Francisco spoke of this precious filial prayer, in front of the most traditional Marian icon of Rome
On Sunday, January 28, Pope Francis presided over the Mass at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, in Rome, on the occasion of the Festival of the Translation of the Salus Populi Romani.
It is one of the most traditional icons of Our Lady, in which she is represented with the baby Jesus in her arms. In Byzantine style, the icon is popularly attributed to the evangelist St. Luke, who was also a painter.
The expression ” Salus Populi Romani “, in Latin, means, “Salvation of the Roman People”: not in the sense of “Redemptive”, because only Christ is the Redeemer of humanity, but in the sense of “Protective”, entrusted to us by Christ himself on the Cross.
And it is like our Protective Mother that Pope Francis spoke of Mary during the sermon. He reflected in his homily, on a precious and traditional Marian prayer in which we entrust ourselves to the care of Our Lady: “Under your protection” or ” Sub tuum praesídium “, in the original Latin.
The Pope invited the faithful to approach Mary in the hours of danger, remembering:
“In turbulent times, we need to gather ourselves under the hand of the Holy Mother of God, always open to welcome us.”
As for the prayer that he mentioned, it has several versions in Spanish. We present below the original sentence, in Latin, and one in our language:
Original in Latin: Sub túum praesídium
Sub túum praesídium confúgimus,
Sáncta Dei Génetrix;
nóstras deprecatiónes ne despícias
in necessitátibus nóstris,
sed a perÍCis cúnctis
líbera we sémper,
Vírgo gloriósa et benedícta.
Amen.
Spanish version
Under your protection we welcome,
Holy Mother of God;
do not dismiss the pleas we are addressing you
in our needs;
rather, always deliver us from all danger,
O glorious and blessed Virgin!
Amen
