Friday, November 18, 2022

Pope Benedict XVI and Our Lady of Consolation Chapter 36

 Between 1977 (when he became a cardinal) and 1993, Joseph Ratzinger was the Cardinal Priest at Santa Maria Consolatrice al Tiburtino in Rome. Consolatrice is Italian for the Latin word Consolatrix. 

As pope, he returned to visit this church on December 18, 2005. He became pope on April 19, 2005.  The homily he gave that day can be found here:

https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/homilies/2005/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20051218_santa-maria-consolatrice.html

That homily ends with these words: "...God's will gives us wings to fly high and thus we too can dare, with Mary, to open the door of our lives to God, the doors of this world, by saying "yes" to his will, aware that this will is the true good and leads us to true happiness. Let us pray to Mary, Comfort of the Afflicted, our Mother, the Mother of the Church, to give us the courage to say this "yes" and also to give us this joy of being with God and to lead us to his Son, to true life. Amen!"

Notice he refers to Mary as "Comfort of the Afflicted". 

By Fabio Pozzebom/ABr - AgĂȘncia Brasil [1], CC BY 3.0 br, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2087685


Santa Maria Consolatrice was completed in 1945. Construction began in 1942, but the war delayed the completion. Capuchin friars had built a chapel at the same location in 1935 to serve a working-class suburb. They named it Madonna Consolata. It was named after La Consolata in Turin, Italy. The official name of that church in Turin is Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Consolazione, but it is commonly called Sanctuary of the Consolata. Consolazione translated from Italian to English is Consolation. Santa Maria della Consolazione is Saint Mary of Consolation. 

A copy of the icon of Our Lady that is at Santa Maria della Consolazione in Turin, was installed in the 1935 chapel. It is now above the tabernacle at the new church, built at the same location, Santa Maria Consolatrice  in Rome. This is where Pope Benedict gave the homily quoted above. 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Welcome and index

Since this blog puts the last post on top, I have decided to make the last post a welcome and an index.  Welcome to this blog about Our Lady...