Love for the Popes

In this decade, when the authority of the Roman Pontiff is widely questioned, frequently by women, we might gain by considering the lives of two females highly recognized by the Church: one, a young girl named Ven. Jacinta Marto, whose heroic virtues were recently acknowledged, and the other, St. Catherine of Siena, O.P., proclaimed Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI in 1970.

What do these two have in common? Both loved the popes. Both sustained passions to pray for and defend the Vicar of Christ. Each had her own particular method, however. The delicate Ven. Jacinta prayed the rosary and offered sacrifices daily for the Holy Father, while St. Catherine of Siena defended Papal authority by means of her letters. Distinct and separate from one another, both have been given to us by the Church as examples of how we should revere and defend the successor of Peter.

The Roman Pontiff

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) draws heavily upon the Vatican Document Lumen Gentium (LG) when it explains the office of the Pope "...the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of the entire Church has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered" (CCC, no. 882).

The Holy Father is the rock-foundation of the Church. Without him, the college of bishops has no authority and can make no decisions. Without papal confirmation there can be no ecumenical council. The Pope, as Supreme Teacher, is infallible when he proclaims a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals. And, even when the Pope is not speaking ex cathedra we, as Catholics, are bound "to respect and adhere to decisions made by him" (LG, no. 24).

Venerable Jacinta: Prayer And Sacrifice

Thorough explanations of the Holy Father's authority were unknown to little Jacinta Marto, one of the three shepherd children who saw Our Lady of Fatima in 1917. A young girl from a backwards mountain village, Jacinta's education was limited. On July 13, 1917, however, Our Lady of Fatima pronounced the words "Holy Father" three times, in the presence of Jacinta and the two other seers. Our Lady said, "God is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father." "The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer." "The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she will be converted."

During this same apparition, Our Lady of Fatima prophetically mentioned the name of the Pope who would succeed Benedict XV, saying "During the pontificate of Pius XI a worse war will break out if people do not cease offending God."¹

Jacinta's concern for the Roman Pontiff increased after two priests visited the three shepherd children. Jacinta asked the priests who the Holy Father was. They explained as best they could, and told her that the Pope needed prayers. From then on, Jacinta manifested such an intense love for the man who represented our Lord Jesus Christ on earth, that she would frequently exclaim, "How I would love to see the Holy Father! So many people come here, but the Holy Father never does." ²

Jacinta had two visions of the Holy Father. Once, when the three shepherd children were near the well behind Lucia's house, Jacinta called out. "Didn't you see the Holy Father? I don't know how it happened, but I saw the Holy Father in a large house, kneeling in front of a small table, his face in his hands. Some were throwing stones at him and others were cursing at him and saying bad words. Poor little Holy Father! We have to pray much for him."³

Jacinta's prayers for the Roman Pontiff were oftentimes spontaneous. She frequently sighed, "The Poor Little Holy Father!"

According to Lucia, the oldest of the shepherd children, once, when the three Fatima seers were imprisoned in the jail at Ourem, Francisco suggested they offer their loneliness for sinners saying, "O my Jesus, this is for love of You, and for the conversion of sinners." Jacinta immediately added, "And also for the Holy Father..."⁴

This child's innocent love for the man who represents Christ on earth would charm even the hardest of hearts. Yet, everyone is unique and because of this, another female who has been recorded as a defender of the Supreme Pontiff had quite a different approach.

St. Catherine Of Siena, O.P.: Brass and Class

When Pope Paul VI elevated St. Catherine of Siena to Doctor of the Church in 1970, he mentioned her "Charism of Exhortation." Catherine was not shy; neither was she prim. When persons erred against the Church or its rightful Pontiff, Catherine wasted no time and spared no words in correcting them. She frequently did this through letters.

Born in 1347 in Siena, Italy, during her brief 33 years on earth, St. Catherine experienced the horrors of the Black Death, famine and civil wars. She also saw the papal residency move from Rome to Avignon and back again. In the latter part of her life, the Great Western Schism began, and an anti-pope threatened the reign of Pope Urban VI.

