It is an aspect of Francis’ papacy that is little
talked about - possibly because it does not fit the “progressivist”
stereotype - and yet it is deeply ingrained within the fabric of popular
piety which the Latin American Church sees as key to spreading the
faith.
In less than two months Bergoglio has visited the Basilica of St.
Mary Major, the oldest church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, twice. Once
straight after his election, to ask the Virgin Mary to protect the
diocese of Rome and again on 4 May, the first Saturday of the month
dedicated to Mary, to recite the Rosary.
“The “Salus Populi Romani” is the mother that
looks after our growth, she helps us face and overcome problems, she
gives us freedom,” the Pope said. So Francis is a pope who is deeply
devoted to the Virgin Mary and is not afraid to show his attachment to
forms of devotion which post-Conciliar theology saw as dated.
One image
of the Virgin Mary which Bergoglio helped to spread devotion for in
Argentina, was that of “Our Lady, Untier of Knots”. This tradition
originates from a Bavarian devotional image (Maria Knotenlöserin)
created by German painter, Johann Melchior Schmidtner, in 1700. The
icon is now preserved as an altar piece in a chapel inside the
Romanesque church of St. Peter am Perlach, in the Bavarian city of
Augsburg.
In an article for Italian Catholic newspaper Avvenire,
Stefania Falasca wrote that Bergoglio discovered the icon during one of
his study trips to Ingolstadt and started spreading the word about it
when he returned to Argentina. As auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires, he
dedicated a shrine to the icon and as archbishop he inaugurated a number
chapels named after the Virgin Mary depicted in the icon. He even
printed the image on his personal “business card” which he always
included in correspondence.
The image is of Mary looking determined to
untie a number of big and small knots in a ribbon that is being handed
to her by some angels. “All of us have knots in our hearts, failings and
all of us go through difficult times. Our good Lord, who bestows grace
on all His children, wants us to have faith in Her; he wants us to
entrust the knots of our woes to her, the knots of our miseries that
prevent us from reaching God, so that She can untie them and bring us
closer to His son Jesus. This is the meaning of the icon.”
On the back of the image of the Virgin Mary which
Bergoglio used to send out with his correspondence, there is a prayer
that reads: “May evil never ensnare you in its chaotic web… May you act
as an example of how to unravel the knots in our lives and help us
through difficult time with simplicity and patience, through the
intercession of Your Son.”
Francis has also shown deep devotion to St.
Joseph, the protector of Jesus’ childhood. He began his pontificate
invoking the saint’s protection, in the inaugural mass on 19 March, the
feast day of Mary’s husband. Another saint the Pope has a special
relationship with, is Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, patron saint of
missions. Bergoglio was particularly keen to spread devotion for this
saint in Argentina’s slums, the villas miserias.
Traditional popular piety has kept so many people
flocking to shrines even through the current crisis and the
secularisation of our times. It is therefore an important part of the
new evangelisation; it is the expression of the people’s faith. It is
the faith of the simple that the Magisterium must protect fulfilling its
“democratic” duty to give a voice to those who do not have one.