The Pope has written the preface to the Italian edition of a book on Marian prayer written by his secretary, Fr. Yoannia Lahzi Gaid ANDREA TORNIELLI VATICAN CITY “The Rosary is a prayer that always accompanies me; it is also the prayer of the ordinary people and the saints … it a prayer from my heart.” These words, handwritten by the Pope himself and dated 13 May 2014, are the preface to the book “Il Rosario. Preghiera del cuore” (“The Rosary. A prayer from the heart”, Shalom Editions, pp. 210), written by the Coptic Catholic priest Yoannis Lahzi Gaid who has been working in the Pope’s personal secretariat for about a month now. Fr. Yoannis’ book was published in Arabic some years ago, 130,000 copies of it, despite the fact that the Copts are a small community. Now, Italian publishing house Shalom has published an Italian edition, which is currently on sale in bookstores. It includes Pope Francis’ preface and some excerpts from Francis speeches on Mary in addition to those of his predecessors. The text follows the traditional structure of the Marian prayer, with all its specific formulas and meditations, the mysteries with evangelical texts and notes. What makes Fr. Yoannis’ little volume unique, is the possibility to choose between praying the Rosary according to the Eastern tradition or the Western one. Readers will therefore also find prayers from the Eastern liturgy. Francis’ introductory words will come as no surprise to those who have got to know the Pope through his words and gestures. Francis regularly visits the Salus Populi Romanii, the Marian icon venerated in the Basilica of St. Mary Major. Francis comes here to pray before and after each international trip. His devotion for Mary Untier of Knots – an icon of German origin which he had shipped to Argentina – is well known to everyone. Reflecting over the first year of Francis’ pontificate, Mgr. Alfred Xuereb, the Pope’s former secretary, told Vatican Radio: “Pope Francis “does not waste a minute! He works tirelessly and, when he feels the need to take a moments pause, he closes his eyes and does nothing: he simply sits and prays the Rosary. He prays at least three Rosaries a day I think. “This helps me unwind” he told me. Then he sets to work again.”
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 06:48:12 +0000
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