Consecration of Russia

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A Portuguese religious statue depicting the Immaculate Heart of Mary surrounded with thorns as described by Sister Lucia dos Santos of Fatima.

The Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is a belief in the Catholic Church that a specific act of consecration on the part of the Pope would usher in a period of peace.

The Consecration of Russia is inherently related to the Marian apparitions reported at Fátima and Pontevedra during which Portuguese children stated that the Virgin Mary appeared to them and delivered specific messages, which were later revealed to the Holy See by one of the children, Lucia dos Santos, and gradually published. The messages emphasize the praying of the rosary, wearing of the brown scapular, and made a number of prophecies and promises, one of which was that the Consecration of Russia would usher in a period of peace.

In response, Popes Pius XII (1942), John Paul II (1984) and Francis (2013) have consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart, with Pius XII also specifically consecrating "the Peoples of Russia" in 1952. Though Lucia dos Santos declared that the consecrations of 1942 and 1984 have been accepted in heaven, others devoted to the cause of Fatima, especially Traditionalist Catholics, dispute that a consecration of Russia fulfilling the requirements of Fatima has been performed.

Painting of Our Lady of Fátima.

History and Background

Christian Sacramentals
A series of articles on

Scapulars


General articles
Saint Simon Stock
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Rosary & Scapular
Sabbatine Privilege

Specific Scapulars
Mount Carmel (Brown)
Fivefold Scapular
Passion (Red)
Passion (Black)
Seven Sorrows of Mary (Black)
The Archangel (Blue/Black)
Good Counsel (White)
Sacred Heart of Jesus (White)
Immaculate Heart of Mary (White)
Immaculate Conception (Blue)
Green Scapular (Green)
Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary

The consecration of Russia was reportedly requested by the Virgin Mary, in a series of Marian apparitions known as Our Lady of Fátima, to three visionaries in 1917. The single remaining Fatima visionary, Lucia dos Santos, stated that the Virgin Mary promised:

But in the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father (and the remaining bishops) will consecrate Russia to Me. Russia will be converted and a period of peace will be given to mankind.

In 1925, Lucia reported further Marian apparitions (known as the Pontevedra apparitions), and stated that the Virgin Mary of Fátima appeared to her again:[1]

... It was Our Lady of Fátima... with a crown of thorns... and said to me: "The moment has come in which God asks the Holy Father in union with all the Bishops of the world to consecrate Russia to My Immaculate Heart, promising to save it by this means."

Lucia dos Santos stated that at Pontevedra the Virgin Mary revealed to her Mary's Peace Plan consisting of three elements:[2]

Towards the end of December 1940, Lúcia Santos sent a letter to Pope Pius XII, disclosing for the first time part of the secret about Russia and urging him to consecrate Russia.[3]

Consecration in the Roman Catholic Church

Statue of Pope Pius XII in Fátima, Portugal.

Two popes consecrated Russia within the Roman Catholic Church based on the messages of Fátima and Pontevedra. One was Pope Pius XII, who was appointed Archbishop in the Sistine Chapel on May 13, 1917, the same day the Fátima apparitions were reported. The other was Pope John Paul II, who was shot in Rome on May 13, 1981 and later credited Our Lady of Fátima with his recovery, saying that it was "in mysterious coincidence with the anniversary of the first apparition".[4][5]

In October 1942 Pope Pius XII performed the Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the entire world, and in July 1952 he specifically consecrated the Peoples of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary by his apostolic letter Sacro Vergente Anno. Pius XII stated:[6][7]

"Just as a few years ago We consecrated the entire human race to the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, so today We consecrate and in a most special manner We entrust all the peoples of Russia to this Immaculate Heart…"

On March 25, 1984, the feast of the Annunciation, Pope John Paul II consecrated Russia in a public ceremony. Russia was never specifically mentioned in the consecration prayer; the consecration was in the form of a 'whole-world consecration'. Cardinal Bertone said to the press many times that the message of Fatima was finished; however the Pope in 2010 announced that we are mistaken if we think the prophecies of Fatima have been fulfilled. Cardinal Bertone reported that Lúcia Santos had said that the consecration requested by the Virgin Mary had been fulfilled and accepted in heaven, and that everyone should live out the consecration personally by faithfully wearing the brown scapular.[8] Others devoted to the cause of Fatima say that Russia has not yet been consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.[9]

