Pope Francis’s 3 New Invocations to the Litany of Blessed Virgin Mary
The Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Catholic Church, Pope Francis, has added three new invocations to Holy Mother Mary in the Litany of Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as the Litany of Loretto.
The new additions were announced on June 20, 2020, on the Feast of the Memorial of Immaculate Heart of Mary by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
In a letter wrote to the presidents of bishops’ conferences worldwide by the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Cardinal Robert Sarah, and the Secretary of the Congregation, Archbishop Arthur Roche, the Congregation noted that the three additions were in response to the present needs of Christians.
According to the congregation, ‘through the course of centuries, Christians have been using innumerable invocations and titles to call upon the Virgin Mary, “as the privileged and sure way to an encounter with Christ’.
The three new the invocations as announced by the congregation in Latin were ‘Mater misericordiæ’, ‘Mater spei’ and ‘Solacium migrantium’.
The Congregation explained that the Holy Father directed that in the litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, called ‘The Litany of Loreto’, the new invocations should be inserted as follows:
- “Mater misericordiae,” which means, “Mother of mercy,” should be placed after “Mater Ecclesiae.”, that is Mother of the Church.
- “Mater spei,” which means “Mother of hope,” should follow “Mater divinae gratiae,”, which is Mother of divine grace, and
- “Solacium migrantium,” which means “Comfort of migrants,” should follow “Refugium peccatorum.”, which is Refuge of sinners.
