Sel. Johannes Paul - dieser Ort hat mir viel geholfen zu beten

Das Heiligtum in Mentorella ist eines der ältesten Europas. Es beherbergte den Hl. Benedikt, der hier zwei Jahre in einer Felsengrotte verbrachte. Seit Mitte des 13. Jahrhunderts wird in der Kirche die Holzstatue der "Mutter Gottes von der Zierde" aufbewahrt.  Johannes Paul II. besuchte als Bischof gerne diesen Wallfahrtsort. Warum?

Mentorella, 55 km östlich von Rom

 

Die erste Wallfahrt nach seiner Amtsübernahme führte Johannes Paul II. zum Heiligtum der Madonna von Mentorella, das Zitat stammt aus der Ansprache vom 29.10.1978: 

"I wanted to come here, among these mountains, to sing the "Magnificat" in Mary's footsteps.

Madonna delle Grazie, Unsere Liebe Frau von der Zierde

This is a place in which man opens to God in a special way. A place where, far from everything, but also at the same time close to nature, one can speak confidentially to God himself. One feels within one what is man's personal call. And man must glorify God the Creator and Redeemer; he must, in some way, become the voice of the whole of creation in order to say, in its name, "Magnificat". He must announce the "magnalia Dei", the great works of God, and, at the same time, express himself in this sublime relationship with God, because in the visible world only he can do so

During my stays in Rome, this place helped me a great deal to pray. And that is another reason why I wanted to come here today. Prayer, which expresses in various ways man's relationship with the living God, is also the first task and almost the first announcement of the Pope, just as it is the first condition of his service in the Church and in the world.

Kirche von innen, Mentorella

(....) Prayer gives a meaning to the whole of life, at every moment, in every circumstance.

Therefore the Pope, as the Vicar of Christ on earth, wishes in the first place to unite with all those who strain towards union with Christ in prayer, wherever they may be: as a Bedouin in the steppe, or the Carmelites or Cistercians in deep enclosure, or the sick on a hospital bed in the sufferings of the death agony, or a person in activity, in the fullness of life, or oppressed and humiliated individuals ... everywhere.

The Mother of Christ went to the hills to say her "Magnificat". May the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit accept the Pope's prayer in this sanctuary and grant the gifts of the Spirit to all those who pray.

Johannes Paul II. vor der Kirche in Mentorella