Pope: Mary is ‘safe refuge’ amidst life’s difficulties

By Edoardo Giribaldi

Traditionally invoked as a “safe refuge amid life’s difficulties,” Mary is a source of consolation for a world wounded by war, Pope Leo said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the General Audience, the Pope once again urged the faithful to turn to her with the prayer of the Rosary.

He did so on Wednesday, as the Church celebrated the liturgical memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary.

From the steps of St Peter’s Square, the Pope’s voice echoed the appeal he made at last Sunday’s Angelus, a call which he had already made a week earlier, on 27 September, in Lourdes.

In his greeting to Portuguese-speaking faithful, the Pope referred to another Marian liturgical memorial, that of Our Lady of Aparecida, patroness of Brazil, which is celebrated on 12 October. “To her maternal intercession I entrust you and your families. May Our Lady always watch over you,” Pope Leo said.

Addressing Chinese-speaking pilgrims, he pointed to Mary as a “refuge and strength in moments of difficulty and suffering.”

A month of prayer

In France, the Pope had invited the faithful to pray the rosary throughout October, “with the particular intention that wars may end and peace be established among peoples in conflict.”

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He called for this prayer to be translated into action, accompanied by “concrete acts of penance and mercy” and a commitment to “always promote dialogue and reconciliation.”

“Grant us peace!”

On the first day of this month, dozens of Hail Marys rose from the Vatican Gardens, carrying with them the Pope’s plea, voiced in unison with more than 700 children: “Grant us peace!”

Voices from every corner of the world have joined them in recent days, praying for weapons to fall silent.

The event was organized by the “A Million Children Pray the Rosary” initiative, coordinated by the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need and inspired by the words of Padre Pio: “If a million children pray the Rosary together, the world will change.”