Benedicite Deum

by Pope Pius XII

October 31, 1942

To the thousands assembled at the shrine of Our Lady at Fatima, Portugal, the Holy Father delivers a radio message in Portuguese in which he recalls the blessings which have come to that country through Mary.

He concludes his address with the following beautiful prayer of consecration of the human race to the Immaculate Heart of Mary:

Queen of the most holy Rosary, Help of Christians, Refuge of Mankind, triumphant in all battles for God! We, your suppliants, prostrate ourselves at your throne, confident that we shall obtain mercy and receive grace, the needed assistance and protection, during the calamities of these days, not indeed by our own merits, of which we presume nothing, but solely through the immense goodness of your maternal heart.

To you, and to your Immaculate Heart, We, the common father of the vast Christian family, We, the Vicar of Him to whom was given "all power in heaven and on earth," and from whom We have received the care of so many souls redeemed by His Blood; to you and to your Immaculate Heart, in this tragic hour of human history, We commit, We entrust, We consecrate not only the holy Church, the Mystical Body of your Jesus, which suffers and bleeds in so many places and is afflicted in so many ways, but also the entire world torn by violent discord, scorched in a fire of hate, victim of its own iniquities.

Be moved to pity in the face of so many material and moral disasters; by so many afflictions, which agonize fathers and mothers, brothers, innocent babes! Be moved to compassion in view of so many lives cut off in the very flowering of youth, so many bodies mangled by the horrible slaughter, so many tortured and afflicted souls, so many in danger of eternal ruin!

You, Oh Mother of mercy, obtain for us peace from God! And, above all, obtain those graces which can convert human hearts in an instant, those graces which prepare for, promote, and insure peace! Queen of peace, pray for us and grant to this war-stricken world the peace which the nations desire: peace in the truth, in the justice, and in the charity of Christ. Grant to us a cessation of this conflict and true peace of soul, that in the tranquillity of restored order, the kingdom of God may be spread.

Extend your protection to unbelievers and to them who still stand in the shadow of death. Grant to them peace. May the Sun of Truth dawn in their lives that they may join with us before Him who alone is Savior of the world and repeat these words: "Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to men of good will."

To the peoples separated by error or discord, and especially to those who profess special devotion to you and among whom there was once not a home where your venerated icon was not honored (today perhaps hidden and awaiting better days), grant peace and lead them back to the one fold of Christ under the one and true Shepherd.

Obtain peace and complete liberty for the holy Church of God. Check the inundating flood of neopaganism and all its materialism. Arise in the faithful the love of purity, the practice of the Christian life, and apostolic zeal, in order that the people who serve God may increase in merit and in number.

Finally, just as the Church and the entire human race were consecrated to the Heart of your Jesus, because by placing in Him every hope, It may be for them a token and pledge of victory and salvation; so, in like manner, they are henceforth perpetually consecrated to you, to your Immaculate Heart, Oh our Mother, and Queen of the world: in order that your love and protection may hasten the triumph of the kingdom of God. And may all peoples at peace among themselves and with God, proclaim you blessed, and intone with you throughout the entire world the eternal "Magnificat" of glory, love, and adoration of the Heart of Jesus in whom alone they can find truth, life and, peace.

(From Papal Documents on Mary, compiled and arranged by W.J. Doheny, C.S.C. and J.P. Kelly, S.T.D., The Bruce Publishing Co., Milwaukee, 1954, pages 202-204.)

[Ed. Note: The above consecration was solemnly renewed at St. Peter’s Vatican Basilica on Dec. 8, 1942.]

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