Victory will come through Mary

In 1983, Pope Saint John Paul II returned to Poland four years after his first trip, when the country was under siege and the leaders of the Solidarnösc trade union challenging the communist regime were in prison under particularly dramatic circumstances. And he returned to Jasna Gora on June 19, 1983 to implore the Virgin Mary:

"Mother! Speak to your Son! Speak to your Son about our difficult times! …In this difficult hour of history I entrust to you, O Mother, all Poles, because on each one of them depends the perseverance of renewal, of justice, of peace. Mother of our hearts! Let the strength of forgiveness spring forth from these words everywhere, for without forgiveness we cannot escape the chains of hatred. Hatred is a destructive force, and we should neither destroy nor allow ourselves to be destroyed by it. The strength of forgiveness comes from the power of love. Forgiveness is not weakness. Forgiveness does not mean renouncing truth and justice, it means striving for truth and justice through the Gospel."

The Holy Father ended with a hope-filled prophecy: "Cardinal August Hlond, who had such a great veneration for you, pronounced these words on his deathbed: Victory, when it comes, will come through Mary."

Pope Saint John Paul II

Homily at Jasna Gora on June 19, 1983