Mother of God "Salus Populi Romani"

Queen of Heaven rejoice, alleluia; 

the Son Whom you merited to bear, alleluia; 

has risen as He said, alleluia; 

pray for us to God, alleluia; 

rejoice and be glad, 

Oh, Virgin Mary, 

for the Lord is truly risen, alleluia.

Salus Populi Romani, meaning Protectress (literally salvation or health of the Roman People) is the title given in the 19th century to the Byzantine icon of the Madonna and Child, reputed to date to Early Christian times, in the Borghese or Pauline Chapel of the 5th-century Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.

The Basilica, the oldest in the West dedicated to the Mother of God, and this icon, are the Church’s popular expression of the Council’s theological response to that heresy, Jesus is God from all ages, who became a man in the womb of Mary.

On either side of the Virgin’s head are two Greek abbreviations, identifying, on the left the Greek letters for M-R and on the right, Th-U being abbreviations for Mother of God: She is stately in her bearing, yet not aloof from us. She is dressed simply yet elegantly in a dark blue mantle over a russet and gold tunic. In her hand, she grasps an embroidered handkerchief, similar to those first carried by women of the Roman senatorial class and, in the late Empire, only by the Roman empress. The later suggests the early Church’s belief that she is the Second Eve and the Queen of Heaven. 

The golden star on her shoulder tells us that she is the Immaculate Conception, the woman preserved by God from Adam’s Original Sin, so she could be the sinless Virgin in whose womb the Eternal Son of the Father joined Himself to our human nature in a human body and soul. The golden cross on her forehead tells us that she is the Mother of the Eternal Son who became man in order to die for humanity’s sins, Mary is the virgin mother of the Incarnate and Crucified Lord. She gently holds and protects Her Son, encircling Him with both hands. 

The Infant sits comfortably and securely on His Mother’s lap, holding the Book of the Gospels, with His right hand raised to bless us. But He first looks up to His Mother, as if seeking her permission to bless those looking at the icon. She looks out to us, inviting us to enter into the Divine Love of God made visible in Her Son, as a sign that it would be the polite thing to do if He would bless us who have come to visit Mother and Son.

The Infant Jesus with his fingers forming the Greek word Fish—Ixthus. In the ancient Church, both in the east and the west, the fish was both a symbol of Jesus and a creedal expression of faith. For each letter of Ixthus stands for the first letter of each word in the Greek sentence: Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior. In this icon, Our Lord raises His right hand to bless us with His power as the Incarnate Son of God, the Savior, and not merely as a child or even as a prince.

Pray for Our Holy Father, that the Mother of God and Her Divine Son, might strengthen him as he continues the work of Saint Peter for His people worldwide.