pray today for Your maternal protection for us, for our families,
for this city, for the whole world.
May the power of God's love,
that preserved You from original sin,
through Your intercession, free humanity from every spiritual and material slavery,
and make us win, in hearts and in events, God's plan of salvation.
May grace prevail in us, Your children,
over pride, that we may become merciful
as our heavenly Father is merciful.
In this time that leads us
towards the feast of the Nativity of Jesus,
teach us to go against the tide:
to divest ourselves, to lower ourselves, to give ourselves, to listen, to be silent,
to decentralize ourselves,
to make room for the beauty of God, the source of true joy.
Oh Immaculate, Our Mother, pray for us!
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