Francis Consecrates Russia to Mary

Pope Francis has announced that, in union with all of the bishops throughout the world, he will consecrate the nations of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the 25th of March, the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

To this end, the Holy Father has requested that on the 25th, all of the bishops throughout the world join themselves with him at 5 p.m. Rome time in consecrating the whole human race, “especially Russia and Ukraine,” to Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart.

The Holy Father released the text of the consecration prayer, which he has asked the bishops and all faithful Catholics to “recite … throughout that day, in fraternal union.” A section of the prayer reads, “therefore, Mother of God and our Mother, to your Immaculate Heart we solemnly entrust and consecrate ourselves, the Church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine.”

This consecration of Russia has drawn the attention of many Catholics in light of the apparition of Our Lady of Fatima when, in 1917, the Blessed Virgin Mary revealed herself to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal. Among the various things she communicated to them was a request that the Holy Father consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart lest, “Russia spread her errors throughout the world.”

This apparition of Our Lady was famously confirmed by what has been come to be called “the miracle of the sun,” wherein at a time and place foretold by the Blessed Virgin, the sun seemed to descend from its place, grow larger, change colors, move across the sky, and dry up the water recently fallen upon the ground. The miracle was attested to by thousands of witnesses, including atheists and bystanders who were not informed that the miracle would occur.

Since this time of the apparition, multiple popes have expressed their intention to make this consecration of Russia—most notably Pope Saint John Paul II, who made the consecration seven years before the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In the history of the Catholic Church, consecrating oneself or one’s country to the Blessed Virgin Mary is a time-honored tradition, repeated often and recommended by many of the saints—this devotion is most famously described by St. Louis de Montfort in his book True Devotion to Mary. Many people and nations have been consecrated to Our Lady—England famously being called “Mary’s Dowry,” and Ireland being devoted especially to Our Lady of Knock. Even the United States has been consecrated to Our Lady under her title of “The Immaculate Conception,” making her the patroness of the country. The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception falls on December 8th.

In the Catholic tradition, consecration to Our Lady (or, more exactly, consecration to Christ Jesus through Our Lady) involves handing oneself over to the patronage and protection of the Mother of God in order that one’s will might be more perfectly conformed to the will of God through the intercession and mediation of His Blessed Mother, whose will perfectly mirrors His own. The reasoning goes that just as God desired that He should give us His Son—the source of all grace—through Our Lady, it pleases Our Lord also to distribute this grace merited by Christ on the Cross once more through her mediation. This is why Pope Leo XIII writes that Mary is “the mediatrix of all graces”—a title later used in the document Lumen Gentium in the Second Vatican Council. 

The consecration prayer which Pope Francis has released to the faithful is as much an act of contrition and prayer for peace as it is a consecration. The prayer points to the sins of indifference and greed as being the vices which enabled the current war in Ukraine to occur. Listing all of the factors which led to the current bloodshed, the Holy Father asks that everyone acknowledge their sins and plead for God’s mercy, writing, “now with shame we cry out: forgive us, Lord!”

This Friday the 25th, millions of Catholics, in union with the pope and all of the bishops of the world will cry out a prayer all too often left until the most urgent moments: “Queen of Peace, obtain peace for our world!”