Pope to consecrate Russia to Immaculate Heart

The same day from the sanctuary of Fatima in Portugal, the apostolic chaplain Cardinal Konrad Krajewski will also make the same consecration.

When Our Lady appeared at Fatima, she asked for the faithful to live the First Saturday devotions and for Russia to be consecrated to her. (See what these devotions involve, and why Mary singled out Russia, in the articles below.)

The consecration was done by St. John Paul II, as Lucia, the visionary, confirmed. In 1989, Lucia wrote that the consecration "has been done just as Our Lady asked, on March 25, 1984."

What is a Marian Consecration? It means “entrusting one’s body, soul, possessions, works, and entire life to the protection, guidance, and intercession of Our Lady.” 

The history of this practice begins with Jesus Himself. He entrusted His beloved disciple, John, to his mother Mary while He was on the Cross (John 19:26-27). Meanwhile, Christians have asked Mary to pray for and help them since the earliest days of the Church. 

The act of consecrating oneself to Jesus’ Mother became more formal in the 1600s:

Consecrations, of oneself or of a family, or in this case, countries, can be repeated and renewed as often as the faithful wish.

An act of consecration means a spiritual entrustment and many Catholics consecrate themselves to the Sacred Heart, to St. Joseph, to the Archangel Michael, as well as to Our Lady or even other saints.

[This article was updated after initial publication]