Act of Entrustment of Austria to Mary at Mariazell (13 September 1983)

On Tuesday, 13 September 1983, during the Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Mariazell, the Holy Father entrusted the nation to Mary's motherly protection.

1. Blessed are you, Mary, who believed! We praise you together with Elizabeth ( Luke 1:45). Blessed are you, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ and Mother of the Church. 

You are the Mother of us all, who have today undertaken this pilgrimage to your shrine in Mariazell: bishops, priests, deacons, religious, seminarians, novices and many believers from near and far together with the successor of the Apostle Peter in the midst of the pilgrim people of God.

We would like to say this prayer of our consecration to you. We entrust to your pure heart everything that deeply moves us at this hour: all our legitimate wishes and hopes, but also our worries and sufferings. Lead us with our joys and burdens to your Son, to the sanctuary of his loving heart, so that he may show his brothers and sisters the Father, the blessed goal of our paths.

2. Holy Mother of Mariazell! To you we entrust this country with its villages and towns, all of Austria and its inhabitants. May its precious heritage, Christianity, continue to heal and shape the lives of individuals and families, the life of society and the state. May it help everyone to find the deepest meaning of their earthly path. May it awaken courage and hope for the days and years to come.

3. To your motherly heart, Mary, we entrust above all those who are burdened by suffering and pain: the sick and the disabled, men and women in difficult marriages, children in families at odds, people with heavy debts, the unemployed, the uprooted, prisoners. How many tears, how much fear, how much darkness on the way!

May the cross of your Son shine upon them as a sign of God's infinite mercy. Show them the mind of Christ, which makes it possible to conquer evil with good ( Rom 12:21) and to find new fulfillment in life through courageous love. Accept, merciful Mother, every selfless Samaritan act, every hour voluntarily given in service to one's neighbour in distress!

4. We also commend to you people in the full strength of their lives, men and women who are responsible for their families, for their professional lives, for the community tasks of the country. Let them find in the Good News light and strength for their plans and decisions, guided by a mature Christian conscience: fathers and mothers, teachers and doctors, scientists and politicians, policemen, soldiers and all those who serve the common good. Show them the shining value of truth, the great good of justice, the quiet splendor of selflessness!

5. We also ask your motherly protection, Mary, for the younger generation: children, boys and girls, young men and women. Guide them carefully, step by step, on the path of Christian responsibility for themselves and for the community: the brave and the strong, the enterprising and the decisive; as well as the quiet, the hesitant, the cautious; the laughing and the serious.

Let not the light of those ideals which give human life its true value be extinguished in their hearts. No one should extinguish them: neither the young people themselves nor anyone else. Mother, bless the youth so that they may be capable of demanding much of themselves and giving much to others, of resisting the temptations of a world of pleasure and of serving the good of their neighbour.

6. Finally, we consecrate to you, Mother of God of Mariazell, the Church of Jesus Christ here in Austria: all those who bear responsibility in it and serve it, all the shepherds and believers in the dioceses of Salzburg and Vienna; Sankt Pölten and Linz; Graz-Seckau and Eisenstadt; Gurk, Innsbruck and Feldkirch. May the Church fulfil its mission of salvation today and in the future: in the name of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, in firm unity with the other local churches of the universal Church and with the Petrine Office in Rome, for the well-being and blessing of all the people of this country, the natives and the newcomers, the believers and the seekers.

Mother of the Church, show the people of God in this country the way to discover and promote vocations to the priesthood and religious life in greater numbers. At the same time, may the diverse lay apostolate deepen and expand, and the missionary responsibility of all increase. Magna Mater Austriae, bless the Church of Austria!

Christ, Good Shepherd of your people, receive in the heart of your Mother all our trust, our good will, our generous consecration. Amen.

© Copyright 1983 - Vatican Publishing House

Copyright © Communications Department - Vatican Publishing House