Pope Leo Reaffirms Devotion to Mary
In a recent letter to certain of the Catholic cardinals, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the dogmatic definition of the “Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin,” Pope Leo reaffirms the Catholic doctrine that the Virgin Mary is the being to whom Catholics specially look for help in times of difficulty and trial. The letter says:— LORD CARDINALS: From many sides evidence has been manifested to us of an earnest desire on the part of the faithful to celebrate with extraordinary solemnity the fiftieth anniversary of the Dogmatic Definition of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin. How dear to our heart this desire has been may well be imagined. Devotion to the mother of God not only has been from our tender years among our most cherished affections, but it is for us one of the most potent means of defense granted by Providence to the Catholic Church. At all times and in all trials and persecutions the church has had recourse to Mary, and in her has ever found solace and protection. And now that the days in which we live are so stormy and so big with menace for the church herself, we are rejoiced and stimulated to hope when we see the faithful seizing the auspicious opportunity presented by this fiftieth anniversary, turn with a unanimous impulse of love and confidence to her who is invoked as the Help of Christians. This longed-for fiftieth anniversary is rendered all the dearer to us, too, by the fact that we are the only survivors of all the cardinals and bishops who gathered around our predecessor at the promulgation of the dogmatic decree. But as it is our wish that the anniversary celebrations shall have the stamp of greatness befitting this Rome of ours, and be of a nature to serve as a stimulus and a guide to the devotion of Catholics throughout the world, we have determined to form a Cardinalial Commission, whose care it will be to regulate and direct them. You, Lord Cardinals, we nominate as members of this commission. And with the certainty that through your wise solicitude our own wishes and those of all will be fully gratified, we impart to you, as a pledge of heavenly favors, the Apostolic Benediction. From the Vatican, May 26, 1903.