During the month of May, Catholics around the world are urged to pray for an end to the Coronavirus pandemic

Each day of the month has a different prayer intention (see below) and prayers are said at a Marian shrine.

In South Africa, we have a relatively new Marian shrine (pictured above) which is located in rural KwaZulu Natal in the diocese of Eshowe. Our Lady of Ngome was built on the site of ten apparitions by our Lady to a Benedictine Sister, Reinolda May, during the 1950s. May was a German missionary who fulfilled the role of midwife at the Benedictine Mission Hospital in Nongoma. She was responsible for safely delivering many thousands of newborns in the area.

During one of her apparitions to May, Our Lady pointed at the site of Ngome, requesting that a shrine be built there. While the local bishop allowed a small church to be built on the site, he limited the devotion. But after Sr Reinolda’s death in 1981 at the age of 79, it grew rapidly. In 1992 Bishop Emmanuel Mansuet Biyase, who was initially reluctant, allowed the construction of a new church and encouraged pilgrimages to Ngome, where miraculous healings from the water there have been reported.

Sr Reinolda is buried at the nearby Benedictine Inkamana Abbey; her sainthood cause has been opened.

Intentions for the Month of May

May 1: For all the deceased
May 2: For all those who have not been able to say goodbye to their deceased loved ones
May 3: For all those infected with the corona virus and all the sick
May 4: For all expectant women and their unborn babies
May 5: For all children and adolescents
May 6: For all young people
May 7: For all families
May 8: For all communication workers
May 9: For all seniors
May 10: For all people with disabilities
May 11: For all the poor, the homeless, and the economically distressed
May 12: For all people who live alone and those who have lost hope
May 13: For all prisoners
May 14: For all scientists and medical research institutions
May 15: For all migrants
May 16: For all victims of violence and human trafficking
May 17: For all world leaders and for all heads of international organisations
May 18: For all doctors and nurses
May 19: For all people at war and for world peace
May 20: For all pharmacists and health care personnel
May 21: For all social workers
May 22: For all volunteers
May 23: For all law enforcement and military personnel and for all firefighters
May 24: For all those who provide essential services
May 25: For all teachers, students and educators
May 26: For all workers and entrepreneurs
May 27: For all the unemployed
May 28: For the Holy Father, bishops, presbyters, and deacons
May 29: For all consecrated men and women
May 30: For the Church
May 31: For the end of the pandemic and the resumption of our social and economic life

[with acknowledgement to The Southern Cross]