Act of Consecration to the Virgin of Lourdes (14 August 1983)

On Sunday, 14 August 1983, the Holy Father, made an Act of Consecration of himself and all who wished it to Mary, Our Lady of Lourdes.

Before You, O Mother of Christ, before Your immaculate heart, today I want to unite myself once again with our Redeemer who offered Himself for men, in order to regenerate them through forgiveness and nourish them with His life. You are united, more than anyone else, to His offering for the salvation of the world. And, through the voice of Bernadette, you beg us to accept the invitation to penance, conversion and prayer. Do not allow us to follow the path forgetting your call.

Mother of men and peoples, You who know their sufferings and their hopes, who feel in a maternal way their struggles between good and evil, between light and darkness, hear our prayer, come to the aid of those your children in the ordeal. In Lourdes, I renew to You in the name of the entire Church the prayer that I am pleased to address to You in the great sanctuaries that are dedicated to You in the world.

And here, in this land of France, I entrust the sons and daughters of this people in a special way to your maternal love. They have not ceased to honor You, in their traditions, in the art of their cathedrals, in their pilgrimages, in popular piety as well as in the devotion of spiritual authors, certain of remaining close to Christ when they contemplate You and listen to You. They beg you. Many felt honored to consecrate themselves to You, including kings, as Louis XIII did on behalf of his people.

You yourself gave Bernadette Soubirous the experience of your gentle presence, entrusting her with a message that echoes the word of God entrusted to the Church. The offering we make of ourselves before You, O Our Lady, must be the personal work of each one, of each family, of each ecclesial community, and it is good that it be renewed in each generation, in the form that best expresses this confident delivery.

Today I make this gesture with everyone in this Nation who wishes: so that their Christian faith triumphs over all insidies and is transmitted faithfully, so that the young generations truly accept it. So that they are assiduous in praying to You. So that they always behave like convinced Christians, like saints, who encourage their brothers to an ardent life of love for God and neighbor, and missionary zeal. So that charity and unity, joy and hope, remain in this Church. So that their testimony helps the entire nation in the true progress you desire for it.

O Mary, Our Lady of Lourdes, obtain for these brothers and sisters of France the gifts of the Holy Spirit, so that a new youth, the youth of faith, may be given to these Christians and their communities, which to your immaculate heart, I trust your maternal heart. Amen.

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