Mary occupies a prominent place in Cardinal Sarah’s faith

"I owe everything to Christ because he gave me everything. I was the only son of a poor farming family in Guinea. Christ took me by the hand. He led me to the seminary. He made me a priest, a bishop and today I am in Rome..." This is how Cardinal Robert Sarah answers when asked about his vocation.

Robert Sarah was born on June 5, 1945, into a family of small animist farmers. From the age of 12, he regularly attended a mission of the Spiritan Fathers established near his village. It was among these missionaries that he discovered his vocation. He studied at seminaries in the Ivory Coast and in France, and was ordained a priest on July 20, 1969, at the age of 24. He stayed in Rome until 1974 to pursue a degree in exegesis, then returned to his native Guinea, where he became known for his exceptional and enterprising charitable works.

His success didn't sit well with some people, especially as he was outspoken against the arbitrary actions of the President of Guinea, Ahmed Sékou Touré, sometimes at the risk of his life. When the latter died in 1984, Fr. Robert Sarah was on the eve of being arrested and executed.

In 1979, he was ordained a bishop by St. John Paul II, who immediately appointed him Archbishop of Conakry (capital of Guinea). At the age of 34, he became one of the youngest bishops in the world and in the history of the Church. In 2010, Benedict XVI created him a cardinal. At the end of 2014, Pope Francis appointed him prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

Like St. John Paul II, Cardinal Robert Sarah also has a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, who occupies an eminent place in his faith. Sarah composed a magnificent prayer to her that he recites regularly:

"Most Holy Virgin Mary, Queen of Angels and Saints, Mediatrix of all graces, we find refuge and protection in your Immaculate Heart, for you are our Mother. Teach us, as you promised to do for the three young shepherds of Fatima, to offer our lives every day for the salvation of sinners. May your maternal love touch hearts hardened by sin, so that all men, saved by the Blood of your Son shed on the Cross, may find the way to love, penance and reconciliation with God and with their brothers and sisters. Then we will be able to sing together and with one heart, the triumph of your maternal mercy.”

The Mary of Nazareth team