VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Signaling his belief that the Catholic Church is facing a serious crisis, Pope Francis asked every Catholic in the world to pray for the protection of the Church from attacks by the devil, and also that the Church would be more aware of its sins and stronger in its efforts to combat abuse.
Pope Francis asked Catholics to pray the rosary each day in October, seeking Mary’s intercession in protecting the Church, and “at the same time making her (the Church) more aware of her sins, errors and the abuses committed in the present and the past, and committed to fighting without hesitation so that evil would not prevail,” the Vatican said.
United “in communion and penitence as the people of God,” the statement said, Catholics should plead for protection against “the devil, who always seeks to divide us from God and from one another.”
Pope Francis met earlier in September with Jesuit Father Federic Fornos, international director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, formerly known as the Apostleship of Prayer, to ask that the recitation of the rosary in October conclude with “the ancient invocation ‘Sub Tuum Praesidium’ (‘Under your protection’) and with the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, who protects us in the battle against evil.”
The first prayer, to Mary, has a variety of translations. One reads: “We turn to you for protection, Holy Mother of God. Listen to our prayers and help us in our needs. Save us from every danger, glorious and blessed Virgin.”
The prayer to St. Michael reads: “St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan, and all evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.”
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