Mary Undoer of Knots Prayer
The Mary Undoer of Knots devotion grew from a 17th-century painting and was popularized worldwide by Pope Francis during his time in Argentina. Catholics pray this prayer when facing tangled, complicated situations — problems that cannot be easily resolved, knots in relationships and circumstances that seem impossible to undo.
About the Mary Undoer of Knots Devotion
The image of Mary Undoer of Knots comes from a painting created in 1700 by Johann Georg Melchior Schmidtner in Augsburg, Germany, commissioned by Hieronymus Ambrosius Langenmantel. The painting depicts Mary standing between heaven and earth, undoing a ribbon whose tangles represent the knots and complications of human life. The image draws on an analogy from St. Irenaeus (2nd century), who wrote that Mary undid the knot of Eve's disobedience through her obedience at the Annunciation.
The devotion was largely regional in Bavaria until Pope Francis — then Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires — visited Augsburg in 1986, took a postcard of the image home to Argentina, and began promoting the devotion. It spread rapidly through South America and then worldwide. Pope Francis has spoken of this image as one of his most personally significant Marian devotions.
Copyright Note
The traditional prayer to Mary Undoer of Knots circulating online in various forms has uncertain textual origins. The prayer on this page is an original composition in the spirit of the devotion, based on the theology of the image and the tradition of Marian intercession.
Mary, Undoer of Knots,
you stand between heaven and earth
with the ribbon of our lives in your hands —
tangled where we have tangled it,
knotted where we have made it so.
We bring you what we cannot undo ourselves.
The relationships that have twisted beyond our reach.
The situations that tighten the harder we pull.
The complications we created
and the ones we simply inherited.
Take them from us.
Work them loose with your patient hands.
Present to your Son
the smooth ribbon of our surrender —
our willingness to let you undo
what we could not.
Mary, Undoer of Knots, pray for us. Amen.
Original composition by Rosarycard.net, in the tradition of the Mary Undoer of Knots devotion. Devotion rooted in painting by J.G.M. Schmidtner, Augsburg, 1700. Popularized by Pope Francis.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the Mary Undoer of Knots devotion?
- The Mary Undoer of Knots devotion is a Catholic Marian devotion based on a 1700 painting by Johann Georg Melchior Schmidtner in Augsburg, Germany, depicting Mary untangling a ribbon representing the complications of human life. The devotion was popularized worldwide by Pope Francis during his time as Archbishop of Buenos Aires.
- Who made the Mary Undoer of Knots devotion popular?
- Pope Francis — then Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires — visited the Augsburg church containing the original painting in 1986, brought a postcard of the image to Argentina, and began promoting the devotion. It spread rapidly through South America and eventually worldwide.
- What does Mary Undoer of Knots mean?
- The image draws on an analogy from St. Irenaeus (2nd century), who wrote that Mary undid the knot of Eve's disobedience through her obedience at the Annunciation. The devotion uses this to represent Mary interceding in the tangled, complicated situations of human life — undoing the knots we cannot undo ourselves.
- Is there a Mary Undoer of Knots prayer in Spanish?
- Yes. The Spanish form begins María, Desatadora de Nudos... Use the EN/ES toggle on this page to switch between English and Spanish.
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