Ending a month long global rosary marathon of prayer, Pope Francis prayed for the intercession of Mary, Undoer of Knots to end the pandemic.
Standing before the image in the Vatican Gardens, Pope Francis prayed:
“During this month of May with many of the faithful we joined in prayer with various shrines scattered throughout the world and dedicated to you, O Mary our Holy Mother. We have asked you to intercede for us with your Son Jesus. Every day, holding in our hands the crown of the holy rosary, we have turned our eyes to you, Mother of Mercy, begging that the pandemic may end and humanity may resume its daily life with greater security. Tonight we gather before you, our Virgin Mother, venerated in this image as the one who unties knots. In fact, there are many knots that bind our lives and our activities. They are knots of selfishness and indifference, economic and social knots, knots of violence and war. By your obedience, you have untied the knot of disobedience of Eve’s disobedience; by your faith, you untied what Eve had tied with her unbelief. We pray to you, Holy Mother, untie the knots that oppress us materially and spiritually, so that we may joyfully bear witness to your Son and our Lord, Jesus Christ.”
Marian sanctuaries from France, Germany, Rwanda, Chile, Spain, Scotland, Paraguay, and Italy joined together via livestream to pray with Pope Francis and all Catholics around the world.
We pray to you, Blessed Mother, that you might untangle the knots that oppress us so that we can witness with joy to your Son and our Lord, Jesus Christ. pic.twitter.com/xKiURBF7cN
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) May 31, 2021
After the ceremony, Pope Francis crowned the image of the Virgin Mary and prayed that like Mary “we too might consecrate ourselves to God’s service and make ourselves available to one another in charity.” He then gave his Apostolic Blessing, thanking all who participated in the Marathon of Prayer, “who with one voice have raised their prayer to the Holy Mother of God.”
“We continue to ask the Lord to protect the whole world from the pandemic, and that everyone, without exception, will soon be given the opportunity to protect themselves through vaccination.”
Watch below video of the ceremony from the Vatican:
Be with us O Mary along the way – Guide every step we take.