Jump to content

Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Anjo-sozinho (talk | contribs) at 12:33, 25 March 2022. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

A religious statue depicting Our Lady of Fatima, with her Immaculate Heart surrounded with thorns, a necklace chain of golden ball (of light) and barefooted as described by Sister Lúcia at the Pontevedra and Fátima Marian apparitions.

The Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary by a specific act of a reigning Pope along with all the other Catholic bishops of the world was allegedly ordered in a Marian apparition by Our Lady of Fátima in 13 July 1917. Sister Lúcia, one of the three visionaries publicly stated that at different times the Blessed Virgin Mary had given her a message of promise, that the consecration of Russia (as a country) would usher in a period of world peace.

Pope Pius XII, Paul VI and Pope John Paul II have consecrated Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, albeit without directly referencing Russia or the Soviet Union (USSR).

Pope Francis announced he would consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on 25 March 2022 at Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. A consecration ceremony is also scheduled in Fátima, Portugal by the Papal almoner, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski. Accordingly, the Pontiff cordially invited all the Catholic Bishops to join him along by their own volition at the same designated time.

History and background

Categorized as private revelation

The teaching of the Roman Catholic Church distinguishes between "public Revelation" and "private revelations". The term "public Revelation" finds its literary expression in the Bible and "reached its fulfilment in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ".[1] In this regard, Catechism of the Catholic Church quotes Saint John of the Cross:

“…In giving us his Son, his only Word (for he possesses no other), he spoke everything to us at once in this sole Word—and he has no more to say... Any person questioning God or desiring some vision or revelation would be guilty not only of foolish behavior but also of offending him, by not fixing his eyes entirely upon Christ and by living with the desire for some other novelty.”[2]

Consecration of Russia

Russian priest and pilgrims in the Sanctuary of Fátima, in Portugal.

According to Sister Lúcia, the Virgin Mary requested the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart on several occasions.[citation needed]

Lúcia lived in Spain from 1925 to 1946, during the time of the Second Spanish Republic and the Spanish Civil War. Her first mention of the Blessed Virgin's request for the consecration of Russia is in the autumn of 1929. In 1929 Lúcia Santos was a novice at the Sisters of St. Dorothy convent in Tuy, Spain. Lúcia reported that on the night of 13 June 1929, while she was praying in chapel, that she experienced a vision in which the Blessed Virgin said that it was God's will that the Pope, in union with all the Bishops of the world, consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart. Sister Lúcia reported this to her confessor who asked her to write it down.[citation needed]

In two letters she sent in May 1930 to Fr. Gonçalves, her confessor, Lúcia linked the consecration of Russia with the Devotion of the Five First Saturdays, which she had first discussed in context of the apparitions she had purportedly experienced previously as a postulant at Pontevedra in 1925. (The Church has issued no decision regarding the reported visions at either Pontevedra or Tuy.[3]In August 1941, Sister Lúcia wrote her third memoir in which she described the apparition of 13 July 1917. She said that the Blessed Virgin Mary told them:[4]

"God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace. The [First World] war is going to end; if people do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out during the pontificate of Pius XI. When you see a night illumined by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign given you by God that He is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father. To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, and the communion of reparation on the first Saturday's. If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace. If not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated. In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she will be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world."

Some Catholics who support the position of the Catholic Church claim that the apparitions at Fátima took place after the February Revolution of 1917 that deposed Tsar Nicholas II from power and the April 16 return of Vladimir Lenin to Russia.[5]

20th century

Main article: Pope Pius XII 1942 consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

In 1942, Pius XII consecrated the whole humanity, implicitly including Russia, to the Immaculate Heart. In 1952, he consecrated Russia to the Immaculate Heart in Sacro vergente anno.[6][7]

In 1964, Paul VI also consecrated humanity, and thus Russia, to the Immaculate Heart at the end of the third session of Vatican II.[7][8][9][10]

In 1981, 1982 and 1984, John Paul II also consecrated the whole human race to the Immaculate Heart. In 1984, before doing the consecration, he consulted Sister Lúcia so as to make sure the consecration of Russia would be valid. After John Paul II's consecrations, Sister Lúcia stated numerous times that the 1984 consecration had been done the way the Virgin Mary wanted it to be.[6][7]

In all those consecrations, the popes made no literal references to Russia or the USSR, for political reasons.[6]

