Shrapnel from a Ukraine War Bomb Left Beside Sister Lucia's tomb in a Prayer for Peace

Shrapnel from a Ukraine War Bomb Left Beside Sister Lucia's tomb in a Prayer for Peace

The moment took place yesterday at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, through the hands of the Superior General of the Discalced Carmelite Order, who highlighted Lucia's “humility, obedience and ecclesial sense”.

Yesterday evening, the Superior General of the Order of Discalced Carmelites, Father Miguel Márquez Calle, deposited at the tomb of Lucia de Jesus in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary a bouquet of flowers and a shrapnel from a bomb from the western zone of Ukraine, given to him by a mother, with the request that he pray for peace in that country.

“Since the beginning of the war, a year and a half ago, I have been carrying this shrapnel in my pocket, given to me by a Ukrainian mother, with the request that I pray for peace in that country. Today, at the end of the Mass, I left it next to Lucia's tomb, asking her to bring peace in Ukraine,” said Father Miguel Márquez Calle at the end of the celebration explaining his gesture that he intended to be “a memory of the prayer for peace”.

The gesture took place at the end of a Mass presided over by the Prelate and which brought together the young Carmelites who will participate in the World Youth Day in Lisbon (WYD Lisbon 2023).

In his homily, the priest invited the assembly to be open to God, following the example of Mary in the biblical episode of the Annunciation.

“Mary, a simple woman, said yes to God and changed the history of the world. In each one of us there is a yes that can change history,” said Father Miguel Márquez Calle, confirming the maternal presence of Our Lady in moments of human weakness, recalling the words of the Angel to the Mother of God at the Annunciation: “Rejoice, the Holy Spirit will come upon you (...) nothing is impossible for God,” which he presented as the “Scapular of Mary”.

The president of the celebration described three attitudes for young people: “to let themselves be looked at by Mary”; “to dare to transform suffering into hope” and to assume humility and courage as a path to holiness.

“Let us allow Mary to place her gaze on our hearts, so that the image of Jesus may be formed in our hearts and so that they may open up to a richness that we do not yet know. Let us follow the example of the Little Shepherds, who also said yes and unleashed a tempest of grace,” urged the Superior General of the Discalced Carmelites, highlighting Lucia's “humility, obedience and ecclesial sense”.

Sister Lucia de Jesus was a Carmelite, from 1948 until the end of her life. The seer entered the Carmel of Saint Teresa in Coimbra on 25 March of that year, took the habit on 13 May under the name of Maria Lucia de Jesus and of the Immaculate Heart, and made her solemn vows on 31 May of the following year.