The Icon of Mary that Pope Francis Gave as a Gift to Emeritus Pope Benedict Today Was… a Russian Icon
(Pope Francis appears to be devoted to Our Lady of Fatima, and he prays 15 decades of the Rosary daily and that he personally practices the Five First Saturdays devotion).
Locution of Mary (Locutions to the World):
"Time and again I come back to this point of the consecration of Russia. I
wait for it and I will continue to wait. When it is done, I will pour
out my gifts. Before it is done, the gifts cannot be released. What is
withheld cannot be delayed for long. The Holy Father must more ahead.
When it is accomplished, the blessings of heaven that are still in my
heart will pour out, first in the hearts of the Russian people and then
all over the world".
(Pope Francis appears to be devoted to Our Lady of Fatima, and he prays 15 decades of the Rosary daily and that he personally practices the Five First Saturdays devotion).
Locution of Mary (Locutions to the World):
"I
will speak clearly. The words must be like a knife, cutting to the
heart. Do not give me a pope who will not consecrate Russia to my
Immaculate Heart (Fatima). Let him not be vague on this issue. It is already
late, very late. This must be his primary goal. Consecrating Russia must
have been in his heart years ago. I will reject every candidate for
whom the consecration of Russia is not first in their hearts. If their
names are put forth, I will personally defeat them. I will act through
those who are my closest friends".
"I
have foreseen this conclave. I have inspired Pope Benedict concerning
those whom he selected as cardinals. I have many cardinals who cherish
the consecration of Russia. Some do this more openly than others. This
issue is not to be set aside. If those who lead the conclave want to put
it under the table, then I will raise up those who will put it back on
the table. Consecrating Russia must be the pope’s first dream, not his
afterthought or something that he might get to".
The present and former Pope met today, in a moment without precedent.
And the words which remain are the ones spoken by Pope Francis to
Benedict: “We are brothers.”
A reigning Pope telling a retired one, ‘We are brothers,’
and insisting that they pray side-by-side during a date to discuss the
future of the Catholic Church.”
In the same report, she noted: “Francis also brought a gift for
Benedict, an icon of the Madonna. ‘They told me it’s the Madonna of
Humility,’ Francis told Benedict. ‘Let me say one thing: When they told
me that, I immediately thought of you, at the many marvelous examples of
humility and gentleness that you gave us during your pontificate.’
Benedict replied: ‘Grazie, grazie.’”
But who were the “they” who told Francis that the icon was the Madonna of Humility?
“They” were… the people who gave the icon to him. But who were those people?
Well… they were representatives of the Patriarch of the Russian
Orthodox Church, who sent the icon to Pope Francis as a gift, and who
handed it to Francis three days ago, on March 20.
How do I know this?
Because a few minutes ago I received an unexpected email from
Metropolitan Hilarion, 46, an old friend who is also the “Foreign
Minister” (the term isn’t quite accurate, but it suggests the importance
of his work and position) of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Moscow
Patriarchate, so, the right-hand of Patriarch Kirill. He wrote:
“Pope Francis presented to Pope emeritus Benedict the icon which had
been presented to Pope Francis by Metropolitan Hilarion on behalf of
Patriarch Kirill [the head of the Russian Orthodox Church] after the private audience [with the new Pope] on 20 March. Отправлено с iPhone [Sent from iPhone]“
So the icon was the Russian icon Hilarion gave to Francis three days ago!
I wrote back: “Amazing. Are you pleased, or upset?”
I added: “It is reported here: ‘They spent 45 minutes talking alone.
Pope Francis gave Pope Benedict an icon of Our Lady of Humility, saying
that when he received it, he immediately thought of giving it to Pope
Benedict.’”
Hilarion wrote back: “Very pleased and touched.”
Now, what does all this mean?
Well, it means that at the moment Pope Francis and Pope Benedict
first met, at the first meeting ever of the “two Popes” of the Roman
Catholic Church, there was and an “Orthodox
connection” which was present, which was between them, joining them: an
image of the Virgin Mary, the Madonna of Humility, brought from Russia
and given to Pope Francis in Rome on March 20, an image which
immediately struck Pope Francis when he received it as reminding him of
Benedict, an image which he decided to bring with him today, to give to
Emeritus Pope Benedict, on the occasion of the unprecedented, historic
occasion, of their first meeting.
Others may find further elements in this bit of news to reflect upon.
To me, it suggests that Mary, Mother of the Church, is watching over
the Church, in these difficult and dangerous times, and acting as a
mother even to these two men, Benedict and Francis, bringing them
together.
I sense in this a mysterious design, yes, a mystical design,
something transcending our ordinary understanding of cause and effect, a
design, as I see it, for Christians, for the Christian Church, to
return to greater communion, greater unity, East and West, Greek and
Latin, Orthodox and Catholic — with one of the great “hinge points”
being… Russia.
In the homily at the Mass on March 19 for his installation, Pope
Francis concluded with these words, asking specifically for Mary’s
intercession.