SCRANTON – The Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, will join Pope Francis and other Bishops throughout the world in consecrating Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The consecration will be a plea to God and to the Blessed Virgin Mary to intercede on behalf of the people of Ukraine to end the current war.
Bishop Bambera will celebrate the 12:10 p.m. Mass on Friday, March 25, 2022, at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton and will offer the Prayer of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The faithful are invited and encouraged to attend in-person. The Mass and Prayer of Consecration will be livestream on the Diocese of Scranton website and social media platforms and will air on CTV: Catholic Television of the Diocese of Scranton.
“I strongly encourage all Catholics in the Diocese of Scranton – and all people of Good Will – to make a special effort to attend the Cathedral Mass, or a Daily Mass next Friday for this special intention or simply take time to pray for peace in Ukraine in concert with the Holy Father,” Bishop Bambera said. “As we continue to see the violence and loss of life taking place in Ukraine – one of the most important things we can continue to do is turn to the Lord in prayer. This will truly be a wonderful moment for the Universal Church to be united with Pope Francis’ consecration.”
Pope Francis will consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary during a penitential prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica. On the same day, the Vatican announced that Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner, will carry out a similar consecration at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal.
According to the Vatican’s translation of the message of Fatima, when Mary appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima in 1917, she told them, “God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved, and there will be peace.”
Warning of “war, famine, and persecutions of the church and of the Holy Father,” Mary told the children, “to prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart.”
The Eastern- and Latin-rite Catholic bishops of Ukraine had been asking Pope Francis for the consecration.
###
Below is a copy of the letter sent to clergy of the Diocese of Scranton from Bishop Bambera on Friday, March 18, 2022:
On Friday, March 25, 2022, the Solemnity of the Annunciation, our Holy Father Pope Francis will be consecrating Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary at noon, Eastern Standard Time (5 pm in Rome). The consecration, presided over by the pope, will take place during a penitential celebration in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
The Holy Father is inviting Bishops throughout the world, together with their priests, to join in this act of consecration, at the same time.
In response to this request, I will be celebrating the 12:10 p.m. Mass on Friday, March 25, at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton and will offer the Prayer of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The faithful are invited and encouraged to attend in-person. The Mass and Prayer of Consecration will be livestream on the Diocese of Scranton website and social media platforms and will air on CTV: Catholic Television of the Diocese of Scranton.
I would also extend the invitation to all priests of the Diocese to consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in their parish churches at either the same time, or during a Mass that might already be scheduled that day.
I strongly encourage all Catholics in the Diocese of Scranton – and all people of Good Will – to make a special effort to attend the Cathedral Mass, or a Daily Mass next Friday for this special intention or simply take time to pray for peace in Ukraine in concert with the Holy Father. As we continue to see the violence and loss of life taking place in Ukraine – one of the most important things we can continue to do is turn to the Lord in prayer. This will truly be a wonderful moment for the Universal Church to be united with Pope Francis’ consecration.
In the coming days, the Holy Father is expected to share the text of the Prayer of Consecration and I will pass that information along when it is received.
Our Lady, Queen of Peace, Pray for Us!
Faithfully yours in Christ,
†Joseph C. Bambera
Most Reverend Joseph C. Bambera, D.D., J.C.L.
Bishop of Scranton