In his Angelus address, delivered at the close of Mass Sunday in St
Peter’s square, Pope Benedict XVI invited faithful worldwide to
rediscover the gift of the Holy Rosary, Mary’s school of prayer:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We
now turn in prayer to Mary, whom we venerate today as Queen of the Holy
Rosary.
At this time, at the Shrine of Pompeii, the traditional
"Supplication" is being elevated to which countless people throughout
the world are joined.
While we associate ourselves spiritually in this
choral prayer, I would like to suggest to everyone to renew the prayer
of the Rosary in the upcoming Year of Faith.
With the Rosary, we allow
ourselves to be guided by Mary, model of faith, in meditating on the
mysteries of Christ, and day after day we are helped to assimilate the
Gospel, so that it shapes all our lives.
Therefore, in the wake of my
predecessors, especially the Blessed John Paul II, who ten years ago
gave us the Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, I invite
you to pray the Rosary personally, in the family and in the community,
learning at the school of Mary, which leads us to Christ, the living
centre of our faith.
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims here
today!
I ask all of you to pray for the work of the Synod on the New
Evangelization, beginning today.
Later this week, on the fiftieth
anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, the Year of
Faith begins.
May these events confirm us in the beauty and joy of our
faith in Jesus Christ which comes to us through the Church!
Entrusting
these intentions to our Lady of the Rosary, I invoke upon all of you
God’s abundant blessings!