Bishop Larry Silva leads the prayer consecrating Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary kneeling before the statue of Our Lady of Fatima March 25 in the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace. (HCH photo | Patrick Downes)
By Patrick Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Kneeling before the statue of Our Lady of Fatima March 25 during the noon Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, Bishop Larry Silva joined Pope Francis and the world’s bishops in leading local congregations in the consecration of the world, particularly Russia and Ukraine, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The Holy Father had prayed the 1,000-word invocation six hours earlier at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.
The pope sent out his request for the bishops’ participation on March 21, just four-days before the global prayer was to take place.
“This Act of Consecration is meant to be a gesture of the universal Church,” the pope explained, “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.”
Despite the last-minute nature of the invitation, the Honolulu church was mostly filled.
Following the pope’s instructions, the bishop in a March 22 email to Hawaii priests, asked “every parish to pray the prayer at every Mass, Stations of the Cross, or other gathering of the faithful that will take place on March 25.”
“Parishioners should also be encouraged to pray the prayer at home,” he said.
In the Honolulu cathedral, the consecration was recited during the Mass for the feast of the Annunciation, which commemorates the appearance of the Archangel Gabriel to Mary announcing that she would give birth to Jesus.
The bishop noted that the feast was properly dated nine months before Christmas. He preached about hope.
“Hope is a great virtue,” Bishop Silva said, “celebrated today in the Feast of the Annunciation,” which was the fulfillment of the Jews’ centuries-long hope for a Messiah.
Today, people all over the world hope for peace, he said. “It is our hope that all of them one day will know Jesus.”
Mary under the title Immaculate Heart had a heart that “always hoped,” the bishop said.
“We pray that she will pray for all of us so that hope for peace will come to fruition,” he said.
The statue of Our Lady of Fatima used in the Honolulu consecration was donated to Bishop Silva by the late Hawaii Sacred Hearts Sister Mary Dolorine Pires. It was created in 1947 by Portuguese artist Jose Thedim who made the original international traveling statue of Our Lady.
