Pope Benedict’s ‘Regina Coeli’ address at Mass in Floriana, Malta
(April 18, 2010) Below is the text of Pope Benedict’s ‘Regina Coeli’ address at Mass
in Floriana, Malta.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, When you give
thanks, when you have particular prayer intentions, and when you seek heavenly protection
for your loved ones, it is your custom to turn to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother
of the Church and our Mother. I am aware of the particular devotion of the Maltese
people to the Mother of God, expressed with great fervour to Our Lady of Ta’ Pinu
and so I am pleased to have the opportunity to pray before her image, brought here
specially from Gozo for this occasion. I am also delighted to present a Golden Rose
to her, as a sign of our shared filial affection for the Mother of God. I ask you
in particular to pray to her under the title Queen of the Family, a title added to
the Litany of Loreto by my beloved predecessor, Pope John Paul II, himself on more
than one occasion a visitor to these shores. In offering you this tangible memento
of my own visit, I thank you for all that I have received from you in return, especially
for the warmth of your devotion and the support of your prayers for my ministry as
the Successor of Peter. We turn now in prayer to Mary, Mother of the Church and
Queen of Heaven, as we rejoice in the Resurrection of the One whom she bore in her
womb.