At Marian shrine, pope says child Jesus shows strength of the faith

Published: 2007-09-10

MARIAZELL, Austria (CNS) -- Inspired by a small wooden statue of Mary and the child Jesus, Pope Benedict XVI appealed on behalf of the world's suffering children, including the poor, the orphaned and those forced to fight in wars. The pope spoke during Mass Sept. 8 for some 30,000 pilgrims at the Austrian shrine of Mariazell, where a linden wood statue of the Madonna and child has been revered for 850 years. The liturgy was the centerpiece of the pontiff's three-day trip to Austria. The pope knelt in prayer before the statue, which is kept in a sanctuary chapel where a Benedictine monk first brought it in 1157. The carved image depicts Jesus holding an apple as he sits on Mary's lap. At an outdoor Mass celebrated under intermittent rain, the pope said it was important to remember that Christ came as a child -- not with "external force," but in the "powerlessness of his love, which is where his true strength lies."

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