May 12: pope asks Our Lady of Aparecida to protect the family
“Our Mother, protect the Brazilian and Latin American family!” asked Benedict XVI in a prayer addressed to the Mother of Christ in the red-brick Basilica of Our Lady of Aparecida. Just before, the pope spoke before 35,000 faithful, among whom were very many priests, religious brothers and sisters, permanent deacons and seminarians from Brazil.
“What great challenges, what difficult situations you have to face, with such generosity, self-denial, sacrifices and renunciations,” said the pope to the priests. He told them that “the witness of a priestly life well-lived brings nobility to the Church, calls forth admiration among the faithful, and… is the best way to promote vocations.”
He then expressed his wish for the seminarians to be “with God’s help, holy, faithful and happy priests in the service of the Church.” He emphasized that “religious life in Brazil has always been important and has had a key role in the work of evangelization, from the very beginnings of the colonial era.”
During the celebration, the pope also donated the traditional golden rose, to the Marian shrine of Aparecida. This piece of precious metalwork is a mark of honor conferred by the Sovereign Pontiff. It is made of several roses whose buds are filled with perfume. The tradition dates back to the 11th century, when the pope would have a golden rose sent every year to a king or a prince. Since the 18th century, the usage is to offer it to a Catholic sovereign or to a shrine.
Together with the local bishop and the faithful, Benedict XVI recited the prayer of consecration to Our Lady of Aparecida.