The entrance to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima, to the south of the rectory, is a segment of the Berlin Wall intended to emphasize the belief that the Rosary prayers influenced the fall of the Berlin Wall related to the Consecration of Russia based on the Our Lady of Fátima messages.[10]

Russian Orthodox objections

Orthodox Christians often see the Fatima consecration in the light of the sad history of Latin-Orthodox religious conflict going back a thousand years. They tend to interpret the Fatima consecration as an encroachment by Latin Christianity on Orthodox territory while Catholics tend to see the matter as followers of Christ vs. atheistic Communism. Orthodox Christians and especially members of the Russian Orthodox Church object[citation needed] to the concept of the Consecration of Russia for two reasons: (1) Russia was already Christian at the time of the alleged Fatima apparitions and had a long history of devotion to theTheotokos, and (2) the concept contains what appears to be an implicit proselytism of Russian Orthodox Christians to the Catholic Faith. Orthodox apologists thus tend to understand the phrase "Russia will be converted" as implying conversion from Russian Orthodoxy to Catholicism and acceptance of papal supremacy. Catholics respond that the apparitions at Fatima took place after the March 1917 revolution that deposed Tsar Nicholas and the April 16th [N.S.] return to Russia of Lenin.[11] Russia was thus already in the throes of revolution and facing a renewed threat from a Bolshevism particularly hostile to all organized religion when prayers for Russia were first requested in May. The final October miracle occurred just weeks before the Communist Revolution. They argue that this timing suggests that the consecration refers to the threat that Russia faced from atheistic Communism. In 1946 during a gathering of youth at Fatima, Sister Lucia was asked by a young Russian girl (Natacha Derfelden) how the conversion of Russia would come about. Sister Lucia stated that the conversion of Russia would come through the Orthodox Church and "the Oriental rite", meaning the Byzantine tradition. [12] Yet, another possibility is that it means a conversion of the heart, which conforms to the theological commentary written by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) on the Fatima secret.[13] The atemporal nature of divine revelation, which has made interpretation of the visions by the Catholic Church difficult, also works against the temporal argumentation of the Orthodox apologists.

However, the conception of Theotokos Derzhavnaya Orthodox icon points out that Virgin Mary is considered actual Tsarina of Russia by the religious appeal of Nicholas II thus Consecration of Russia may refer to return of Russian monarchy.[14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Nicholas Perry, 1989, Under the Heel of Mary, Routledge Publishers, p. 188.
  2. ↑ Lynette Marie Ordaz, 2008, The Real Mary, Authorhouse Books, ISBN 978-1-4343-4332-1 page 88
  3. ↑ Nicholas Perry, p. 190.
  4. ↑ Osservatore Romano Article on Fátima
  5. ↑ Garry Wills, Why I am a Catholic, Houghton Miflin Publishers, p. 246
  6. ↑ Acta Apostolicae Sedis 44, 1952, page 505
  7. ↑ Vatican Website (the papal letter)
  8. ↑ Mark Miravalle, 1993, Introduction to Mary, p. 171.
  9. ↑ http://www.fatima.org
  10. ↑ Regis St. Louis and Robert Landon, 2007, Portugal, Lonely Planet Press, p. 290,
  11. ↑ "The SEALED TRAIN" by Michael Pearson, New York:Putnam [1975] ISBN 0399112626
  12. ↑ Quoted in "Russia Will be Converted" by John Haffert, President of the Blue Army, 1956, p. 204. This book may be a accessed in a scanned pdf at: http://johnhaffert.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Russia-convert-2.pdf
  13. ↑ The Message of Fátima. http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000626_message-fatima_en.html
  14. ↑ (Russian) Будет царь! О России верующей и боримой — Alexander Prokhanov's "Zavtra" newspaper, 13.09.2013 (reprint at 3rm.info)

External links

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