Pope Francis’ peace prayer for Ukraine recalls prophecy 105 years ago about Russia
Pope Francis prayed for peace in Ukraine at a ceremony that looked to a prophecy about peace and Russia that stems back more than a century to purported visions of the Virgin Mary to three peasant children in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917.
By Newsdesk
28 March 2022 Modified date: 29 March 2022
The significance of the prayers needed some explaining to those unfamiliar with Catholic history.
The Pope on March 25 consecrated Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary with a prayer asking for peace in the world, Catholic News Agency reported.
At the end of a penitential service in St. Peter’s Basilica, Francis carried out the act, saying: “Mother of God and our Mother, to your Immaculate Heart we solemnly entrust and consecrate ourselves, the Church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine.
“Accept this act that we carry out with confidence and love. Grant that war may end and peace spread throughout the world.”
Francis invited bishops, priests and ordinary faithful around the world to join him in the consecration prayer, which opened with the pontiff entering St. Peter’s Basilica before an estimated 3,500 people, The Associated Press reported.
‘FREE US FROM WAR’
“Free us from war, protect our world from the menace of nuclear weapons,” the Pope prayed.
It ended with Francis sitting alone before a statue of the Madonna.
There, he solemnly asked forgiveness that humanity had “forgotten the lessons learned from the tragedies of the last century, the sacrifice of the millions who fell in two World Wars.”
In his homily, Francis said that the consecration “is no magic formula but a spiritual act.”
“It is an act of complete trust on the part of children who, amid the tribulation of this cruel and senseless war that threatens our world, turn to their Mother, reposing all their fears and pain in her heart and abandoning themselves to her,” he said.
Since Russia invaded its neighbor on Feb. 24 in what it calls a “special military operation”, the Pope has implicitly criticised Moscow, Reuters reported.
He has strongly condemning what he has called an “unjustified aggression” and denouncing “atrocities,” but he had not mentioned Russia by name.
He used the words Russia and Russians on March 25, although as part of a prayer and a homily.
https://www.europeantimes.news/2022/03/pope-francis-peace-prayer-for-ukraine-recalls-prophecy-105-years-ago-about-russia/