Pope to Give Golden Rose to Our Lady of Pompeii

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 13, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI will give a golden rose to Our Lady of Pompeii during a visit to her shrine scheduled for Sunday.

The Pompeii shrine was built in 1876 by Blessed Bartolo Longo, a promoter of devotion to the rosary. The shrine has an image of Our Lady to which many miracles and healings have been attributed.

Editor's note: Blessed Bartolo Longo was a Satanist priest who later repented and became a lay Dominican, dedicating his life to the Virgin Mary.

Pope John Paul II also visited the Shrine and prayed for world peace. He described the Shrine as a monument to peace. Pope John Paul II wrote this of the Rosary:

"...our heart can embrace in the decades of the Rosary all the events that make up the lives of individuals, families, nations, the Church, and all mankind. Our personal concerns and those of our neighbour, especially those who are closest to us, who are dearest to us. Thus the simple prayer of the Rosary marks the rhythm of human life".

"...The Rosary mystically transports us to Mary's side as she is busy watching over the human growth of Christ in the home of Nazareth. This enables her to train us and to mold us with the same care, until Christ is "fully formed" in us."

"... If properly revitalized, the Rosary is an aid and certainly not a hindrance to ecumenism!"

"Blessed Bartolo Longo had a special charism. His path to holiness rested on an inspiration heard in the depths of his heart: "Whoever spreads the Rosary is saved!". As a result, he felt called to build a Church dedicated to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in Pompei..."

The golden rose has a long history in Rome and is also an icon of Greek mythology. Midas, could turn anything into gold with a touch of his hand. The Greek god Dionysus (also called Bacchus) bestowed this gift/curse upon Midas.

J.P. Holding describes Dionysism as "a religion that celebrates the destruction of boundaries and the blurring of categories." Mythology holds that Dionysus was born of a virgin on December 25, fathered by Zeus himself.

Is it a coincidence that Benedict XVI visits a Shrine erected as a "facade of peace" bearing a gift that identifies with the destruction of boundaries at a time that global crisis gives birth to a new global order?

Learn more on how Mary of Rome will help usher in global peace here.