According to Colin Donovan, Vice-President for Theology of EWTN, the following events happened after the 1984 Consecration of Russia by St. John Paul II:[11]

  • May 13, 1984: Severomorsk Disaster: an explosion at the Soviets’ Severomorsk Naval Base destroys two-thirds of all the missiles stockpiled for the Soviets’ Northern Fleet. The blast also destroys workshops needed to maintain the missiles as well as hundreds of scientists and technicians. Western military experts called it the worst naval disaster the Soviet Navy has suffered since WWII.
  • December 20, 1984: Soviet Defense Minister, Dmitry Ustinov, military hardliner against the West and driving force behind Russia's arm build-up, suddenly dies.
  • March 10, 1985: Soviet Chairman Konstantin Chernenko dies
  • March 11, 1985: Soviet Chairman Mikhail Gorbachev is elected
  • April 26, 1986: Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident
  • November 9, 1989: Fall of the Berlin Wall
  • Nov-Dec 1989: Revolutions of 1989: Peaceful revolutions in Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania
  • 1990: German Reunification: East and West Germany are unified

21st century

At the formal request of the Episcopal Conference of Ukrainian Catholic Bishops, the Holy See announced on 15 March 2022 that Pope Francis would consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on 25 March 2022 at Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The 25 March is the same date John Paul II consecrated Russia to the Immaculate Heart back in 1984. A consecration ceremony is also scheduled in Fátima, Portugal by the Papal almoner, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski.[12][13] Accordingly, the Pope sent a letter to invite all the Catholic Bishops to join him along by their own volition at the same designated time.[14][7] He also invited all Catholic communities and all the faithful to join him in the consecration.[15] The text of the consecration reads among other things: "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."[16]

Conversion of Russia

In 1946, during a gathering of youth at Fátima, Sister Lucia was asked by a young Russian girl, Natacha Derfelden as to how the conversion of Russia would be accomplished. Sister Lucia responded that the conversion of Russia would come through the Orthodox Church and "the Oriental rite",[17][18] seemingly meaning the conversion implied reconciliation and reunion between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. A theological commentary written by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger on the Fátima secret cites it as a “conversion of the heart”.[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Message of Fatima". Vatican.va. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  2. ^ "Catechism of the Catholic Church". Usccb.org. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-12-09. Retrieved 2012-12-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ Farrow, Mary (10 October 2017). "Everything you need to know about Fatima (Part 2)". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  5. ^ "The SEALED TRAIN" by Michael Pearson, New York:Putnam [1975] ISBN 0399112626
  6. ^ a b c Kengor, Paul (23 March 2022). "John Paul II's Consecration of Russia". NCR. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  7. ^ a b c d "Pope invites bishops to join him in consecration of Russia and Ukraine". Vatican News. 18 March 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  8. ^ "Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the Triumph of the Kingdom of God | EWTN". EWTN Global Catholic Television Network. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  9. ^ Watkins, Devin (2022-03-16). "Ukrainian Bishops welcome Pope's consecration of Russia to Mary". Vatican News. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  10. ^ J. de Souza, Raymond (16 March 2022). "Pope's Consecration of Russia and Ukraine Is a Supreme Act of Trust in Our Lady". NCR. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  11. ^ https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/answers/consecration-timeline-14285
  12. ^ "Pope to consecrate Russia and Ukraine to Immaculate Heart of Mary - Vatican News". www.vaticannews.va. 2022-03-15. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  13. ^ CNA (15 March 2022). "Pope Francis to consecrate Russia and Ukraine to Immaculate Heart of Mary". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  14. ^ Watkins, Devin (2022-03-23). "Pope to Bishops: Consecration of Russia and Ukraine 'to implore peace'". Vatican News. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  15. ^ Mares, Courtney (23 March 2022). "Pope Francis asks all Catholics to take part in consecration of Russia, Ukraine". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  16. ^ Wooden, Cindy (2022-03-22). "Pope will consecrate humanity, 'especially Russia and Ukraine,' to Mary, text says". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  17. ^ Quoted in "Russia Will be Converted" by John Haffert, President of the Blue Army, 1956, p. 204
  18. ^ "Russia Will Be Converted" (PDF). Johnhaffert.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-02-15. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  19. ^ "The Message of Fatima". Vatican.va. Retrieved 2016-08-11.

Further reading

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Consecration_of_Russia_to_the_Immaculate_Heart_of_Mary&oldid=1079179011"