Mary: Our Lady and Our Mother:

After visiting the Blessed Sacrament and venerating the image of Our Lady
of Graces at her shrine in Benevento (2 July, 1990) Pope John Paul II gave
the, following reflection:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

1. In this shrine of Our Lady of Graces, the principal Patroness of
Benevento and Sannio, I want to thank the Most Holy Virgin for this joy
which is granted me to pray with you for the good of the City and the
entire Region.

Before this miraculous image multitudes of people from Benevento have come
to turn over their sorrows to the Mother of the Redeemer and implore her
help and protection especially during the terrible periods of the wars,
the earthquakes and plagues, and especially during the bombing of the last
world war which destroyed a large part of the old city. Within the shrine,
which itself was reborn out of the ruins of war, many have found comfort
and courage. Here have come the rich and poor, the humble and the
powerful, the well-educated and the illiterate.

How many, tortured by doubt, have rediscovered here the light of faith!
How many, oppressed by the anguish of sin, have experienced the
unspeakable joy of pardon and reconciliation.

That is why this shrine has become a pole of attraction for all the
faithful of this Region in which Marian piety is so deeply rooted.

Dearest people of Benevento! Follow the steps of the pilgrims who have
rediscovered the reasons lying at the root of their faith and their own
lives, in this place before the revered image of Our Lady of Graces. Keep
that sense of unity, with this shrine as its center, especially on 2 July,
the day when the Sannio area celebrates her patroness in solemn fashion.

With loving intuition from ancient times you have been able to grasp the
mystery of Mary, as mediatrix of all graces, because she is the Mother of
the very Author of Grace, Jesus Christ. That is why the people of
Benevento throughout the ages have turned and continue to turn to her,
invoking her not only as "Our Lady of Graces", but often also as "Our Lady
of Grace."

2. Dearest ones, the pilgrimages and visits which you make to this shrine
should confirm you in this devotion you have to the Virgin; from it you
are learning above all to believe in the love of God the Father, in the
power of Christ the Redeemer and in the transforming force of the Holy
Spirit, which Mary welcomed without reservation.

The Virgin teaches you besides to give your hearts to others, as she did
in the house of Elizabeth and in the home of the young spouses at Cana.
Blessed will you be if you strive in Mary's school to learn to praise the
Lord in all circumstances, to proclaim His mercy, to recognize the power
of His arm, which scatters the proud, but exalts the lowly and fills them
with good things (cf. Lk 1:46)

Blessed will you be as well if you are able to make room for human life
about to be born, for persons which society rejects or excludes, for those
who suffer in body or spirit, for those who have forgotten their own human
dignity. The image of Our Lady who holds the Child close to her breast
invites us to respect the human person, made in the image of God, and to
defend it from birth until natural death.

3. O Mary Most Holy, "full of grace", help this people of Benevento who
have recourse to you with your vigilant protection. Comfort the priests
and the religious who are called to bring the message of salvation to
modern society! Aid Christian communities and obtain for them the gift of
numerous and holy vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Protect
those who are entrusted with civil, social and political duties so that
they may always have as their goal the common good and the integral
development of every man and woman.

Watch over all the pilgrims who revere you in this shrine, and the places
where they live and work; bless the families of emigrants, the unemployed,
the sick and those who bear in their souls the still bleeding wounds
inflicted during sad episodes of violence.

O Mother of Grace, protect all and grant that all may understand that the
secret to happiness lies in kindness, mercy and pardon. Amen.