Pope's visit in Bavaria to begin at Column of Virgin Mary (Mariensäule) in Munich

Munich, May 13, 2006 (ok) Pope Benedict XVI will begin his papal visit to Bavaria on September 9 with a prayer at the Column of the Virgin Mary in the center of the Bavarian capital. It was here, on February 28, 1982, that he bid farewell with a prayer when he left the office of Archbishop of Munich and Freising and assumed the responsibilities of Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the side of Pope John Paul II. In this prayer he appealed with moving words to the Patrona Bavariae, Bavaria's protector. "From your image, we see again and again the nearness of our God." You bear him in your hands as a child and hold him out to us so that we can also bear him and be borne by him."

Elector Maximilian I elevates Mary to patroness of Bavaria
The adoration and proclamation of Mary as the patroness of Bavaria dates back to the beginning of the 17th century. At that time, the Bavarian duke and elector Maximilian I had a statue of Mary with the child on her arm sculpted by Hans Krumper and cast in bronze by Bartholomäus Wenglein. The statue was erected at his new residence in Munich and the words "Patrona Boiariae" inscribed on the pedestal. The Duke, a pupil of the Jesuits in Ingolstadt and a dedicated member of the Marian Congregation, thus proclaimed Mary as patroness of his family and as heavenly ruler of the people and the state of Bavaria. Next to the sculpture is a sanctuary lamp with an eternal light. When participants in the Corpus Christi procession in Munich pass this depiction of Mary, many flagbearers halt and lower their banners in greeting.

The Column of the Virgin Mary with the likeness of the Patrona Bavariae on Marienplatz in Bavaria's capital is better known. In thanks for saving the cities of Munich and Landshut from destruction by Swedish soldiers in the Thirty Years' War, Bavaria's Great Elector Maximilian vowed to erect the column on the main square in Munich, his capital. In 1638 the famous column with the gilded, larger-than-life, figure originally created by Hubert Gerhard for the Church of Our Lady (Liebfrauenkirche) was erected and consecrated by Freising's Prince Bishop Veit Adam von Gepeckh. In his prayer of consecration, Maximilian once again commended his people and Bavaria to the protection and care of the Blessed Mother:

At the unveiling, the Elector is said to have pronounced the following Latin couplet:

Rem, Regem, Regimen, Regionem, Religionem/
Conserva Bavaris Virgo Maria tuis!

Along with the Bavarian pilgrimage center Altötting, the Column of the Virgin Mary in Munich symbolizes the veneration of Mary in Altbayern which is understood as a firm profession of belief in Christ. The Column of the Virgin Mary on Munich's main square, known as Marienplatz since 1854, was the point from which distances on all roads starting here were measured. It was the model for many similar columns such as those in Vienna, Prague and the old bishops' seat.

Munich's Column of the Virgin Mary: Center of Bavaria

Simple pilgrims as well as popes and princes have prayed before Munich's Column of the Virgin Mary. Throughout the Baroque period it was the scene of many important acts of state. In 1683 Elector Max Emanuel made a point of setting off to war from here against the armies of the Ottoman Empire which were threatening Christian Europe. During the Spanish War of Succession, the citizens of Munich gathered here around their electress. A touching story is told about a woman during the Napoleonic Wars: a "silent worshiper" prayed every day for her husband who was recruited in the Russian campaign and then, like 30,000 other Bavarians, fell on the battlefields of the Corsican conqueror.

During the Third Reich, silent praying to Mary became a mute protest against the regime. In 1938 because of the strict ban by the national socialist municipal government, the 300-year anniversary of the erection of the column could not be celebrated at the monument but only in the nearby parish Church of St. Peter. During World War II the column was kept in the Liebfrauendom. In 1945 Cardinal Michael Faulhaber had the column erected again in the midst of the ruins in Munich. In 1988, on the occasion of the 350-year anniversary of the erection of the column, he recalled the holocaust in his prayer: "Holy Daughter of Zion, in all humility we bow our heads before you and honor your people who … in our city as well were pursued in blind hatred and driven to camps of destruction. Holy Mother, pierced by the sword, heal the wounds which your people suffered at the hands of our people." After having been removed for some time while Munich's subway was being built, it was returned in 1970 by Cardinal Julius Döpfner to its accustomed place. "Let the many who pass here look up in hope to the Virgin's infant who brought peace to the world," Cardinal Döpfner prayed.

On his first visit to Munich in 1980, Pope John Paul II prayed together with Cardinal Ratzinger at the Mariensäule. Pope Pius VI also prayed here when he visited Munich in the year 1782. In a prayer specially formulated for the occasion, Cardinal Wetter, in May of the Holy Year of 2000, appealed to the patroness of Bavaria and at the beginning of the new century in a Marian tradition again placed Bavaria and its people under her protection: The Cardinal's ecumenical intercessory prayer was worded, "Lead all to your Son, so that all those baptized in your name will be united."

In the middle of the period of world War I, King Ludwig III of Bavaria together with Queen Maria Theresia had asked Benedict XV to declare Maria officially as the patroness of Bavaria. In a decree, the Pope elevated Maria to patroness of the entire Kingdom of Bavaria in 1916. In the document the country is called the Kingdom of Mary" (Reich Mariens). At the same time, the Pope authorized a special celebration in honor on Bavaria's patroness with liturgical texts. The festivities were held for the first time in 1917 in all Bavarian dioceses. In 1970 the Freising Bishops Conference shifted the celebration to May 1 and thus to the beginning of the traditional month of Mary. At the 90th anniversary of the celebration, a delegation from the Bavarian Gebirgsschützen (traditional "defenders of Bavaria") together with Cardinal Wetter paid their respects to the Holy Father on May 13 in Rome. The celebration of Patrona Bavariae is the feast of the patron of the association of the Bavarian Gebirgsschützen companies.

Veneration of Mary still upheld by all generations today
Over centuries, pilgrimages to veneration of St. Mary in Bavaria have repeatedly given believers confidence in their faith. Every year in the seven Bavarian diocese millions of men and women, including very many young people, take part in devotions in the honor of the Virgin Mary and pilgrimages to shrines of the Virgin. Alone Altötting in the diocese of Passau receives over one million pilgrims every year. In the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising nearly 300 churches have Mary as their patron saint including the Cathedral in Munich (Liebfrauendom), the cathedrals of the archbishops and the cathedral in Freising which has been elevated to a concathedral. The archdiocese contains 98 shrines. They are considered places of prayer and worship, of encouragement in faith and also meeting places for people and for reconciliation. They are often characterized by remarkably joyous and strong faith. The wealth of veneration of the Virgin Mary expressed in art, traditions and popular devotion is essentially always a profession of belief in Christ. (wr)