Although she is sometimes depicted with a pen in her hand, St. Catherine did not learn how to write until three years before her death. But, that was no impediment. She dictated her masterpieces, sometimes as many as three documents at the same time.

When it came to defending the Pope, her letters were bold and direct. By the grace of God, St. Catherine perceived that those who were not faithful to the true successor of Peter had a foul effect on the world. During the Great Western Schism, for example, when an anti-pope was established, St. Catherine fearlessly defended Pope Urban VI's sole right to the Papal throne. In one of her letters she rebuked three Italian cardinals who were supporting the anti-pope, writing to them, "What made you do this? You are flowers who shed no perfume, but stench that makes the whole world reek."⁵

St. Catherine verbally struck down those who questioned the authority of the true Pontiff. To Giovanna, the Queen of Naples, who had joined the leagues of those who were supporting the anti-pope, St. Catherine wrote, "You know that you do ill, but like a sick and passionate woman, you let yourself be guided by your passions."⁶

She was intrepid, but could also be tender. In many of her letters to the Pope she addresses him by a pet name, "Babbo" which, in English, means "Daddy."

Sometimes St. Catherine appealed to the Shepherd of God's flock with her feminine nature. Wanting Pope Gregory XI to leave his residency in Avignon and return to Rome, and knowing the Supreme Pontiff was afraid of being poisoned, Catherine wrote to him like a mother, "Be not a timorous child, but manly..."⁷

Pope Gregory XI valued St. Catherine's candor. She wrote numerous letters to him in which she advised him to purge the Church of its unfaithful priests. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit she told the Pope that the Church suffered because it was "full of impurity and avarice, swollen with pride. . .that is, the bad priests and rulers who poison and rot the garden."⁸

From where came her accuracy? The grace of God. When she was a young child, she had a vision of Jesus, dressed in papal garments. The Apostles Peter, Paul and John accompanied Christ in this vision. This vision gradually helped St. Catherine understand that "her destiny and vocation were linked to the Church and the Pope."⁹

St. Catherine of Siena, a true Dominican, counseled popes and defended them. Never, until the last months of her life, did her energy fail in defense of Christ's Vicar.

In Our Own Time?

It would seem that, when the times require it, God singles out people to come to the aid of the Supreme Pontiff. In our own era, bullets have pierced the Pope's body, and knives have been drawn in his presence. When, because of his teachings on morality and priesthood, not only those outside the fold begrudge the true shepherd, but Catholic priests and religious do as well. Are there holy people today willing to uphold the authority of the Pope? Like Jacinta, will some pray and make sacrifices for him? Like St. Catherine, will others exhort those who slight his authority? Innocent or bold, the Church needs holy defenders to rally for the cause of Christ's Vicar on Earth, "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church" (Matthew 16:18).

Sister Mary Ann Sullivan, O.P. is a Dominican religious and a writer.

Endnotes

Lucia of Jesus, Fatima in Lucia's Own Words, p. 1622
ibid, p. 353
Canon Casimiro Barthas, "Os Pastorinhos e O Papa," Fatima-50, #22.4
Lucia of Jesus, Fatima in Lucia's Own Words, p. 34-355
St. Catherine, Letters of St. Catherine of Siena, p. 2786
ibid, p. 287.7
ibid p. 1858
ibid, p. 1339
The Crisis of Faith, Mary O'Driscoll, Catherine of Siena, p. 11
BibliographyBarthas, Casimiro, "Os Pastorinhos e O Papa," Fatima: Fatima-50, pp. 9-10.
Lucia, de Jesus, Fatima in Lucia's Own Words, Fatima: Postulation Center, 1989.O'Driscoll, Mary, O.P.
Catherine of Siena, Straussbourg: Editions du Signe, 1994.Scudder, Vida D.
St. Catherine of Siena as Seen in her Letters, New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1906.
John Paul II, "Letter to Archbishop Gaetano Bonicelli," L'Osservatore Romano. No. 43: 25 Oct. 1995, p. 3.