2 3 4 5 6


2 . MOTHER OF JESUS

Our Lady of Africa,
in whose maternal and immaculate heart
the whole human race finds refuge,
look with favour upon the Muslims,
who honour you as the mother of Jesus
and the most blessed among women.

Obtain for them the grace to seek
the fullness of Light and Truth,
until we may all share, as one people of God,
the revelation of His infinite Love for all men,
made manifest in the sacrifice of His only Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ.

And since you are the Mother of the Church,
preserve the local Churches of Africa
as true and fruitful Messengers of the Word,
proclaiming it always, in perfect communion
with the universal Church under Peter.

Obtain for them and for our Society
an increase of dedicated workers.

Sharpen our vision to discern
and our resolve to respond
to new and pressing apostolic needs.

Help us, O Lady and Queen of Africa,
to be effective witnesses to the Gospel.

Thus may we come to be worthy of our calling
and, as the Most Holy Name of God,
Father, Son and Spirit,
was glorified in you, O Mary,
so it may be in us, forever and ever. Amen




3. MOTHER OF MANKIND

Our Lady of Africa,
you are the Mother of all mankind.

Keep ever in mind the peoples of Africa.
Lead all mankind to the unity of the Church
which your Son has founded.

May his light enlighten
those who do not yet know Him.
May He give strength
to those who have forsaken Him,
that they may return loyally to Him.

You were with the apostles
at the beginning of the Church.
Obtain for the apostles of today
the zeal to preach the Word of God
with confidence.

You were ready to receive the Holy Spirit
to become the Mother of Christ
and give Him to the world.

By your prayers,
may young people of today
show readiness to bring Christ
to their fellow men and women.

Our Lady of Africa, Queen of Peace,
obtain harmony and peace
for the peoples of all nations
who are split by hatred and discord.

May all be brought together
in the Love of your Son
for the glory of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen

.


4. VIRGIN, MOTHER OF GOD

oh virgin Mother of God,
You wholeheartedly and yet humbly
accepted God's call
for the Salvation of all mankind.

By bearing the child Jesus,
you became the temple of God
and mother of the new humanity.

You suffered for this call
when your Son was being tormented, rejected
and when he finally died that shameful death,
the death on a cross.

Even then you did not surrender.
You were present with his witnesses, the Apostles,
at the beginning of the Church.
Because of this you have been crowned
Queen of heaven and mother of the Church.

God made in you a new beginning
an advocate for all mankind.

We implore you,
mother of our faith and model of all Christians,
You who are close to your Son
be mindful of us in your intercessions.

God's own light was lit in you
at the time of Christ's virginal Conception;
may this light penetrate
the darkness of man's heart.

May God's Spirit deepen our unity and love
so that the Promise made to us
may reach its fulfilment at the end of times.
Amen.

Basilica of Our Lady of Africa
Algiers.




Statue of Our Lady
inside the Basilica.

5. MOTHER OF THE CHURCH

Our Lady of Africa, mother of the Suffering Servant,
mindful of the peoples of Africa,
in whom Christ is reliving his Passion.
May those who have not yet recognized Jesus
as the Son of the Father
be drawn to Him by the Holy Spirit.

Mary Immaculate, Mother of THE Prophet,
intercede for our Muslim brothers and sisters.
May they who honour you
come to know that He whom they call Allah
is the Father of our Redeemer.

Glorious Lady, Mother of the Church,
gather together in Unity all the churches in their diversity.
May we be one just as the Father and the Son are one
so that the world may believe.

Our Lady of Sion, Mother of all Nations,
may all your children,
particularly the children of your race,
find their home in you.

You who were so open to the Spirit
to welcome Jesus within you and give Him to the world,
share with our young people your openness and readiness
to give birth to Christ in the hearts of all unbelievers.

you who were present to the first apostles
at the beginning of the Church,
live on within the apostles of today
that they may continue to devote themselves
to prayer and to the service of the Word.

O Queen of the Angels,
may all the voices of heaven and earth soon join together
to praise and glorify the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
forever and ever. Amen.




6 . A JOYFUL HOPE

O most Blessed Virgin Mary,
Mother of Christ and Mother of the Church,

With humility and magnanimity
you were the "handmaid of the Lord";
give us your unreserved willingness
for the service to God
and the salvation of the world.

Open our hearts
to the great anticipation of the kingdom of God
and of the proclamation of the Gospel
to the whole of creation...

O Virgin full of courage,
may your spiritual strength and trust in God
inspire us,
so that we might know
how to overcome all the obstacles
that we encounter in accomplishing our mission.

Teach us to treat the affairs of the world
with a real sense of Christian responsibility
and a joyful hope
of the coming of God's kingdom,
and of a "new heaven and a new earth".

You who were gathered in prayer
with the apostles in the Cenacle,
awaiting the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost,
implore his renewed outpouring
on all the faithful, men and women alike,
so that they might more fully respond
to their vocation and mission,
as branches engrafted to the true vine,
called to bear much fruit
for the life of the world.
(Pope John Paul II)