VATICAN CITY (AP) 鈥 For thousands of Catholic pilgrims in Rome, it鈥檚 the unmissable Vatican appointment: the midday Sunday blessing the pope delivers from a window overlooking St. Peter鈥檚 Square.
The new pope, , is scheduled to deliver his first such prayer on Sunday from the loggia where he first appeared in public after being three days ago. His most recent predecessors delivered Sunday blessings, including their first, from a window in the Apostolic Palace overlooking the square.
Here is a look at the history, meaning and memorable moments from Sunday blessings of popes past.
The history of the pope鈥檚 Sunday blessing
In 1954, which he had declared a special year of veneration to the Virgin Mary, Pope Pius XII started reciting in public a traditional Catholic midday prayer to her. He first delivered it from the pope’s summer residence, just outside Rome, at .
Back at the Vatican, he kept it up from a window facing St. Peter鈥檚 Square at the Apostolic Palace, the 16th-century building where the papal apartments are. Pope Francis broke with tradition by living at a instead, but still maintained the Sunday prayer tradition from the palace.
It鈥檚 become a chance for ordinary faithful to see the pope relatively up close. Especially since the papacy of 鈥 from 1978 to 2005 鈥 popes have added short messages touching on different topics of the day.
When a pope misses the weekly occasion, as Francis did earlier this year , it makes global news.
The Vatican announced Leo would deliver his first such prayer on Sunday, which is coincidentally Mother鈥檚 Day in Italy and the United States, among other countries.
The prayer to Mary
The Angelus is the short prayer to Mary that many Catholics recite daily.
Often prayed before Mass, but traditionally accompanied by the tolling of bells at dawn, midday and early evening, it references the moment when the Gospels say the Archangel Gabriel told Mary she would become the mother of God, and she accepted.
鈥淎ngelus鈥 is Latin for angel, and the prayer鈥檚 first verse is 鈥淭he Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.鈥 The faithful then answer, 鈥淎nd she conceived of the Holy Spirit,鈥 followed by a Hail Mary and a few more verses and prayers.
This 鈥渁nnunciation鈥 scene is so pivotal in Christian dogma that it鈥檚 been represented by some of the most celebrated painters for centuries. Some artists have also portrayed the faithful reciting the Angelus, a practice that is believed to have started in the Middle Ages.
During Eastertime 鈥 the current liturgical season, spanning 50 days from Easter Sunday to Pentecost 鈥 the prayer is substituted with another devotion to Mary, the Regina Coeli (also spelled Caeli, Latin for 鈥淨ueen of Heaven鈥) that encourages rejoicing in Christ鈥檚 resurrection.
Memorable Sunday prayer moments
Looking , St. John Paul II appeared at his hospital window for his last Angelus prayer less than three weeks before he died in 2005. He didn鈥檛 speak, only blessing the crowd with an olive branch. An archbishop delivered his message, with the trademark exhortation to young people not to be afraid to follow Jesus.
Tens of thousands of people packed St. Peter鈥檚 Square when gave his final Sunday prayer in 2013 before becoming the first pope in 600 years to resign. They cheered him on as he reassured the faithful he wasn鈥檛 abandoning the church, but rather turning to prayer because of his advancing age.
At his first Angelus in 2013, Francis introduced a key motif of his papacy: . 鈥淎 bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just,鈥 he told the crowd.
More recently, Francis used the Sunday blessings to , especially in Ukraine and Gaza. But he also would close his blessings with the down-to-earth phrase: 鈥淗ave a good lunch.”
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP鈥檚 with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
