from the desk of the Tarheel Disciple
In 1920, in the wake of World War I, at the dawn of the period of the British Mandate of Palestine (1920-1948), and prior to the establishment of the modern state of Israel (1948), the Catholic Patriarch at that time, Luigi Barlassina, consecrated the Diocese of Jerusalem to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady, Queen of Palestine. In 1927, a shrine with this Marian title was built at Deir Rafat, midway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and her feast day, October 25, was established.
The Catholic Diocese of Jerusalem encompasses the modern territories of Cyprus, Jordan, Isarel, and the West Bank and Gaza (Palestine). Since its inception, the purpose of this devotion has been to seek the intercession of the Mother of God for peace among the peoples of these states and territories, which still include many native Christians. A large statue of Mary, approximately 6 meters tall, with her hands indicating blessing and supplication over the Holy Land, adorns the facade of the church at Deir Rafat.
Pope Saint John Paul II, in 1983, urged the Knights and Dames of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem to continue their charitable work in the Holy Land under the protection of the Virgin Mary. In 1993, the Grand Master of the Order petitioned the same Pope to name the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Palestine as the official patroness of the Order, which he did, by decree, in 1994.
Today, no less (and perhaps even more) we would do well to pray to Our Lady, Queen of Palestine, for a lasting and just peace in the Middle East:
Prayer To Our Lady Of Palestine
O Mary Immaculate,
gracious Queen of Heaven and of Earth,
behold us prostrate before thy exalted throne.
Full of confidence in thy goodness
and in thy boundless power,
we beseech thee to turn a pitying glance upon Palestine,
which more than any other country belongs to thee,
since thou hast graced it with thy birth,
thy virtues and thy sorrows,
and from there hast given the Redeemer to the world.
Remember that there especially
thou wert constituted our tender Mother,
the dispenser of graces.
Watch, therefore, with special protection
over thy native country,
scatter from it the shades of error,
for it was there the Sun of Eternal Justice shone.
Bring about the speedy fulfilment of the promise,
which issued from the lips of Thy Divine Son,
that there should be one fold and one Shepherd.
Obtain for us all that we may serve the Lord
in sanctity and justice during the days of our life,
so that, by the merits of Jesus
and with thy motherly aid,
we may pass at last from this earthly Jerusalem
to the splendors of the heavenly one.
Amen.
Imprimatur, Jerusalem. Kal. Jan. 1926: Aloysius Patriarch
Statue of the Queen of Palestine at Deir Rafat
Another image of Our Lady, Queen of Palestine, in iconic form, portrayed seated, holding the city of Jerusalem
