VATICAN CITY, JUL 4, 1999 (VIS) - This morning John Paul II celebrated Mass at Rome's Shrine of the Virgin of Divine Love, where he dedicated the new church and prayed the angelus.
"In the dedication of this new shrine," the Pope remarked in his homily, "a vow made by the Romans to the Virgin of Divine Love, under the guidance of Pope Pius XII, is partially accomplished. This vow was made in 1944 when the Allies were about to launch their decisive attack on German-occupied Rome. On June 4 of that year, before the image of the Madonna of Divine Love, which had been transported to the church of St. Ignatius, the Romans invoked the salvation of their city, promising Mary to rectify their moral conduct, to construct a new Shrine of Divine Love and to carry out a charitable work at Castel di Leva. That same day, a little more than an hour after taking the vow, the German army abandoned Rome without offering resistance, while allied troops entered by Porta San Giovanni and Porta Maggiore, and were jubilantly greeted by the citizens of Rome."
The Pope indicated that "today the shrine is a reality and the charitable work, an old peoples' home not far from here, is about to be completed. However the vow of the Romans to Mary Most Holy included a promise that does not come to an end and that is far more difficult to accomplish: the rectification of their moral conduct, that is, the constant commitment to renew life and make it ever more similar to Christ's. ... This is the task to which we are called by the holy edifice that today is dedicated to God."
He concluded: "To You, Mother of Divine Love, we entrust the diocesan community, the continuation of the Citizens' Mission, concluded only a few weeks ago, and also this beloved city of Rome with its problems and its resources, its worries and its hopes."
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