We have a Pope!
Pope Leo XIV hails from Chicago, IL. Our first ever American Pope! To hear him speak English without an accent is pretty exciting.
The selection of a new Pope is pretty auspicious for sure. But, did you know some events surrounding his selection? God-incidences for sure – maybe hints at things to come…
Pope Leo XIII is best known for his vision of God and Satan discussing attacks against the Church. On September 25, 1888, following his morning Mass, Pope Leo XIII became traumatized to the point that he collapsed. Shaken deeply by what he had heard, Pope Leo XIII composed the Prayer to St. Michael (which is also a prophecy) and ordered it to be recited after all Low Masses as a protection for the Church against the attacks from Hell (he penned the long form of the prayer).
Next, May 8th, the day Pope Leo XIV was selected, commemorates an event that took place during the reign of Pope Gelasius in 492. “The Apparition of St. Michael, Archangel”, which took place in southeast of Italy—the “spur” of the Italian “boot” one might say—is a sanctuary dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel high atop a mountainous promontory called Monte Gargano. It is the oldest shrine dedicated to St. Michael in western Europe and is not far from where Padre Pio lived, died, and is now buried at his now famous friary in San Giovanni Rotondo.
St. Michael ordered the grotto to be sanctified. The bishops hesitated, and the story is that after several other apparitions, St. Michael consecrated it himself.
The fourth and final apparition of St. Michael at Gargano took place centuries later in 1656. A terrible pestilence was sweeping across southern Italy and the town on the slope of Mount Gargano, which now fittingly goes by Monte Sant’ Angelo, was in dire straits.
The vision concluded with the promise: “Anyone who devotedly keeps these stones with him will be immune to the plague.”
The Archangel’s promise was fulfilled and since that time the Sanctuary of St. Michael at Mount Gargano has distributed stones from the Grotto of the Apparitions far and wide. These are popular relics/sacramentals that are used by the faithful to invoke the intercession of this powerful intercessor to protect them from the spiritual snares of the Devil, as well as from physical harm.
Is St. Michael making his presence seen and calls for his protection more necessary? In our times, do we need St. Michael more than ever? No doubt. But, is this a preparation for more to come? This is the time of mercy! The days draw to an end, draw close to St. Michael for protection.