President Donald Trump has issued an address to the nation on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the patronal feast of the United States. Neither of his two Catholic predecessors in office – JFK and Joseph Biden – ever did so. And Donald Trump is a Protestant, as was every other president, at least on paper.
It’s quite incredible, really, and one does have to wonder about Trump’s own spiritual pilgrimage. There’s no note of cynicism or opportunism, and his few words are well worth the read.
The address begins:
Today, I recognize every American celebrating December 8 as a Holy Day honoring the faith, humility, and love of Mary, mother of Jesus and one of the greatest figures in the Bible.
On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Catholics celebrate what they believe to be Mary’s freedom from original sin as the mother of God. She first entered recorded history as a young woman when, according to Holy Scripture, the Angel Gabriel greeted her in the village of Nazareth with news of a miracle: “Hail, favored one!  The Lord is with you,” announcing that “you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.”
In one of the most profound and consequential acts of history, Mary heroically accepted God’s will with trust and humility:  “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.  May it be done to me according to your word.” Mary’s decision forever altered the course of humanity. Nine months later, God became man when Mary gave birth to a son, Jesus, who would go on to offer his life on the Cross for the redemption of sins and the salvation of the world.
The address then goes on to recount the role of Mary in the history of America, from the consecration of the nation to Our Lady in 1792 by Bishop John Carroll, to Pope Benedict XV’s blessing of a statue of Mary for the cause of peace during the First World War, all the way to the present, with the current President signing off with words that would sound like John Paul II:
Today, we look to Mary once again for inspiration and encouragement as we pray for an end to war and for a new and lasting era of peace, prosperity, and harmony in Europe and throughout the world.
Amen to that.
