Pope Francis to visit ‘Virgin of the Rosary’ shrine in Pompeii

Marian image that is venerated at shrine in Pompeii

Pope Francis is planning to visit the ‘Virgin of the Rosary’ shrine in Pompeii:

Pope Francis will visit the Pontifical Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary of Pompeii during his trip to the Italian region of Campania next year. The visit will be the first stop during the Holy Father’s Apostolic trip to Naples on March 21st, 2015.

Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, the archbishop of Naples, first announced the Pope’s visit in September on the Feast of St. Januarius.

In a communique released by the Holy See Press Office, Archbishop Tommaso Caputo, Pontifical Delegate of the shrine dedicated to the Virgin of the Rosary, explained the significance of the Pope’s visit to the Marian church.

“The filial and tender Marian devotion that the Pope continues to show is also at the root of the Church of Pompeii’s strong commitment towards the humblest and neediest among us”, he said. http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-francis-to-visit-marian-shrine-in-pompeii-next-year

Pope Francis is very oriented to his version of ‘Mary,’ an orientation that is NOT biblical. Here is some information about the church he plans to visit as well as information related to the painting shown above:

The Pontifical Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary of Pompei (Italian: Pontificio Santuario della Beata Vergine del Santo Rosario di Pompei) is a Roman Catholic cathedral, Marian pontifical shrine and minor basilica commissioned by Bartolo Longo, located in Pompei, Italy. It is the see of the Territorial Prelature of Pompei.

Bartolo Longo started restoring a church in disrepair in October 1873 and promoted a festival in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary. In 1875, Longo obtained a painting of Our Lady of the Rosary from a convent in Naples and raised funds to restore the image so as to locate it in the church. Miracles began to be reported and pilgrims began flocking in droves to the church.

The painting of “Our Lady of the Rosary” with its bronze gilt frame is presented to the pilgrims on the high altar. The venerated painting depicts the Virgin Mary and Child Jesus presenting rosaries to Saint Dominic and Saint Catherine of Siena. (Shrine of the Virgin of the Rosary of Pompei . Wikipedia, viewed 12/30/14)

The Bible (Isaiah 47:1) warns about a ‘Virgin,’ also called the ‘Lady of the Kingdoms’ (Isaiah 47:5), that engages in enchantments and sorceries (Isaiah 47:12). The shrine in Pompeii appears to be related to that.

Notice something from my book Fatima Shock!:

Some feel that the rosary either came from St. Dominic or later Dominicans:

Some histories of the rosary claim this tradition, too, originated with Saint Dominic. One legend holds that the Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Dominic in the church of Prouille, in 1208, and gave the rosary to him. However, other sources dispute this attribution and suggest that its roots were in the preaching of Alan de Rupe between 1470-1475.

Here is information from The Catholic Encyclopedia on the development of the rosary:

Impressed by this conspiracy of silence, the Bollandists, on trying to trace to its source the origin of the current tradition, found that all the clues converged upon one point, the preaching of the Dominican Alan de Rupe about the years 1470-75. He undoubtedly was the one who first suggested the idea that the devotion of “Our Lady’s Psalter” (a hundred and fifty Hail Mary’s) was instituted or revived by St. Dominic. Alan was a very earnest and devout man, but, as the highest authorities admit, he was full of delusions, and based his revelations on the imaginary testimony of writers that never existed (see Quétif and Echard, “Scriptores O.P.”, 1, 849).

So, the one who claimed that Dominic came up with the rosary was considered to be delusional by top Catholic authorities.

Also notice some interesting facts from Priest P.A. Duffner:

We do not have any historical documents dating from that period expressly referring to St. Dominic and the Rosary…We have to remember that in the time of St. Dominic:

1. The HAIL MARY did not exist as we pray it today…The word JESUS was not added until the 14th century, and the second half of the prayer came later still.

2. The OUR FATHER and the GLORY BE TO THE FATHER were not then part of the Rosary.

3. The Mysteries of the Rosary…The fifteen mysteries in use today were officially established by Pope Pius V in 1569.

4. There was no pendent (the cross and five extra beads) as we have now.

5. The very word “Rosary” taken from the Latin word “rosarium” meaning rose garden, or bouquet of roses, was not used in the time of Dominic as applied to this devotion.

Thus, the rosary as it now exists was not an original tradition as it did not come into being until well over a thousand years after the last of the original apostles died.

Catholic saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Monfort essentially wrote that Alan de la Roche claims that he saw Dominic in a dream, that in 1214 Dominic had seen a “Lady” after he had beat himself into a coma, that the use of the rosary was sort of lost, but that Alan de la Roche later reintroduced it.

