Pope Francis and his Obsession for the Blessed Virgin Mary

By Lavoisier Fernandes.

Since his election in 2013 and till date, Pope Francis has made 44 apostolic trips abroad and has spent 191 days travelling whilst visiting around 60 countries. One distinct feature before and after his return from each of his international trips is the veneration in the Basilica of St. Mary Major which holds the famous icon of Our Lady, known as Salus Populi Romani (protectress of the Roman people).

In March 15, 2020, at the height of the pandemic, the Pope left the Vatican to pray to Our Lady and ask for her intercession for the victims of the coronavirus and for all those affected. He also wanted her image to be present during the Urbi et Orbi blessing he extended in the middle of the pandemic, in front of a completely empty St. Peter’s Square.

St. Mary Major is one of the four papal basilicas in Rome. It became the temporary seat of the Popes until the residence was moved to the Vatican. In fact, ninety-two of the 264 popes are buried outside St. Peter’s.

Devotion that goes back to before his Election

This great devotion of visiting the Basilica of St. Mary Major goes back to before his Election.

“Before when I used to come here, I always went there on Sunday mornings. When I was in Rome,   I would go there for a while. There is a very strong connection.”

Twelve Hours after his Election and Forty days after his Election

Pope Francis love for the Salus Populi Romani goes back to twelve hours after his election as the 266^th successor of St. Peter when the Holy Father made a quiet visit to this famous icon of Our Lady placing a small bouquet of flowers before the icon. Cardinal Abril y Castello, the archpriest of St. Mary Major, then explained the significance of the Holy Father’s veneration:

“He decided to visit the basilica, not only to thank the Blessed Virgin, but — as Pope Francis said to me himself — to entrust her with his pontificate, to lay it at her feet. Being deeply devoted to Mary, Pope Francis came here to ask her for help and protection.”

Then, forty days after his election, Pope Francis went to St. Mary Major again to lead the recitation of the Rosary the first Saturday of May, the month dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. The Holy Father said:

“Mary is the mother,” and a mother’s main concern is the health of her children … Our Lady guards our health … helps us grow, face life and be free.”

Will be the first Pope in more than 100 years to be interred outside St. Peter’ Basilica.

Pope Francis will be the first pope to be interred outside of St. Peter’s Basilica in more than 100 years.

“As I always promised the Virgin, and the place is already prepared, I want to be buried in St. Mary Major, because it is my great devotion.”

But he will not be the first pope to be buried in the basilica of St. Mary Major. Seven popes are interred in the Church, but the most recent to be buried there died more than 350 years ago among them being Pope Clement VIII and Pius V.

Pope Francis could be buried at a chapel between two confessionals that is currently closed, and it is located in the left wing of the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome, close to the Salus Populi Romani.

When did Pope Francis fall in love with Our Blessed Mother?

Father Jorge Bergoglio(Pope Francis) was 49 when he fell in love with Our Blessed Mother and prior did not always have such a deep devotion to Our Lady or to praying the Rosary. Two encounters with Mary in the 1980s transformed the future Pope Francis’ devotion to her — witnessing Pope St. John Paul II praying the Rosary and discovering the sacred painting of Our Lady, Undoer of Knots.

Argentina’s “Dirty War,” which leads to Jorge Bergoglio’ (Pope Francis) radical transformation and Devotion to Mary.

Whilst he was serving as the Jesuit provincial during Argentina’s “Dirty War,” the military and paramilitary death squads conducted state-sponsored terror, resulting in the killing of as many as 49,000 civilians. Left-wing guerrillas also killed 6,000 military, police, and civilians. The death squads singled out for execution anyone working with the poor, including priests, religious and catechists.

Father Bergoglio (Pope Francis) saved at least 100 people during the Dirty War

Father Bergoglio used his position to publicly criticize the violence of the junta and the guerrillas. But more than this, he put his own life at risk by rescuing people from the death squads and helping others to evade arrest, providing them with the means to flee the country. He personally drove through the streets of Buenos Aires with people in his car who were being hunted by the regime. It has been estimated that Father Bergoglio saved at least 100 people during the Dirty War.

Father Bergoglio (Pope Francis) turned to Our Lady in his pain and suffering

Like countless Catholics before him, Father Bergoglio turned to Our Lady in his pain and suffering. Pope Francis has admitted that the stress of living through those times resulted in personal problems for him: “I had to deal with difficult situations, and I made my decisions abruptly and by myself. My authoritarian and quick manner of making decisions led me to have serious problems and to be accused of being ultraconservative.”

St. John Paul II taught Father Bergoglio How to Pray the Rosary

Two years after the end of the Dirty War, Father Bergoglio witnessed Pope St. John Paul II pray the Rosary. Cardinal Bergoglio gave this personal testimony on the impact on his life of seeing the Holy Father praying the Rosary:

“If I remember well, it was 1985. One evening I went to recite the holy Rosary that was being led by the Holy Father. He was in front of everybody, on his knees. The group was numerous; I saw the Holy Father from the back, and, little by little, I got lost in prayer. I was not alone: I was praying in the middle of the people of God to which I and all those there belonged, led by our pastor.

“In the middle of the prayer, I became distracted, looking at the figure of the Pope: his piety, his devotion was a witness. And the time drifted away, and I began to imagine the young priest, the seminarian, the poet, the worker, the child from Wadowice … in the same position in which he knelt at that moment, reciting Ave Maria after Ave Maria. His witness struck me.”

From that day on in 1985, Pope Francis recites 15 mysteries of the Rosary every day

“I felt that this man(St. John Paul II), chosen to lead the Church, was following a path up to his Mother in the sky, a path set out on from his childhood. And I became aware of the density of the words of the Mother of Guadalupe to St. Juan Diego: ‘Don’t be afraid; am I not your mother?’ I understood the presence of Mary in the life of the Pope. That testimony did not get forgotten in an instant. From that time on, I recite the 15 mysteries of the Rosary every day.”

Pope Francis and Our Lady, Undoer of Knots

In 1986, Father Bergoglio travelled to Frankfurt, Germany, to study theology. During this German sabbatical, he visited the Church of St. Peter am Perlach, in Augsburg, Bavaria, where he saw the enigmatic 17th-century painting Our Lady,  Undoer of Knots.

It is unclear why this painting had such a deep impact on Father Bergoglio at that time in his life. It has been speculated that he was struggling with his own personal problems as a consequence of his recent experiences as Jesuit provincial.

“Even the most tangled knots are loosened by God’s Grace.”

In an address in the year of faith devoted to Mary and reflecting on Our Lady, Undoer of Knots, Pope Francis said:

“The “knot” of disobedience, the “knot” of unbelief. When children disobey their parents, we can say that a little “knot” is created. This happens if the child acts with an awareness of what he or she is doing, especially if there is a lie involved. At that moment, they break trust with their parents. You know how frequently this happens! Then the relationship with their parents needs to be purified of this fault; the child has to ask forgiveness so that harmony and trust can be restored. Something of the same sort happens in our relationship with God. When we do not listen to him, when we do not follow his will[,]……….These knots take away our peace and serenity. They are dangerous, since many knots can form a tangle which gets more and more painful and difficult to undo.”

“But we know one thing: nothing is impossible for God’s mercy! Even the most tangled knots are loosened by his grace. And Mary, whose “yes” opened the door for God to undo the knot of the ancient disobedience, is the Mother who patiently and lovingly brings us to God, so that he can untangle the knots of our soul by his fatherly mercy.”