I would like to thank His Eminence, the Archbishop of Madrid, for his words. I greet all of you with affection, dear brothers and sisters, as you accompany me today with joy and fervor for this act of devotion to Our Lady of Almudena, Mother and Patroness of this Archdiocese. As a symbol of the Pope’s filial love for the Virgin Mary, I will place a golden rose at her feet.

For centuries, countless generations of Madrileños have venerated this image of the Blessed Virgin Mary holding her divine Son in her arms and presenting him to us. According to tradition, during challenging periods for the Christian community, the statue of the Virgin Mary was hidden in a niche of the Citadel wall for protection. It remained concealed for some time, until parts of the wall collapsed and it was miraculously discovered intact.

This millennia-old Marian devotion, so cherished by all of you, is a sign of the Christian roots that characterize you and give you life, but also of the great hope which continues to motivate you to move forward. It was thanks to a collapsed wall that the Mother was reunited with her people. This event is providential, because it points to the path that Jesus, through his Most Holy Mother, invites us to follow. Initially, when a wall collapses, it makes a clamor, creating chaos and disorder. However, it also opens up spaces, restores possibilities and fosters renewal. In our societies today, there are still many walls that do not protect but rather divide, separate and isolate. At times, we prefer the comfort of merely shoring them up and, more often than not, simply ignoring them, because we fear that tearing them down will mean having to face situations that we would rather avoid.

Our Lady of Almudena, through her presence and the assurance of her protection, says something different: to build something new, beautiful and lasting, we must be willing to tear down walls. In order to set out on the path again, we need spaces that allow us to catch a glimpse of the horizon.

Convinced as we are that the Lord walks with his holy people, listens to their fears and lovingly accepts all their efforts to do good, I exhort you not to falter in your witness of faith, so you can contemplate the Father’s plan of love; in your witness of charity, so you can come together as one family of brothers and sisters; and in your witness of hope, so that you can be sustained in your work in the world. With the example and intercession of Our Lady of Almudena, the Virgin of the Magnificat, who continues to proclaim the greatness of the Lord and to exult in God her Savior, may you be sustained and strengthened in your love for Jesus and for the Church, so that you can form bonds and restore the universal language of communion, fraternal love and harmony.

Making my own some words from the hymn dedicated to her, I entrust you to the powerful help of her maternal love:

Holy Mary of Almudena,
Virgin and Mother of the Redeemer,
Queen of Heaven, Mother of Love,
under your mantle, simple Virgin,
your children seek protection;
loving Mother, Temple of God,
protect us, Lady, and help us to be
builders of peace and reconciliation.

Amen.