A Prayer to Our Lady of Pompeii (o Be Recited On the 8th of May and the First Sunday in October.)

In the name of the Father,

and of the Son,

and or the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

I.



O august Queen of victories,

Virgin who reignest in paradise,

whose mighty name causes Heaven to rejoice

and hell to tremble,

O glorious Queen of the most holy Rosary,

we, thy happy children chosen by thy goodness

in this century to build thee a temple at Pompeii,

kneeling at thy feet on this solemn day

to commemorate thy latest triumphs

on the spot where idols and demons

were formerly worshipped,

we pour out with tears

the feelings of our hearts

and with a filial confidence

lay before thee our miseries.

From that throne of mercy

where thou sittest as Queen,

o Mary, turn down thy pitiful eyes on us,

on our families,

on Italy, on Europe,

and the whole Church;

take into pity the afflictions

which overwhelm us

and the cares which embitter our life.

Thou seest, o Mother,

how many dangers of soul and body,

how many calamities

and afflictions press upon us.

O Mother,

keep back the arm of justice

of thy indignant Son,

and conquer by thy mercy

the hearts of sinners,

since they are our brethren and thy children,

redeemed through the blood of our sweet Jesus

and through the wounds of thy most tender heart

pierced with the sword.

Show thyself to all in this day,

as thou art,

the Queen of peace and mercy.

Hail, Queen, Mother of mercy,

Vouchsafe that I may praise thee, o sacred Virgin.

Give me strength against thy enemies.

Pray for us, Queen of the most holy Rosary,

That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

II.



It is but too true that we,

although thy children,

are the first who crucify Jesus in our hearts

and wound anew thy heart by our sins.

We confess it,

we deserve the severest chastisements;

yet remember how thou didst receive,

on the top of Golgotha,

the last drops of that Divine blood,

and the testament of our dying Redeemer.

And this testament of a God,

sealed with the blood of a Man-God,

appointed thee our Mother,

the Mother of sinners.

Thus, as our Mother,

thou art our Advocate and our Hope.

To thee, amidst sighs,

do we lift up our hands,

crying for mercy!

Have pity, good mother,

have pity on us,

on our souls,

on our families,

on our relations,

on our friends,

on our departed brethren,

above all, on our enemies,

and on so many who claim the name of Christians,

yet wound the loving heart of thy Son.

Pity, o Mother,

we now implore thee for pity on the erring nations,

on all Europe,

on the whole world,

that they may repair repentant to thy heart.

Be merciful to all, o Mother of mercy.

Hail, Queen, Mother of mercy,

Vouchsafe that I may praise thee, o sacred Virgin.

Give me strength against thy enemies.

Pray for us, Queen of the most holy Rosary,

That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

III.



What does it cost thee, o Mary, to hear us?

What does it cost thee to save us?

Did not Jesus entrust to thy hands

all the treasures of His graces and mercies?

Thou sittest as Queen

at the right hand of thy Son,

crowned with immortal glory,

above all the choirs of angels.

Thou extendest thy dominion

as far as the heavens expand,

the earth and all the creatures

that people it are subject to thee.

Thy power even reaches hell;

and thou alone, O Mary,

canst rescue us from the devil's grasp.

Thou art almighty by grace,

and therefore thou canst save us.

Now if you sayest thou wilIest not help us

because we are ungrateful children

and unworthy of thy protection,

tell us at least

to whom shall we have recourse

in order to be released from so many evils?

Oh! No, thy maternal heart will never bear to see

the ruin of thy children.

The Divine Child we behold on thy knees,

the mystical crown we admire in thy hand,

both inspire us with hope that we will be heard.

And full of confidence in thee,

we throw ourselves at thy feet,

we trust ourselves as feeble children

into the arms of the tenderest

amongst mothers and today, this very day,

we expect from thee the graces we are longing for.

Hail, Queen, Mother of mercy,

Vouchsafe that I may praise thee, o sacred Virgin.

Give me strength against thy enemies.

Pray for us, Queen of the most holy Rosary,

That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us ask Mary for her blessing

We now ask of thee, O Queen,

a last favour which thou canst not refuse on this solemn day.

Grant to all of us thy constant love

and in a special manner thy maternal blessing.

No, we will not leave thy feet today

nor cease clasping thy knees

till thou hast blessed us.

Bless now, o Mary,

the sovereign Pontiff:

to the first laurels of thy crown,

to the ancient trophies of the Rosary,

whence thou art called Queen of victories,

add also this one, o Mother,

grant triumph to religion

and peace to mankind.

Bless our bishop,

the priests

and particularly those who promote

the honour of thy Sanctuary;

bless finally all those who are associated

to thy new temple of Pompeii

and who practice

and spread devotion to thy most holy rosary .

O blessed rosary of Mary,

sweet chain which unites us to God,

bond of love,

which connects us with the angels,

tower of safety against the assaults of hell,

sure harbour in the universal shipwreck,

never more shall we part with thee;

thou shall be our comfort in the hour of agony:

to thee the last kiss of our life;

and the last word of our dying lips

shall be thy sweet name,

O Queen of the Rosary of Valle di Pompei.

Mother dear,

only refuge of sinners,

supreme comforter of the afflicted,

blessed be thy name,

now and forever,

on earth and in heaven.

Amen.

Hail; Queen, Mother of mercy,

Vouchsafe that I may praise thee, o sacred Virgin.

Give me strength against thy enemies.

Pray for us, Queen of the most holy Rosary,

That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

[This prayer has been approved by the Congregation of rites, and Leo XIII has granted an indulgence of seven years and seven quarantines to those who devoutly recite it on the 8th of May or on the first Sunday in October. (Rescript of June 18th, 1887).]