Within the framework of the feast of the Virgin of the Consolata, which the Catholic Church celebrates this June 20, we share with you a prayer pronounced by Saint John Paul II in the Marian sanctuary of this dedication, asking the Mother of God for her consolation for the Church and the world.
On April 13, 1980, the holy Pontiff made a pastoral visit to Turin, in northern Italy, and gave a short speech in which he explained the benefits of Mary’s consolation, which arises from the paschal mystery.
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For the Holy Father “it is a consolation in the deepest meaning of the word: it restores strength to the human spirit, illuminates, comforts and reinforces faith and transforms it into confident abandonment to Providence and spiritual joy.”
Likewise, he highlighted that the Most Holy Mary continues to be “the loving consoler in so many physical and moral pains that afflict and torment humanity.” She does this, according to the Pope, because she knows our sorrows and pains, since “She too has suffered.”
At the end he prayed the following prayer in which he asked the Virgin to come to console the people of the clergy, the world of politics, the Catholic communities and the suffering people.
Oh Holy Virgin,
be the only and perennial consolation
of the Church you love and protect!
Comfort your bishops and your priests,
to the missionaries and the religious,
that must illuminate and save modern society,
difficult and sometimes hostile!
Comfort the Christian communities,
giving them the gift of numerous
and firm priestly and religious vocations!
Comfort all those who are invested
of authority and civil and religious responsibilities,
social and political,
so that always and only
have the common good as their goal
and the integral development of man,
despite the difficulties and defeats.
Console these good people of Turin,
who loves you and venerates you;
to the many families of emigrants,
to the unemployed, to those who suffer,
those who carry in the body
and in the soul the wounds
caused by dramatic emergency situations;
to young people, especially those who are,
For many and painful reasons,
lost or discouraged;
to all those who feel in their hearts
a burning need for love,
of altruism, of charity, of dedication,
and cultivate high ideals of spiritual and social achievements.
Oh Comforting Mother,
comfort us all,
and make everyone understand
that the secret of happiness is in kindness,
and to always faithfully follow your Son Jesus.
Originally published June 19, 2023. It has been updated for republication.
Abel Camasca
Journalist graduated from the Communication Sciences degree at the University of Lima. He has been part of the ACI Prensa journalistic team since 2014. Between 2016 and 2022 he was in charge of the production of the television program EWTN Noticias and Más que Noticias, a World Catholic Radio program. He often writes articles about the lives of saints.