To the Clergy, Religious, and Laity of the Archdiocese of New Orleans:
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
As many of you may have heard, Pope Francis will carry out a solemn Act of Consecration of humanity, and Russia and Ukraine in particular, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the Feast of the Annunciation, this Friday, March 25.
In a letter dated March 21, 2022, our Holy Father wrote to the bishops of the world saying: “This Act of Consecration is meant to be a gesture of the universal Church, which in this dramatic moment lifts up to God, through his Mother and ours, the cry of pain of all those who suffer and implore an end to the violence, and to entrust the future of our human family to the Queen of Peace. I ask you to join in this Act by inviting the priests, religious and faithful to assemble in their churches and places of prayer on 25 March, so that God’s Holy People may raise a heartfelt and choral plea to Mary our Mother. I am sending you the text of the prayer of consecration, so that all of us can recite it throughout that day, in fraternal union.”
I will join with Pope Francis in prayer at 11 am on Friday and will repeat the Consecration of Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary publicly at the 5 pm Mass at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor. On Sunday, March 27 at both the 9 am and 11 am Masses at St. Louis Cathedral, I will consecrate Russia, the Ukraine, and the Archdiocese of New Orleans to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. For those of you who wish to pray along with the universal church, the Holy Father has sent to us the Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary that will be used for this solemn occasion.
For those of you who wish to pray along with the universal church, the Holy Father has sent to us the Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary that will be used for this solemn occasion.
I invite you to join me in prayer for peace in our world, particularly for an end to the war in Ukraine, in our nation, in our community, and in our homes.
Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for us! Mary Immaculate, pray for us!
Sincerely in Christ, Most Reverend Gregory M. Aymond Archbishop of New Orleans