Pope Francis wanted to set an example in the Ukraine war with this old ritual on Friday. Earlier, the Pope invited all the bishops of the world to participate as well. In Germany, Cardinal Rainer Maria said the prayer of consecration on Friday at 5 p.m. in Cologne Cathedral.
Controversial ritual
The ritual is also controversial within the Catholic Church. “The idea that Russia should be consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary has a longer tradition“, said the dogma historian Michael Seewald from the University of Münster. It originally goes back to reports of Marian apparitions in Fatima in Portugal in July 1917.
One directive of the so-called “children of vision” of Fatima was to consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. “Immaculate” refers to the Catholic teaching that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was free from sin.
The inclusion of Ukraine is new
“The reason behind this was that the Russian tsar had just been deposed in the February 1917 revolution“said Seewald. “At the time, there was fear in Western Europe that Russia might break away from the Christian faith.“The prayer was repeated several times later during the Cold War.”Anti-Russian clichés also played a role.“
What is new now is that both Russia and Ukraine should be consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. But even that is not unproblematic: “One disposes, so to speak, of someone else and forcibly transfers this to a heavenly figure.“
On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi proposed Pope Francis as mediator. In a video message, he explained that he had the head of the Catholic Church “asked to come to our country at this very important moment“. He thinks “that we can organize this important visit, which offers significant support to each of us, each Ukrainian“.
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