Pope recalls end of Nazi occupation of Rome

By Vatican News

This is the first time the event has been commemorated in this way, writes the Pope in his letter to the Viceregent of Rome, Auxiliary Bishop Baldassare Reina, which was published on Tuesday evening. 

On 4 June 1944, the people of Rome, together with their bishop, Pope Pius XII, implored Our Lady to save the city when a direct clash between the German army and the Anglo-American Allies was imminent and the city was facing "the nightmare of Nazi devastation".

Eighty years later, this is an occasion, the Pope said, “to pray for the victims of the Second World War and to reflect anew on the terrible scourge of war.”

The innocent victims of wars in Ukraine, Palestine and Israel, Sudan, Myanmar and elsewhere challenge “the conscience of all”, the Pope wrote: “We cannot and must not give in to the logic of weapons!”

Everyday peacemakers

Peace is a gift from God, but it needs people who are willing to accept it “and commit themselves to being builders of reconciliation and witnesses of hope”, Pope Francis wrote.

He expressed his hope that the commemoration of the vow he made to Our Lady 80 years ago would inspire Romans “to be architects of true peace everywhere and to revive fraternity as an essential condition for the resolution of conflicts and hostilities”.

The Pope urged for a peaceful attitude in everyday life: it is a matter, he said, of advocating good relations between people “with courage and gentleness” and “reconciling tensions in the family, at work, at school and among friends”.

The Pope’s devotion to the Salus Populi Romani

In the eleven years of his pontificate, Francis has done much to revitalise devotion to the Marian icon Salus Populi Romani (‘Salvation of the Roman People’).

He regularly visits the image, which is kept in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, before and after journeys abroad, as well as on the Feast of the Conception on 8 December.

He often has it brought to the Vatican for his liturgies.

Most recently, this Roman icon of the Virgin Mary could be seen behind the Pope on Corpus Christi, when he gave the Eucharistic blessing at the end of the procession in front of Santa Maria Maggiore.

For centuries, the Pope writes in his letter, the image of the Virgin Mary has been “alive in the hearts of Romans”, who invoked her in prayer during epidemics, natural disasters and wars. “The most important events in the religious and civil life of Rome found their echo in front of this image,” said the Pope.

Thus, Romans also entrusted themselves to Maria Salus Populi Romani as they feared the destruction of their city by the Nazi occupiers in 1944.

4 June 1944: The peaceful liberation of Rome

On 4 June 1944, Rome was the first capital to be freed from Nazi occupation, and, contrary to fears, this was done without fighting.

Some contemporary witnesses considered it a miracle that the city was not devastated, especially as the Americans had bombed and completely destroyed Montecassino on 15 February.

The Vatican and Pope Pius XII (1939-1958) persuaded Field Marshal Albert Kesselring to declare Rome an ‘Open City’, a place that is not defended and therefore may not be attacked.