Prayer of Pope Francis on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception 2014
Every year on December 8, Pope Francis goes to Piazza di Spagna in Rome and prays to Our Lady at the statue of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception located on top of an ancient column, in honor of the doctrine which declares that she was conceived without original sin. Here is his prayer this year: Mary our Mother, today the People of God celebrate you and venerate you as Immaculate, preserved forever from the stain of sin. Accept the homage I offer you in the name of the Church in Rome and throughout the world. Knowing that you, who are our Mother, are totally free from sin, is of great comfort to us. Knowing that evil has no power over you, fills us with hope and strength in the daily struggle we have to face against the threats of the evil one. But we are not alone in this struggle, we are not orphans because Jesus, before dying on the Cross, gave you to us as our Mother. Even though we are sinners, we are still your children, children of the Immaculate, called to...