History of the Act of Dedication of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
In connection with the ongoing military aggression of Russia in Ukraine, on March 25 at 5:00 PM, on the Solemnity of the Annunciation, Pope Francis will make the Act of Consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. At the same time - in union with the Holy Father - the same act will be performed in all countries and dioceses of the world. Papal Nuncio to USA, ArchbishopChristophe Pierre’s letter asked that the USA Bishops join in the consecration at 5:00 PM Rome time, if possible — noon on the East Coast of the United States, 9:00 AM in California.
If Russia converts, there will be peace ...
During the apparitions in Fatima in 1917, Our Lady told the children that in order to save sinners from hell, one should, among others, introduce devotion to her Immaculate Heart. Mary also asked for the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart. She explained that "if Russia is converted, there will be peace, if not, godless propaganda will spread its erroneous teachings around the world, causing wars and persecution of the Church."
In 1929, the Mother of God once again appears to the only living visionary, Lúcia de Jesus Rosa dos Santos. Our Lady told her that "the moment has come when God asks the Holy Father to consecrate Russia to my Immaculate Heart together with all the bishops of the world, promising to save Russia in this way." The message shows once again that “if Russia converts, there will be peace. If not, it will spread its errors around the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Holy Church. The Holy Father will suffer, many nations will be destroyed. "
In 1930, during the apparitions, Our Lady tells Lúcia that if people do not convert and do not repent of their sins, there will be another world war, famine, many armed conflicts and persecution of Christians, and the salvation is to entrust ourselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and to practice devotion on the first Saturdays of the month ”. Through her confessors and the Bishop of Leiria, Sister Lúcia obtained permission that the request of the Blessed Virgin had been brought to the attention of Pope Pius XI, who promised to take it under consideration. But even though on October 13, 1930, Bishop of Leiria Jose Coreira da Siva recognized the authenticity of the apparitions, Pius XI did not comply with the demands of the consecration of Russia.
Popes fulfill Mary's request, but only partially
In April 1939, Pius XII became the new pope. On December 2, 1940, Sister Lucia wrote a letter to him, demanding that Russia be consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The pope fulfilled this request, but only partially in 1942, by consecrating the nations of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Describing the war between Nazi Germany and Stalinist USSR as "the war of two devils", however, he did not dare to mention Russia separately, fearing that it would not be used by the Germans for their propaganda.
The consecration of the Nations to Mary, on the other hand, undoubtedly influenced the maintenance of the spirit in occupied Europe. Many saw in them the reason for the tipping of the scales of the war to the detriment of the Germans. In 1944, the Pope instituted the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and two years later, by his legate, he crowned the statue of Our Lady of Fatima as Queen of the World. In 1949 he gave permission to start the process necessary to open the beatification process of the children of Fatima, Francisco and Jacinta.
In 1944 Pius XII instituted the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and two years later, by his legate, he crowned the statue of Our Lady of Fatima as Queen of the World. Ten years after the Consecration of the Nations to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Pius XII repeated the act of Consecration in 1952, this time mentioning "all the nations in Russia" - but Lúcia remained unconvinced about fulfilling Our Lady's will, for he did so not in association with all the bishops of the Catholic Church.
John Paul II offers Russia
John Paul II at first was not particularly interested in Fatima. It began to touch him after the attack of May 13, 1981. He asked for the text of the apparitions that were provided to him personally by the Slovak exile bishop Paul Hnilica, SJ, who had previously been ordained a secret bishop in Slovakia and later stayed in Rome. He was an ardent promoter of consecration to Russia to the Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
John Paul II in conversations with him came to the conclusion that the coincidence of the dates of the attack with the first apparitions of Fatima could not be accidental, and that the Mother of God miraculously saved his life. There was no other way to explain the path of the bullet fired by Ali Agca that passed through his entire body without seriously damaging the vital internal organs.
After leaving the Gemelli Polyclinic, John Paul II said: "I understood that the only way to avoid war, to save the world from atheism, is to convert Russia according to the message of Fatima." His conviction was confirmed by Sister Lúcia in a letter addressed to him on May 12, 1982. She writes in it that the second part of the secret refers to Our Lady's words: “If they accept my demands, Russia will convert and will experience peace; if not, Russia will spread his erroneous teachings around the world, etc. "
A year after the attack, John Paul II made a pilgrimage to Fatima, treating it as a votive offering of gratitude to the Mother of God for saving his life. In the sermon, he explained why the Church accepted the message of Our Lady of the Rosary. “This is because it contains the truth and the call, which are essentially the truth and the call of the Gospel itself. "Convert and believe in the Gospel" - these are the first words that the Messiah addressed to humanity," he said.
