Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, concludes Marian Month in the vatican gardens

Like many small flames before the Heart of Mary

Hundreds of tiny flames, like many pleas brought before the Heart of Mary so they may reach her Son’s Heart, lit a long procession through the Vatican Gardens on Friday evening, 31 May. The procession ended at the Grotta di Lourdes. A large number of faithful participated in the recital of the Rosary, surrounded by the light of the flambeaux, and listened to the concluding reflection of Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President of the Governorate of Vatican City State.

On the day in which the Church celebrates the Feast of the Visitation, the Cardinal entrusted all those who suffer to the Virgin Mary: victims of work accidents, of wars, of terrorism, of famine and of natural disasters, the sick, the lonely and abandoned, the homeless, migrants and the unemployed.

The President of the Governorate asked everyone to pray for them, especially by reciting the Rosary, so that the Virgin Mary may grant the conversion of hearts, the renewal of the Church and new vocations to the priesthood and to consecrated life.

Praying the Rosary in the Vatican Gardens is a tradition that has been taking place for years, and includes the participation of cardinals, bishops and prelates of the Roman Curia. The five mysteries are prayed along the paths that lead to the replica of the Lourdes Grotto. The initiative was promoted by the Basilica of Saint Peter and is part of a series of celebrations held during the Marian month of May, the time in which the Church dedicates special attention to Mary.

 The following is the text of the Cardinal’s reflection:

We conclude the Rosary here before the Grotta di Lourdes, ending the month that is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The words that Saint Bernadette addressed to her fellow citizens are alive in us tonight: Mary wants us to be gathered here, in procession, to pray. We too have answered this call to learn how to pray and how to be Christ’s disciple, from Mary.

We have done so with the flambeaux, which are an expression of the light of prayer, the prayer we entrust to Mary for our needs and those of our brothers and sisters. These small lights represent our pleas and our praise, which we place in Mary’s Heart so that she may present them to her Son’s Heart. They also symbolize the light of faith, hope and charity.

The short journey we have just undertaken was an opportunity to show our joy and trust in the maternal intercession of Mary. We wish to express to her our solidarity with all those who suffer, such as victims of work accidents, of war, of terrorism, of famine and of natural disasters. Let us also recall those who are sick, the lonely and abandoned, those who have no homes, those who have left their countries and the unemployed.

What can we do for them? We can pray to Mary with the Rosary because this prayer has a power that cannot be explained in human terms. It is a gift from God. Let us ask Our Lady of the Rosary for the conversion of our hearts, the renewal of the Church and new vocations to the priesthood and to consecrated life. By praying the Rosary, we are preparing ourselves each day to eternally live the mysteries of Jesus in heaven.

Today, the Church celebrates the Visitation of the Virgin Mary. The Gospel account recalls an encounter between two “mothers”, who are the object of God’s blessing. Elizabeth was old and “barren”, but God’s intervention caused her to fall pregnant! And Mary, an unknown woman, became the Mother of our Saviour.

Mary’s visit to her cousin was not just a family occasion or a moment of charity. Our Lady sets out on a journey to help her cousin Elizabeth, but her presence becomes a missionary announcement. With Mary’s fiat to God’s request, she allows the Word of God to be incarnated in her womb. Thus, Mary is the first to bring God to Elizabeth’s family. The Gospel passage that recounts this event is filled with joy: the joy of the baby, who leaps in Elizabeth’s womb, and the joy of the Virgin Mary, not because she is to become the Mother of God, but because God had chosen her, because the Saviour was coming to save his people. In short, it is a messianic joy that inaugurates a new era in which God is manifested in Jesus.

And this is the mystery of God’s being, achieved in the most unique way by the Virgin Mary, who we celebrate today: God is in her and she is in God. This presence of Mary in God and of God in her is a source of profound joy which is expressed in the Magnificat.

As we stand before the Grotta di Lourdes, let us also pray for Pope Francis and for his ministry in the Church. Let us ask Our Lady to protect him with her blessing, and let us also ask her to protect us, our families, our loved ones and all those who seek God.