Even presuming he is correct, it should be abundantly clear that the rosary was NEITHER from the Bible nor an apostolic tradition. The rosary and the current “Hail Mary” were late innovations.

Based upon Catholic teachings about the origin of the rosary, it apparently came from either someone in a coma (when the modern “Hail Mary” was not part of the rosary) or later from one who was delusional (and had other problems as well). How can anyone claim that the “Lady of the Rosary” could possibly be Mary, mother of Jesus?

While Catholics tend to believe that the expression, “Hail Mary, full of grace,” is straight from the Bible, that is not literally correct. More literal translations of that portion of scripture would be: ‘Rejoice, you who enjoy…favour! (Luke 1:28, NJB) Rejoice, highly favored one (Luke 1:28, NKJV).

Also, the Bible (DRB, NJB, NKJV) never calls Mary “holy” as the Hail Mary prayer does.

When the Fatima apparition appeared on May 13, and then July 13, 1917, Lúcia claimed that it said:

Pray the Rosary every day, in order to obtain peace for the world, and the end of war.

…pray the Rosary every day in honour of Our Lady of the Rosary, in order to obtain peace for the world, because only she can help you.

The idea that only the Lady of the Rosary could help the children leaves God completely out of the picture and makes the Lady more powerful than God.

This is not theologically proper. It is blasphemous.

It perhaps should be pointed out that the apparition that appeared in Fatima, Portugal in 1917 did not ever call herself ‘Mary,’ but the “Lady of the Rosary.” As far as the Catholic saint Dominic Guzman of the 12th-13th century goes, he founded the Dominican order, which was the order that basically carried out the Inquisition. He and other ‘Marian’ seers should not be trusted as true Christians (see also Where is the True Christian Church Today?).

It has been my contention for several years, after searching the scriptures and studying history, that one or more apparitions believed to be Jesus’ mother ‘Mary” will be seen by the general public.

Will not many be deceived by this?

The Bible is clear that massive deception is coming (Matthew 24:24; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12). Pope Francis has been encouraging Marian devotion through his words and actions.

It remains my position that it is very likely that apparitions that people will claim will be Mary, the mother of Jesus, will be part of the signs and lying wonders that are mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2:9 and Matthew 24:24 (cf. Isaiah 47; Nahum 3:4-5).

The current Marian focused Pope Francis, as well as somewhat like-minded bishops, will likely be a factor in this. The visit to the Marian shrine of the rosary in Pompeii is one more step to get the public thinking that Jesus’ mother Mary is intervening and that people need to venerate her. This should not be the case.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Mary, the Mother of Jesus and the Apparitions Do you know much about Mary? Are the apparitions real? What happened at Fatima? What might they mean for the rise of the ecumenical religion of Antichrist? Are Protestants moving towards Mary? How do the Eastern/Greek Orthodox view Mary? How might Mary view her adorers? Here is a link to a YouTube video Marian Apparitions May Fulfill Prophecy.
Satan’s Plan Does Satan have a plan? What is it? Has it already been successful? Will it be successful in the future?
Mystery of Civilization Why is civilization like it is? How will it end? What will replace it?Here is a link to a related sermon titled: Mystery of Civilization and How it Will End.
Pope Francis: Could this Marian Focused Pontiff be Fulfilling Prophecy? Pope Francis has taken many steps to turn people more towards his version of ‘Mary.’ Could this be consistent with biblical and Catholic prophecies? This article documents what has been happening. There is also a video version titled Pope Francis: Could this Marian Focused Pontiff be Fulfilling Prophecy?
Feast of the Immaculate Conception? Did early Christians teach Mary had an immaculate conception and led a sinless life?
Origin of the Marian Dogmas: Where Do Catholic Scholars Say The Four Dogmas of Mary Came From?
Assumption of Mary Did Mary die? Was she taken to heaven on August 15th? What is known? What does the Bible show?
What Did the Early Church Teach About Idols and Icons? Did Catholic and Orthodox “saints” endorse or condemn idols and icons for Christians?
Fatima Shock! What the Vatican Does Not Want You to Know About Fatima, Dogmas of Mary, and Future Apparitions. Whether or not you believe anything happened at Fatima, if you live long enough, you will be affected by its ramifications (cf. Isaiah 47; Revelation 17). Fatima Shock! provides concerned Christians with enough Catholic-documented facts to effectively counter every false Marian argument. In addition to the print version, there is a Kindle version of Fatima Shock! which you can acquire in seconds.