Pope prays that return of icon brings Catholics, Orthodox closer

Published: 2004-08-23

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) -- Calling the Blessed Virgin Mary the "mother of unity and of love," Pope John Paul II prayed that the return of a Marian icon to the Russian Orthodox Church would bring the Catholic and Orthodox churches closer together. Marking the Aug. 22 feast of the Queenship of Mary, the pope also expressed again his thanks to God and to the individuals who helped him make his Aug. 14-15 pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France. Speaking to several thousand visitors gathered in the courtyard of his summer villa for the recitation of the Angelus, the pope prayed that "the heavenly mother of the redeemer would be more welcomed, loved and venerated by the Christian people." The pope asked his visitors to turn in prayer with him "to the Virgin Mary venerated under the title of 'Mother of God of Kazan.'" Pope John Paul explained that an icon of the Mother of God of Kazan image, which left Russia sometime in the 1920s, "after a prolonged stay in different places, reached the apartment of the pope some years ago." Since 1993, he said, he had kept the Marian icon above his desk, where it has "watched over" his daily work.

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