VATICAN (CNS): Pope Francis and Ukrainian families in Rome gathered before a statue of Mary, Queen of Peace, on May 31 to recite the rosary for peace in Ukraine and in other places at war.
Pope Benedict XV had the statue placed in Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major in 1918 as a sign and pledge of people’s prayers for an end to World War I.
An announcement from the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelisation said that at the end of the Marian month, Pope Francis wanted to “offer a sign of hope to the world, which is suffering from the conflict in Ukraine and deeply wounded by the violence in the many theaters of active war” around the world.
Pope Francis was joined not only by Andrii Yurash, Ukraine’s ambassador to the Holy See, Ukrainian families, but also by members of the Scouts, young people who have recently received their first Communion or confirmation, Italian young adults belonging to a Marian prayer group, military chaplains and representatives of the three Queen of Peace parishes in Rome.
After setting white flowers at a statue of Mary, Queen of Peace, Pope Francis prayed the rosary and asked Mary to intercede to bring peace to Ukraine and to every place in the world torn by violent conflict.
“This evening, at the end of the month especially consecrated to you, we are again before you, Queen of Peace,” the pope said.
“Grant us the great gift of peace; quickly end the wars, which have been raging for decades now in various parts of the world, and which has now invaded even the continent of Europe,” the pope prayed. “We are aware that peace cannot be the result of negotiations alone nor a consequence of political agreements alone but is above all an Easter gift of the Holy Spirit.”
The five decades of the rosary were led by a family from Ukraine, military chaplains, volunteer workers, a family from Syria and a family from Venezuela.
The rosary was livestreamed from Rome and shown in the Cathedral of the Mother of God in Zarvanytsia, Ukraine; the Syriac Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of Deliverance in Baghdad; the Melkite Cathedral of Our Lady, Queen of Peace, in Homs, Syria; and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia in Awali, Bahrain.
The world’s most famous Marian shrines, including Our Lady of Czestochowa in Poland, Our Lady Lourdes in France, Our Lady of Knock in Ireland and Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico, joined in, the council said.
