ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Dear Friends in Christ:
I am greatly honored to be with you today as we dedicate this beautiful chapel in honor of Our Lady of Pompei. The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is in so many ways the story of the love of people of all nations for Mary, the Mother of God. The various chapels within this shrine depict the gentle and radiant presence of Mary in the history of salvation as well as in the history of the Church’s devotion. This newest chapel, a gift from people of Italian heritage, is another important chapter in the legacy of love between Mary and her faithful children. Hopefully, all who visit this Chapel will be stirred to deeper devotion to the Rosary.

The famous Shrine of Our Lady of Pompei, in Italy, built in the latter part of the 19th Century, is the fruit of the work of Blessed Bartolo Longo, who attributed his conversion to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The effort to build that shrine was not easy. Frequently, Bartolo Longo encountered hardship and failure. However, he persevered lovingly in his desire to increase devotion to Mary and to her Rosary through the construction of a shrine at Pompei dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary. Similarly, you know the efforts, time and sacrifice which were spent in constructing the beautiful chapel of Our Lady of Pompei here in the National Shrine. It is fitting that this chapel is dedicated in the month of October, the month in which the Church particularly emphasizes devotion to Our Lady through the most holy Rosary.

The Rosary, a prayer rooted deeply in Scripture, invites us to enjoy a privileged contemplative gaze at the early life, public ministry, Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus seen through the loving eyes of Mary. For eight centuries, the Rosary has been a favorite devotion, frequently heralded by the Popes as a weapon against sin and evil. In our present day, so fraught with anxiety, tension and a sense of hopelessness, the Rosary must be a constant companion, a chain which links us directly to the compassionate and Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Wonderfully do the Scripture readings for this Mass provide for us insights into Our Lady of the Rosary! The Prophet Isaiah’s imagery of the bride bedecked with her jewels foreshadows the glorious Virgin, who is adorned in the raiment of her virtue, whose beauty and comeliness draw us to imitate her love for God, her steadfast obedience to the divine will, her immense joy in the Redemption of the human race won by the victory of Christ her Son. Saint Luke the Evangelist offers us a privileged glance at the moment of the Annunciation when the Archangel Gabriel salutes Mary’s singular and highly-favored position. The Virgin, full of grace and wisdom, listens to the words of the Archangel. She ponders, she inquires how the plan of God would be fulfilled, and she humbly disposes herself entirely to the divine will. The Handmaid of the Lord expresses these sentiments in the Magnificat, Mary’s Canticle of praise, as she, in her humility, acknowledges the wondrous and marvelous things which Almighty God has wrought in her and through her.

The second reading, in particular, gives us a special understanding of the Rosary. Taken from the Acts of the Apostles, this reading describes for us the atmosphere of intense prayer as the Apostles, the holy women, the disciples of our Lord were gathered in the Upper Room after the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven. Awaiting the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, the Church was at prayer, and Mary, the Mother of Jesus, was there. We can easily imagine Mary not only praying with the disciples, but also instructing them, offering them hope, explaining to them those moments so dear to her memory. In the same way, through the Rosary, Mary is at prayer with us, and we with her, as we learn from her the way of the Gospel.

The Servant of God Pope John Paul II, in his 2002 Apostolic Letter on the Most Holy Rosary, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, emphasizes this point: "Mary lived with her eyes fixed on Christ, treasuring every word.... The memories of Jesus, impressed upon her heart, were always with her, leading her to reflect on the various moments of her life at her Son’s side. In a way those memories were to be the ‘rosary’ which she recited uninterruptedly throughout her earthly life. Even now, amid the joyful songs of the heavenly Jerusalem, the reasons for her thanksgiving and praise remain unchanged. They inspire her maternal concern for the pilgrim Church, in which she continues to relate her personal account of the Gospel. Mary constantly sets before the faithful the ‘mysteries’ of her Son, with the desire that the contemplation of those mysteries will release all their saving power. In the recitation of the Rosary, the Christian community enters into contact with the memories and the contemplative gaze of Mary" (no. 11).

In the holy Rosary, we contemplate the joyful mysteries, uniting our minds and hearts with Mary, who "kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart" (Lk 2:19). From His infancy and childhood, we then follow Jesus in His public life as we pray the luminous mysteries—the mysteries of light—introduced by Pope John Paul II. These mysteries allow us to see the face of Christ in His Baptism, as He proclaims the Kingdom, works miracles of compassion, reveals His radiant beauty, and offers Himself entirely in the Eucharist. In the sorrowful mysteries, we walk in the footsteps of Jesus in His bitter Passion. Through the tearful eyes of the anguished Mother, whose heart is pierced with a sword of sorrow, we feel the intensity of the love of Christ who, by His Holy Cross, has redeemed the world. Finally, the glorious mysteries of the Rosary unfurl for us the splendor of the Risen Christ, who, enthroned at the right hand of the Father, draws all people, through the mission of the Church, to set their hearts on the glory of Heaven. There, too, Mary shares body and soul in the victory of her Son. From her place in Heaven, Mary reigns as our Queen, while she, as the Mother of Mercy, bends to tenderly embrace and lovingly lift up her struggling children.

Of the Rosary, our present Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has explained that prayers to Mary with the contemplation of the mysteries of the life of Jesus "touch you in a meditative way, so that the repetition allows the soul to settle into tranquility and, holding fast to the Word, above all to the figure of Mary and to the images of Christ that pass by you, make your soul calm and free and grant it a vision of God" (God and the World, pp. 318-319).

It is this longed-for vision of God which fulfills the desires of the human family. As we pray the Rosary daily, we see the radiant face of Jesus. As we contemplate the mysteries of Jesus, we imitate what we learn from this contemplation. The Rosary is a simple method of meditation. It is a wonderful tool for evangelization. It is a powerful weapon against the evils and anxieties of our troubled times. Let us never hesitate to share with others, to teach others, the wonderful prayer of the Rosary.

Our new Chapel, then, has a special meaning. It is a tribute of gratitude to the Woman who shares intimately in the victory of Christ. It is a beautiful reminder of how close to us Our Blessed Lady is whenever we take the rosary beads into our hands. It is likewise a beautiful reminder of the Italian legacy of centuries of devotion to the Mother of God by so many faithful people, including our own forebears. At the same time it is also a pressing challenge to all of us to be ever more fervent in our devotion to this timeless and powerful prayer. And as we do this our hearts will become, like the Chapel, a shrine in which Our Lady of the Rosary is always honored, and through which she continues to extend her tender mercy to all people.

Our Lady of Rosary, pray for us!