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Defende nos in proelio
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In the context of the persecution of Christians around the world, and particularly in the Middle East, to which Pope Francis has frequently drawn attention, Catholic attached to the Extraordinary Form will naturally wish to make use of public and liturgical prayer to address this problem. The Middle Ages saw the widespread use of various versions of the ‘Holy Land Clamor’ for the liberation of the Holy Land for three centuries from 1188, and the ‘Leonine Prayers’ for the ‘liberty and exaltation’ of the Church were introduced for another specific crisis, first by Pope Pius IX in 1859. The use of Votive Masses and Commemorations for persecuted Christians is to be commended; these can also be facilitated by the Holy See and local Ordinaries, by giving permission for them to be used on a larger number of days. . . . . .
The 24th in the FIUV Position Papers series, called
“Prayers for the Persecuted Church and the Leonine Prayers” is now available in the
FIUV Positio section.
