Elected in May, considered the Marian month par excellence, the new Pontiff has a strong Marian devotion.
Newsroom (29/05/2025 11:00, Gaudium Press) Pope Leo XIV has a deep Marian spirituality, demonstrated in his first speech on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, when he invoked the protection of Our Lady and invited the faithful to pray the Hail Mary prayer with him. Coincidentally, the Pontiff was elected in May, considered the Marian month par excellence. Some of the faithful already call him the ‘Pope of the Virgin Mary’.
After Leo XIV’s election, Cardinal António Marto, Bishop Emeritus of Leiria-Fatima, greeted the new Pontiff and invited him to visit the Shrine of Fatima: “With my good wishes, I also bring the wishes of all the pilgrims of Fatima, where we pray for the Pope. Therefore, we will also pray for you and hope for a visit from you when the time comes.”
Cardinal Prevost and Fatima
This would not be Cardinal Prevost’s first contact with Fatima; when he was Prior General of the Augustinians, between 2001 and 2013, he visited the Portuguese shrine. Furthermore, in 2019, as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo in Peru, Prevost prayed at the feet of the pilgrim image of Our Lady of Fatima, consecrating Peru to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
In fact, the first request for the pilgrim image of Fatima to visit that diocese came from Bishop Robert Francis Prevost himself, through a letter he signed, addressed to the rector of the Shrine of Fatima and dated 7 December 2018. In his message, the prelate said that “for this diocese, it would be a great blessing and honour to be able to receive the image of the Pilgrim Virgin of Fatima, which we know is currently on pilgrimage in Colombia (…). The Diocese of Chiclayo is deeply Marian and longs to welcome this venerated image among us. (…) May Our Lady of Fatima accompany us and continue to guide us to her Son, Jesus.”
Prayer composed by Prevost
The prayer of consecration to Our Lady of Fatima composed by Prevost when he was Bishop of Chiclayo was as follows: “I, Robert Francis Prevost Martínez, make this day an act of consecration, repentance, forgiveness and reparation to God for all the transgressions that have occurred in Peru. I do this before God and for those who have tried to undermine the Catholic Faith in the past and present. I ask for forgiveness and, through this act of forgiveness, we hope that this consecration will be a reason to encourage us to seek the conversion and unity in Peru that we so desperately need and that only comes from God.
Through this act of repentance, forgiveness and reparation to God, I renew the consecration of Peru, together with the dioceses, parishes, priests, deacons, seminarians, religious and lay people, to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In this way, I wish to consecrate and entrust to God all that we are and all that we have, in exchange for his eternal love and protection for every person and every family in Peru”.
With Files From EPC
Compiled by Sandra Chisholm
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