While in Fatima, he entrusted the world and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. However, Sister Lúcia asked him to renew this act, as it had not been made in conjunction with all the bishops.
Finally, on March 25, 1984, John Paul II in spiritual communion with all the bishops of the world (previously called to do so) in the Basilica of St. Peter entrusted the world and Russia to Mary. Five Orthodox patriarchs (from outside the Soviet Union, of course) also joined the prayer. Sister Lucia confirmed personally that such a solemn and universal act corresponded to what Our Lady requested. At the same time, she added that perhaps this act saved the world from nuclear war.
Consecration in the heart of Moscow
It is worth recalling that on the eve of this ceremony, Bishop Paul Hnilica arrived in Moscow, and the next day, in one of the Kremlin orthodox churches, at the same time, in contact with John Paul, he made the act of consecration of Russia. He recalled this event himself: I entered the interior of St. Michael, the former chapel of the Tsars of Russia. I went to the altar, took the communist press “Pravda” out of my bag and unfolded it. Between the pages of "Pravda" was "L'Osservatore Romano" with the text of the act of consecration of Russia by the Pope. […] There, in the Kremlin orthodox church, I was united with the Holy Father and with all the bishops of the world, and in union with them I made the act of consecrating Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Then I went to the neighboring orthodox church of the Assumption of the Mother of God. There, at the Marian altar, I renewed the act of consecration. On the other side was the patriarch's throne. I put the medal on it and said to Mary: "Bring to this throne as soon as possible the true patriarch."
It is worth emphasizing that in the vast territories of the USSR, the transmission of the Fatima message was forbidden then and throughout the entire communist period. A well-known priest in Ukraine and Kazakhstan, Fr. Józef Świdnicki was arrested in 1984 and spent 2.5 years in a labor camp for spreading the Fatima message.
The revival of Christianity in Russia
On March 11, 1985, less than a year after the consecration of Russia to the Mother of God, Mikhail Gorbachev took power in Russia, who, wishing to modernize the USSR, eventually led to the collapse of the sinister empire, and by proclaiming "glasnost", he consciously negated its atheistic foundations. Since then, one can speak of a gradual revival of Christianity in the USSR. The breakthrough year was 1987/88, which ended with the celebration of the Millennium of the Baptism of Russia. As for the Catholic Church, the church hierarchy was established in Lithuania at that time, and two years later, on July 25, 1989, the first bishop in Belarus, Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, was appointed. On January 16, 1991, the Holy See reactivated the structures of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine. Almost simultaneously, on April 13, 1991, John Paul II created two apostolic administrations: the European part of Russia with its seat in Moscow, and Siberia, with the capital in Novosibirsk. Gradually, the Greek Catholic Church, condemned to extermination by the Soviets, also revived.
The first ordinary of the European part of Russia was Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz and immediately went on a pilgrimage to Fatima, at the same time visiting Sister Lucia. Sister Lucia could not believe that she was seeing with her own eyes the bishop who had come from Moscow. Then she exclaimed: "Madonna's message is finally being fulfilled."
Archbishop Kondrusiewicz during one of his next visits to sister Lucia, whom he made in the company of Card. Joseph Ratzinger, he heard from a visionary that conversion is a long process and concerns not only Russia "because sin has no nationality".
While visiting Fatima in 1991, John Paul II expressed the conviction that the liberation of the countries of the East was the work of the Immaculate Virgin. He warned that although Marxism has been defeated, "it can be replaced by a new form of atheism which, by proclaiming freedom, seeks to destroy the roots of Christian morality."
In 1996, the statue of Our Lady of Fatima solemnly reached Russia, visiting individual dioceses and parishes, from the Kaliningrad Region to Perm beyond the Urals. "In recent years, we have witnessed the gradually fulfilling Fatima prophecy about the conversion of Russia," said Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, ordinary of the European part of Russia, welcoming the statue to Saint-Petersburg. He added that "it is a lengthy process, much more difficult than changing street names or tearing down monuments to the leaders of the revolution." John Paul II listened in Rome the direct transmission of this ceremony with great emotion, granting his apostolic blessing to the pilgrimage of the figure in Russia.
War and hope
The armed aggression of Russia against Ukraine, launched on February 24 this year, for Pope Francis became not only an occasion for repeated appeals for peace and diplomatic actions, but also became a call to give Russia again - this time along with bleeding Ukraine - to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
This will be done personally by Pope Francis on March 25 this year at 5:00 PM in the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome. At the same time, this act will be carried out in all dioceses around the world. And in Fatima, on the same day, Russia will be consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary by the Papal Almoner, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski.
Until Tomorrow
fr. george