Marian Cross

The Marian Cross is an informal name applied to a Roman Catholic cross design. It consists of a traditional Latin cross with the crossbar extended on the right, and a letter "M" (for the Virgin Mary) in the lower right quadrant. The first widely known appearance of the Marian Cross was on the personal arms of Pope John Paul II, displayed prominently on his casket at his funeral (the pope was widely known for encouraging devotion to Mary), although it may have been in use before this.

Pope John Paul II's selection of the letter M for his coat of arms was based on his strong Marian devotion and attachment to the Holy Rosary. In an address to the Montfortian Fathers, he attributed this partly to reading one of Saint Louis de Montfort's books) as a "decisive turning point" in his life. He also singled out de Montfort's work in his Redemptoris Mater encyclical as a key example of Marian devotion. And in his Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae Pope John Paul II discussed the inspiration of the rosary and how his motto "Totus Tuus" was inspired by the Mariology in the writings of Saint Louis de Montfort.

References

External links

• the Marian Cross on the casket of Pope John Paul II at his funeral.

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Last updated on Monday March 10, 2008 at 16:00:25 PDT (GMT -0700)
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