To the Faithful in Kinshasa (4 May 1980)

On Sunday, 4 May 1980, the Holy Father addressed the faithful in Kinshasa at the Apostolic Nunciature, speaking about their planned sanctuary dedicated to the Mother of God and to venerate her through the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Among all the joys that I have been given to taste during my pastoral visits to the land of Africa, the one that you are giving me at this moment has a very special flavor. Your plan to erect a sanctuary dedicated to the “Mother of God” and to venerate her through the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa, so popular in my native Poland, rejoices me deeply. I congratulate all those who have contributed to the development of this project and I form fervent wishes for the fruitfulness of the ministry that the Missionaries of the Consolata will carry out in this future place of worship.

This title of “Mother of God”, given to one of your churches, will always be an invitation to move forward in authentic Marian piety, as my dear predecessor Paul VI made it clear in his apostolic exhortation “Marialis Cultus”. A well-understood Marian devotion should lead Christians towards an ever deeper knowledge of the Trinitarian mystery following the example of Mary. She abandoned herself to the loving will of the Father in the Fiat of the Annunciation. She believed in the Spirit doing the amazing work of divine motherhood within her. She contemplated the Word of God living the human condition to save humanity. Mary of Nazareth is the first believer of the new Alliance to experience the One God in three Persons, source of all Life, of all Light, of all Love.

And with Mary, you will love the Church. “The diligent love of the Virgin in Nazareth, in the house of Elizabeth, in Cana, in Golgotha... continues in the motherly concern of the Church so that all men may come to the knowledge of the truth[ 1 ], in his concern for the humble, the poor and the weak, in his continual commitment to peace and social harmony, in his zeal so that all men may share in the salvation which was merited to them by the death of Christ” [ 2 ].

The image of Mary will therefore be in your church, at the center of your parish. You will often come to greet her, to venerate her. You will come to entrust your intentions to this Mother. You will pray to her for your families: may she be, like the women of this country, the guardian of your homes! You will pray to her for the needs of your brothers and sisters, for the needs of the whole Church. You will come to draw the strength to participate actively in the many tasks of the Church, in your parish, in the diocese. You will also pray for me to whom the Lord has entrusted the charge of Shepherd of the whole Church. You will love the very simple and fruitful prayer of the Rosary and I can assure you that I will also pray for you, especially in the daily recitation of my Rosary.

I bless you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

 [ 1 ] Cfr. 1 Tim . 2, 4.

 [ 2 ] Paul VI Marialis Cultus , 28.

 
© Copyright 1980 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

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