Cardinal Parolin asks not to lose hope at the sanctuary of the Virgin of Carmen in Ukraine

Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Vatican and papal envoy to Ukraine, encouraged never to lose hope in God, at the Ukrainian sanctuary of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Berdychiv, almost two and a half years after the start of the war , after the invasion of Russia in February 2022.

In May 2024 and in line with his constant concern for “the martyred Ukraine”, Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Parolin as Pontifical Delegate to attend the closing celebration of the annual pilgrimage of Ukrainian Catholics of the Latin rite to the National Shrine. of Our Lady of Carmen of Berdychiv, this Sunday, July 21.

Every year, he explains Vatican Newsaround 4,000 pilgrims arrive at the sanctuary, the largest of the Latin Catholic rite in Ukraine, to venerate an icon of the Mother of God.

As reported by the middle of the Vaticanthe cardinal recalled the importance of “incessant prayer, so that God converts the hearts of those who, having strayed from his ways and become slaves to their own pride, sow violence and death, trampling in others the dignity of children of God.” ”.

“In truth we must ask the Lord, He who is the heavenly doctor, to cure us of these mortal diseases and to replace a heart of stone with a heart of flesh!” exclaimed the cardinal.

“Let us never lose trust and hope in God, especially today, when it seems that evil dominates us, when the horrors of war and the pain of so many victims and massive destruction undermine faith in divine goodness, when Our arms fall and we no longer have the strength to even pray,” encouraged the Vatican Secretary of State.

The Pontifical Delegate then asked the Virgin Mary that “children and young people have a serene and secure future, that families be centers of love, that the elderly and the sick receive comfort and relief in their sufferings, that those who defend their homeland are protected from the attacks of evil, that the prisoners of war embrace their loved ones again and that the victims are welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven.”

A prayer to the Virgin of Carmen

Cardinal Parolin then addressed the prayer to Saint Mary Flos Carmeli (Flower of Carmel)which is traditionally attributed to the English hermit saint Simon Stock, to whom the Virgin of Carmen gave the scapular.

“Flower of Carmel, flowering vine, splendor of heaven, only you are a virgin Mother. Strong armor of the combatants, the war rages: put the scapular in defense. Oh key and door of Paradise, let us go where you are crowned with glory. Amen”.

At the end of the Mass, the cardinal gave a rosary sent by Pope Francis as “everyone’s commitment to continue praying so that the Virgin comes to satisfy our needs and demands.”

The first miracle of the sanctuary of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Berdychiv in Ukraine

At today’s Mass the first miracle of the sanctuary dedicated to the Virgin of Carmen in this region of Ukraine was also remembered.

According to Vatican News, in 1627 the governor of Kyiv and Zhytomyr, Janusz Tyszkiewicz, was captured in a battle against the Tatars. After being chained, he promised to do some good deed in honor of God and the Virgin Mary if he was freed.

While he was sleeping, some friars he did not know appeared to him praying to God and Saint Mary for his freedom, which he later obtained.

Once free, he decided to build a monastery in Berdychiv for the religious people he saw in his dreams and whom three years later he recognized as the Carmelites of Lublin.

The church was consecrated in 1642 and the icon of Our Lady of the Snows was placed on the main altar, a copy of the one in the papal Basilica of Santa María Maggiore in Rome, the one of the Salvation of the Roman Peoplebefore which Pope Francis prays before and after his international trips.