Marian shrines and mariology devotees

The sanctuary, whether dedicated to the Most Holy Trinity, Christ the Lord, the Most Holy Virgin, the Angels, or the Saints, is perhaps the place where the relationship between liturgy and popular piety is most frequent and evident.In sanctuaries, the means of salvation should be offered more abundantly to the faithful, zealously proclaiming the Word of God, favourably promoting liturgical life, especially with the Eucharist and the celebration of Penance, as well as cultivating approved forms of popular piety.In close connection with the sanctuary is pilgrimage, which is also a widespread and characteristic expression of popular piety. In our time, interest in sanctuaries and participation in pilgrimages, far from fading away due to the phenomenon of secularism, find great acceptance among the faithful.Therefore, it seems appropriate, in accordance with the objectives of the formation of Mariology devotees, to offer some indications for establishing and promoting a correct relationship between liturgical actions and acts of piety in the Mariology pastoral activity of sanctuaries and in the organization of pilgrimages.The SanctuarySome PrinciplesWhat is a sanctuary?According to Christian revelation, the supreme and final sanctuary is the risen Christ (cf. Jn 2:18-21. Rev 21:22), around whom the community of disciples gathers and is organized, which in turn is the new house of the Lord (cf. 1 Pt 2:5. Eph 2:19-22).From a theological perspective, the sanctuary, which often arises from a movement of popular piety, is a sign of the Lord’s active and salvific presence in history and a place of rest where the people of God, while wandering through the streets of the future city (cf. Heb 13:14), regain strength to continue their journey.> The sanctuary, like the church, holds great symbolic value: it is the image of “God’s dwelling place with mankind” (Rev 21:3) and points to the mystery of the Temple fulfilled in the body of Christ (cf. Jn 1:14; 2:21), in the Church community (cf. 1 Pt 2:5), and in individual believers (cf. 1 Cor 3:16-17; 6:19; 2 Cor 6:16).> In the eyes of faith, sanctuaries are:> , by their origin, sometimes the memory of an event considered extraordinary that led to the emergence of lasting devotions, or a testament of piety and gratitude from a people for the benefits received.> , by the frequent signs of mercy manifest there, they are *privileged places* of divine assistance and the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, the Saints, or a Blessed.> , by their location, often elevated and solitary, by their beauty, sometimes austere, sometimes pleasant, of the places where they arise, *a sign of the harmony of the cosmos and a reflection of divine beauty*.> , by the preaching that resounds there, an *effective call to conversion*, an invitation to live in charity and to increase works of mercy, an exhortation to lead a life marked by the following of Christ.> , for the sacramental life celebrated there, *places of consolidation in faith* and growth in grace, refuge and hope in affliction.> , by the aspect of the evangelical message they express, a particular interpretation and almost *an extension of the Word*.> , by their eschatological orientation, a reminder to *cultivate the sense of transcendence* and direct one’s steps, along the paths of temporal life, to the sanctuary in heaven (cf. Heb 9:11; Rev 21:3).> Always and everywhere, Christian sanctuaries have been or sought to be signs of God’s intrusion into history. Each one is a memorial of the mystery of the Incarnation and Redemption.> Canonical Definition of Sanctuary> A sanctuary is understood to be a church or other sacred place to which, for special reasons of piety, the local Ordinary gives his approval, and to which pilgrims come in large numbers.> A prior condition for a sacred place to be canonically considered a diocesan, national, or international sanctuary is the approval of the diocesan bishop, the Conference of Bishops, and the Holy See, respectively.The canonical approval constitutes an official recognition of the sacred place and its specific purpose, which is to receive the pilgrimages of the People of God who come there to worship the Father, profess their faith, reconcile with God, with the Church and with their brothers, and implore the intercession of the Mother of the Lord or of a Saint.However, one must not forget that many other places of worship, often humble, small churches in cities or in the countryside, perform locally, even without canonical recognition, a similar function to that of shrines.They also form part of the “geography of faith” and the piety of the People of God, a community living in a defined territory and, in faith, on the way to the heavenly Jerusalem (cf. Rev 21).The Relationship Between Shrines and MariologyIn the Code of Canon Law, shrines have received particular legal recognition, attesting to their importance in the pastoral life of a territory.In his teachings, Saint John Paul II often spoke of shrines dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. He