France re-consecrated to Our Lady on Feast of Assumption

Rose Window

On the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, Pope Francis sent a message to the Archbishop Michel Aupetit and the faithful of the Archdiocese of Paris, inviting them to be "builders of a new humanity rooted in Jesus Christ".

Exactly four months after the fire that devastated Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris - the Archdiocese of the French capital held the traditional procession of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the Feast of the Assumption. Beginning at the Pont Saint Louis, several hundred faithful, holding rosaries and singing the Ave Maria, processed to the Church of Saint-Sulpice, where Archbishop Michel Aupetit celebrated solemn Mass.

At the conclusion of the Mass, the rector of Notre-Dame, Mgr Paul Chauvet read a message sent by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, on behalf of Pope Francis. The message assured the faithful of Paris of the Pope's "spiritual closeness".

The message read: "Like a true mother, Mary walks with us, struggles with us, and tirelessly spreads the closeness of the love of God. She shares the history of every people that have received the Gospel and now participates in their historical identity."

The Holy Father also asks God, through the intercession of Our Lady, that the reconstruction of her architectural jewel might be a powerful sign of the rebirth and revitalization of the faith of those who have faith in Him. Full of hope, they will be for their families, for their communities, and in the places they live, builders of a new humanity rooted in Christ."

During the celebration of the Liturgy, Archbishop Aupetit, in keeping with tradition, renewed the vow of King Louis XIII. consecrating France to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The vow was originally made on 10 February 1638.