Blessed Pope John Paul II was born on May 18, 1920.
Today, one of his
closest colleagues revealed the true story behind the mosaic of Our
Lady the late Pope had installed in St. Peter’s Square.
“After the assassination attempt on May 13, 1981, Vatican officials
were evaluating the possibility of placing a plaque, or some visible
sign, in St. Peter’s Square in the area where the Pope had been shot, in
remembrance of a painful page in the history of the Church but also as
testimony of divine protection,” Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re wrote in
the May 18 edition of the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano.
Cardinal Re was a senior figure in the Congregation for Bishops and
the Vatican Secretariat of State during the pontificate of Pope John
Paul.
“John Paul II, convinced that the Virgin Mary had protected him on
that day, immediately expressed the desire that an image of the Madonna
be placed in the square.”
Cardinal Re added that Pope John Paul had also
become aware that there was something “missing” from the St. Peter’s
Square up until that time – an image of Our Lady.
So in the summer of 1981, then-Bishop Re was asked to join a small
group charged with devising solutions. Their deliberations didn’t take
long.
“Two hours later, we were standing in St. Peter’s Square and
Monsignor Fallani (who was in charge of conservation in the Vatican)
pointed to a window of the Apostolic Palace where the mosaic is now
placed and said, ‘For me, a solution which works well for the setting of
this square is a mosaic placed in the travertine frame of that window
up there.’ He then asked what was behind that particular window.”
Cardinal Re said he explained that it was the room “where two sisters
did some typing for the Secretariat of State, but that it was a large
room and had another side window.”
So the group had decided upon a location and the use of a mosaic, but which image of Our Lady to use?
“Once again, the Pope offered his opinion that he would like a
representation of Mary as Mother of the Church, because, he explained,
‘the Mother of God has always been united with the Church and has been
particularly close during difficult moments in its history.’ He added
that he was personally convinced that the Virgin Mary was in St. Peter’s
Square on May 13, to save the life of the Pope,” Cardinal Re wrote.
The exact image was taken from an ancient painting of the Madonna and child that had a long history.
It was housed in the old St. Peter’s
Basilica, built in the 4th century by the Emperor Constantine, and then
later in the present St. Peter’s, built in the 16th century under the
guidance of Michelangelo.
Finally, in 1964, the image was restored and
renamed “Mater Ecclesiae” to mark the Second Vatican Council’s
proclamation of Mary as “Mother of the Church,” Cardinal Re explained.
“On December 8th, 1981, John Paul II, before the recitation of the Angelus, blessed the Marian image, a sign of heavenly protection on the Pontiff, on the Church and on all who come to St. Peter’s Square.”
“On December 8th, 1981, John Paul II, before the recitation of the Angelus, blessed the Marian image, a sign of heavenly protection on the Pontiff, on the Church and on all who come to St. Peter’s Square.”