The year was 1984 and St. John Paul II was presiding at a Mass for Families during the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Redemption. He was faced with a world in turmoil (nearing the end of the Cold War), and recognized the need to beseech God's help in delivering the world from evil.
The occasion was highlighted by the presence of the original statue of Our Lady of Fatima in Rome, standing prominently next to the main altar. During the Mass John Paul II led those present in a "Consecration of All Individuals and Peoples of the World to the Immaculate Heart of Mary." He said, "I will today entrust to her Immaculate Heart—in spiritual union with all the bishops of the world—all individuals and peoples, repeating in substance the act that I made at Fátima on May 13, 1982."
At the end of the consecration John Paul II said a powerful prayer that asks God to deliver us from the many faces of evil. It is a prayer that retains its relevance as evil continues to plague our world.
