This year 800 years have passed since Pope Innocent III dedicated Estonia and Livonia to the Virgin Mary at the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215. The anniversary is marked by a rededication of the lands as Terra Mariana. The Estonian Apostolic Administrator Bishop Philippe Jourdan and Archbishop Zbignievs Stankevics of Riga will celebrate a Holy Mass of Dedication on Sunday, September 6, at 12:00 p.m. at Tallinn’s Sts Peter and Paul Cathedral (Vene 18). More information is available at www.katoliku.ee and in this press release. | We would wish that the name Terra Mariana, Maarjamaa, given to our beautiful land Prayer to mark the 800th Anniversary, full prayer below |
Lord Jesus Christ,
In Your wisdom and providence, You wanted
Our land to be devoted to Your Blessed Mother,
So that it is known today by the beautiful name – Terra Mariana.
Our history confesses it, our culture and language hold it,
Our poets remember it, our singers sing of it.
Guided by Your wish, we shall turn towards You.
Please graciously accept this dedication to Your Mother
That we renew today through Your benediction, oh Lord.
Blessed Virgin and Mother, give your blessing and your protection to all of us
who acknowledge with joy the name Terra Mariana.
Holy Mother, we humbly thank your Son for this devotion
which He gave to us 800 years ago,
and which the Holy Father Pope Innocent III solemnly confirmed.
God's love is everlasting and the effect of this devotion endures for all time and
embraces all people.
This love is above any kind of evil that the powers of darkness are able to sow, or
have already sown in our hearts and in our history.
But we, your children, who live in the spirit of faith and love, we would like to renew
this devotion, and we would like to feel its influence and its fruits more powerfully in
our lives.
We would wish that the name Terra Mariana, Maarjamaa, given to our beautiful land
be not just a simple name or word, but a sign of the tenderness of God's love and of
your gentle benevolence in our lives.
We devote our families and marriages to you, Holy Mother,
that they may always be in communion of love, created harmoniously by man and
woman, open to life, a source of light.
We devote our land and State to you, Holy Mother,
that our land may remain free and persevere in brotherly love.
Amen.