Marian Year 2025-26

 

MARIAN YEAR

The year 2026 marks the first centenary of the apparition of Our Lady to St Justin Russolillo, the Founder of the Vocationists. As the feast of Our Lady of Divine Vocations falls on May 11, the year preceding to that year (May 11 2025 – May 11 2026) has been declared to be celebrated as Marian Year by the Vocationists. The reason behind this year-long celebration is, as Pope Pius XII decreed prior to the Marian Year in 1953 on the occasion of the first centenary of the definition of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Mother, “that the faith of the people may be increased and their devotion to the Virgin Mother of God become daily more inflamed.”

As Rev. Fr. Louis Caputo SDV rightly points out, “the life of Fr. Justin here on earth began with the…apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary…, it developed in the shadow of Mary and ended in union with Mary.” The birth of Justin was preceded by an announcement by the Blessed Virgin Mary to Fr. Salvatore Di Fusco, a holy priest of Pianura. Fr. Salvatore was seriously ill and was awaiting his imminent death. In the night, when everyone expected his death, the Blessed Mother brought to Fr. Di Fusco the glad tidings regarding the birth of a child. Blessed Mother appeared to him and said; “Have no fear; you shall recover because today in Pianura a child is being born; he will be named Justin and he shall be glory for the Catholic Church.”

Fr. Salvatore recovered from his illness and soon he was able to continue his normal life. In one of his first outings after his miraculous healing, he visited the Russolillo family. When he heard about the newborn child and that the name of the child was Justin, he exclaimed: “He is the one!”  Then he explained to the family about the apparition of Mary and his own miraculous healing. From then on, he used to celebrate January 18 as the day of the Annunciation of Fr. Justin’s life and mission.

Pope Paul VI remarked: “If we wish to be Christian, we must be Marian.” Devotion to the Blessed Mother is a common practice of most of the saints in the Catholic Church. Every school of spirituality has a particular devotion to her. Fr. Justin, who taught that the ultimate goal of every human being is the Divine Union, said; “Every soul that aspires to divine union must unite itself to Mary.” Fr. Justin continued; “We can learn the perfect devotion to Mary from someone who knows her. The angels know her, the saints know her and all of them draw this from God. Let us then learn from the Lord God himself and imitate Him also in this.”

Fr. Justin was not satisfied with some ordinary pious Marian devotions. He wanted to go to the crux of them. He said; “As the Son of God is inseparable from Mary, the chosen ones also must be united to Mary.” He himself named his devotion (which he wanted the Vocationists to have) as ‘union with the Virgin Mary.’ It has two reasons. First, it is in imitation of the Heavenly Father, of the Son or of the Holy Spirit with Mary. Second, it leads us to union with God together with Mary.

Fr. Justin wrote to his spiritual director on May 30, 1926; “on the eleventh of May, without any preparation on my part, without any association of ideas that might have led me to it, sweetly, with intimate, unshakable certainty, it was infused into me (permit me to use this terminology) this firm belief that the Blessed Trinity was assigning the Blessed Virgin, in a very special way, really unique, as our immediate Superior, present and active in our midst, in all our missions, in all our present and future houses, the only and most sufficient Superior.” From that day onwards, the Vocationists celebrate the Superiorship of Mary on the 11th of May. They dedicate a special room to the Blessed Mother in each and every one of their houses. This room is like a little chapel where one can visit and have a chat with the Heavenly Superior. On 11th May 1954, the 28th anniversary of Blessed Mother’s vision to Fr. Justin, he wrote in his diary; “Our Congregation is totally entrusted to the sovereign protection, royal superiorship and maternal care of the Mother of God. We always turn to her protection like all the faithful honoring her visitation as Mother of all graces.”

Each Vocationist takes the name of Mary as their middle name on their first profession as a sign for their belonging to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Religious name of Fr. Justin was: Fr. Justin Maria Russolillo SDV of the Blessed Trinity. In many of his letters, he undersigned his name as Fr. J.M. of the Blessed Trinity. “J. M.” were Fr. Justin’s initials (Justin Maria). The Vocationists also wear around their neck the Holy Rosary with the Miraculous Medal attached to it.

Fr. Justin called the Blessed Mother with the title “Our Lady of Divine Vocations.” As Mary is the Mediatrix of all graces, she is also the mediatrix of all vocations. She invites, prompts and guides young people to do whatever her Son wants them to do and to go wherever He wants them to go. Another Marian Title Fr. Justin usually used was “Our Lady of Perpetual Visitation.” We read in the Bible about Mary’s visit to Elizabeth. Even today, she is going around bringing Jesus to souls that need Him most.

 

Let us pray with St Justin Russolillo:

“O Mary, I would like to unite myself entirely to you with all the relationships with which is connected every work, every Saint, every Angel, every grace, and St Joseph, in order to unite myself to the Divine Relationships that exist between You and the Divine Persons.”

(Spirit of Prayer, p.144)