Pope Francis is inviting us to join in nine days of prayer beginning March 17, 2022. Initiated by Catholics in Ukraine, the novena leads up to the Feast of the Annunciation, on March 25th, when Pope Francis will consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Saint Peter’s Square in Rome. This date is historically significant, as on the same day in 1984, Saint John Paul II consecrated Russia and the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.