Vatican officials close month of May with homage to Virgin Mary

June 01, 2012

Church officials participated in a traditional procession through the Vatican gardens in the evening of May 31, ending the month with a pilgrimage to the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Cardinal Angelo Comastri, the archpriest of St. Peter’s basilica, led the procession, which began at the church of St. Stephen of the Abyssinians. At the grotto the group was joined by Pope Benedict XVI, who delivered brief remarks. "We must always learn from our heavenly Mother,” the Pope said; “her faith invites us to look beyond appearances and firmly to believe that our daily difficulties are, in fact, part of a springtime which has already begun with the risen Christ".”

The Pontiff closed with a prayer that “at the end of this month of May, the spiritual joy which overflows from the grateful heart of Christ's Mother and ours, may become consolidated in our hearts, in our personal and family lives, in all places and especially in the life the family which, here in the Vatican, serves the universal Church.”

 

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Further information:

• Pope: Mary a model of faith (Vatican Radio)
• Faith Invites Us to Look Beyond Appearances (VIS)