The devotion to Maria Untied Knots dates back to the early 18th century; It arose from the famous painting that bears the same name and was painted at that time. However, it was not until the end of the 20th century that the image spread throughout the world, giving rise to a world movement of popular catholic piety. In fact, at present, the Novena to Maria Untie Knots is one of the most prayed novenas in the world.
Origin of the devotion to Maria Desatanudos
The history of devotion to Mary Undone Knots began in Germany, in 1615. A young couple who had been married for 3 years were in crisis and seriously considering divorce. Before making a final decision, the couple decides to visit an Austrian Jesuit priest, Jakob Rem, for advice and prayers. During this visit, her wife gave him her wedding ribbon, in which she had tied a knot for each argument.
Father Jakob, endowed with a great Marian devotion, prayed for them in front of the painting of Our Lady of the Snows. With the tape in her hands, she pray to the Virgin to untie the knots, that is, the marital difficulties that the couple was experiencing. Suddenly she saw how the knots were miraculously untied, one after another, until the tape was perfectly smooth again. Afterwards, the spouses reconciled and lived a happy marriage for the rest of their lives.
In 1700, Father Jérôme Ambroise von Langenmantel, a priest and grandson of the couple, had a painting painted to commemorate this miracle and reinforce devotion to the Blessed Virgin. This painting, in which Mary is illustrated undoing her knots, surrounded by two angels who carry the ribbon in her hands, is titled: “Maria, the one who unties the knots” or just the “Virgin Undone Knots”.
A worldwide Marian devotion
Until the 20th century, the devotion to Maria Desatandos only involved southern Germany, however, in the 1980s, the now called Pope Francisco, who was finishing his doctoral thesis in Augsburg, near Munich, was deeply moved when he saw the painting. This made him take small paintings of the Virgin Undone Knots with him and take them to Argentina to spread them there, he even had several copies of the painting made to share them with others. Soon, a strong popular piety movement spread throughout Latin America, and later throughout the world.
Lastly, it is good to know that in 1997, Father Juan Ramón Celeiro, pastor of Jorge Mario Bergoglio (today known as Pope Francis), wrote a special ninth to Maria Desatanudos. Although it was initially written for parishioners, it quickly spread throughout the world.
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