08 DECEMBER IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. Begging to be recited today

Queen of Peace, pray for us!

On the feast of your Immaculate Conception
I come back to venerate you, O Maria,
at the foot of this effigy, which allows from the Spanish Steps
to your maternal gaze to wander over this ancient,
and dear to me, city of Rome.

I came here tonight to pay you homage
of my sincere devotion. It is a gesture in which
countless Romans join me in this square,
whose affection has always accompanied me
in all the years of my service to the See of Peter.

I'm here with them to start the journey
towards the hundred fiftieth anniversary of the dogma
that we celebrate today with filial joy.

Queen of Peace, pray for us!

Our gaze turns to you with stronger trepidation,
We turn to you with more insistent trust
in these times marked by many uncertainties and fears
for the present and future fate of our Planet.

To you, the firstfruits of humanity redeemed by Christ,
finally freed from the slavery of evil and sin,
together raise a heartfelt and trusting plea:
Listen to the victims' cry of pain
of wars and many forms of violence,
that blood the Earth.

It thins out the darkness of sadness and loneliness,
of hatred and revenge.
Open everyone's mind and heart to trust and forgiveness!

Queen of Peace, pray for us!

Mother of mercy and hope,
you get for men and women of the third millennium
the precious gift of peace:
peace in hearts and families, in communities and among peoples;
peace especially for those nations
where we continue to fight and die every day.

Let every human being, of all races and cultures,
meet and welcome Jesus,
came to Earth in the mystery of Christmas
to give us "his" peace.
Mary, Queen of Peace,
give us Christ, true peace of the world!