qualified them as places that bear witness to the particular presence of the Virgin in the life of the Church, sometimes forming part of the spiritual and cultural heritage of a people. Privileged places where the faithful, desirous of consolidating their faith, seek a meeting with God and with the Mother of the Lord.In his encyclical *Redemptoris Mater*, the Holy Father noted the existence of a specific “geography” of Marian faith and piety, which includes all the particular pilgrimage sites of the People of God, and is intended to play a prominent role in Marian pastoral.Certainly, the various Marian shrines, diocesan, regional, national, international, for historical and pastoral reasons, are aware of their mission as primary centers for apostolic animation, catechesis, and Mariology, combining formation with the liturgical life of the Mother of the Lord. However, without the Mariology cult in shrines, this vitality, opportunity, and demand have waned.For a sanctuary to be a center and to spread all spiritual life among its pilgrims, it is necessary to permanently educate for the mariological relationship between the Church and Mary, which does not subtract anything from the relationship between pilgrims and shepherds, but clarifies the direction of the pilgrimage of faith towards celestial Jerusalem.Let us consider for a moment that most sanctuaries in the world are Marian, with churches dedicated to the Virgin, which is a plurisecular announcement of a movement of piety towards the glorious Mother of Christ. This experience also reflects a theological idea: the Church recognizes in Mary, virgin wife-mother, the image of its maternal-virginial nuptial condition. It sees her as the model of its love and faithfulness to the Lord. The Church community finds safe refuge in Mary during danger and in the hour of judgment.The Exemplary Role of SanctuariesEnhancing Liturgical PracticesAmong the functions recognized to sanctuaries, also by the Code of Canon Law, is the enhancement of liturgical practices. However, this should not be understood as an increase in the number of celebrations, but rather as an improvement in preparation and execution. The rectors of sanctuaries must be fully aware of their responsibility to achieve this goal.We understand that the faithful, who come to sanctuaries from various places, should leave comforted in spirit and edified by the liturgical celebrations held there.When a sanctuary is able, in its Marian liturgical celebrations, to communicate the salvific message through the noble simplicity of ritual expressions and the faithful observance of liturgical norms, then it begins to become a place where more and more pilgrims want to be.The effects of an exemplary liturgical action do not limit themselves to the celebration held at the sanctuary, as a place of Marian culture; priests and faithful pilgrims tend to transfer the Marian and liturgical cultural experiences lived at the sanctuary to their places of origin.The celebration of the Marian liturgical year, with the consequent greater influx of faithful to sanctuaries dedicated to the Most Holy Virgin, will therefore see rectors particularly committed to this line of exemplarity in liturgical-pastoral Marian action.Practicing CharityThe exemplary function of the sanctuary is also expressed in the exercise of charity. There are indeed numerous sanctuaries where, thanks to the zeal of their responsible persons and their collaborators, the charity of Christ blooms, and the maternal solicitude of the Virgin seems to be prolonged:– in the reception and hospitality given to pilgrims, especially the poorest, to whom, as far as possible, spaces and structures are offered for a moment of rest. – in the care for elderly, sick, and disabled pilgrims, to whom the most delicate attentions are reserved, the best places in the sanctuary. For them, at appropriate times, celebrations are organized that, without isolating them from the other faithful, take into account their particular condition. Effective collaboration is established with associations that generously provide for their transportation. – in the availability and service offered to all who enter the sanctuary: educated and uneducated faithful, poor and rich, compatriots and foreigners. – in the Marian formation offered at all times by Marian culturers prepared in the sanctuaries, so that they can form, educate, and propose a more complete and often the first announcement of salvation in the “house of the Mother.” In Marian formation, we find the possibility of announcing the *kerygma*, for the indissolubility of Christ and Mary in the revealed mystery leads the Marian culturer to announce the Gospel in a complete, attractive, and effective way.To deepen reflection on Marian sanctuaries and devotion to Mary, consult the Apostolic Exhortation *Marialis Cultus* by Paul VI, which provides guidelines for the authentic Marian cult in the life of the Church.Deepen your studies: explore *Mariology*, *Marian theology*, *Marian apparitions*, and *Post-Graduate Marian Studies*.