Prayer After Mass in Bata (18 February 1982)

On Thursday, 18 February 1982, the Holy Father prayed after Mass, entrusting the Church in Gabon to Mary, “Mother of men and peoples.”

1. O Mother of men and peoples, you who were present in the Church from the beginning of her mission, intercede for her, so that, walking through the world, she continues to teach all nations and announce the Gospel to every creature!

2. It is with these words, already spoken to greet you in Rome on the solemnity of Pentecost, last year, in union with the Bishops of the whole world, that I wish to greet you today, O Mother of God, O Theotokos, together with the Bishops of the Church of Gabon, the country I am allowed to visit at this moment!

3. To you, who are the Mother of the Church, I want to entrust and consecrate in a special way the Church that is in Gabon, just as on the feast of Pentecost I entrusted and consecrated to you the Church spread throughout all the nations and among all the peoples of the earth , yes, the Church and the whole world!

4. In this gesture of consecration, which I carry out today, I bring together all those who live and work in the land of Africa, as well as all those whom the heavenly Father has loved in Jesus Christ and wants to save through the blood of his Cross.

5. O Mother of the Church, I make a special supplication to you for all the priests who work on this earth, so that they may be "ministers of Christ and administrators of the mysteries of God" ( 1 Cor 4:1) for the good of their brothers. Assist them with your protection so that they continue the apostolic work begun in 1645 among the people of this nation. Also assist the men and women religious and catechists, so that with their dedication and their testimony they help their brothers to faithfully follow Christ, "the way, the truth and the life". And may their example be the seed of numerous and holy vocations.

6. May the Word of God, who became flesh in your virginal womb by the work of the Holy Spirit, grow in hearts and extend its radiation for the salvation of the whole world!

Amen!

Copyright © Dicastery for Communication - Libreria Editrice Vaticana