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A Beautiful Prayer to Our Lady of Pompeii

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To Be Recited On the 8th of May and the First Sunday in October.
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).

Unlike so many of Our Lady’s titles, which go back centuries for their origin, this one is quite recent. The events which gave rise to this title took place less than one hundred years ago.

By the last half of the nineteenth century the Valley of Pompeii, near Naples, was practically deserted. Of the comparatively few people who still lived there, most had lost their ancient Catholic faith; ignorance and superstition prevailed. Only a handful of people bothered to attend the services in the little parish chapel.

In October 1872, a man named Bartolo Longo came to the valley. He was the husband of the Countess of Fusco, who had some property there; and Bartolo came to see what condition it was in. He had been reared a Catholic and was probably still one in name, although it seems he was not very devout.

On October 9th, a few days after his arrival, he was walking along a rather desolate road when suddenly a voice spoke to him. It told him that if he wished to be saved, he should spread devotion to the Rosary and that the Blessed Virgin had promised, that was the way to find salvation.

But why do we say that God wanted us to have a relationship with the Virgin Mary? Doesn’t it seem like too much of a stretch?

The Bible gives us the answer. In the Gospel of John, we find Jesus’ last words. They hold a special importance because, as we know, no one would waste their last breath by saying something superfluous. They carry a special meaning, they’re powerful. Jesus knows he doesn’t have much time left but struggles to say them anyway. Among these words we hear Jesus speak directly to his mother: “Woman, behold your son!” and to the beloved disciple: “Behold, your mother!” (Jn 19: 26-27).

What does this mean? Many think that when Jesus calls his mother “woman,” he’s disrespecting or belittling her. But would Jesus really take the time to do that to his mother as he’s dying on the cross? Probably not. A deeper look allows us to see that the title “woman” carries a deeper meaning in the Gospel of John.