Pope Francis, Meg Saligman, and I are kindred spirits.

Not like, hang out together kindred spirits, but like three people from different worlds having something in common.

Our Lady, Undoer of Knots.

Pope Francis became acquainted with the devotion while he was in Germany studying for his doctorate degree. He saw the original image of Our Lady, Undoer of Knots and fell in love with it, so to speak. He credits Our Lady, Undoer of Knots for seeing him through a personal crisis and introduced the devotion and image to Argentina when he returned home.

He’s made it known that Our Lady, Undoer of Knots is his favorite devotion.

I’ve written a book, Our Lady, Undoer of Knots: A Living Novena which is part devotional and part armchair pilgrimage based on my trip to the Holy Land with the Catholic Press Association in May 2014. I became acquainted with Our Lady, Undoer of Knots from a learned and well-traveled priest who spoke the devotion in a homily,

Like Pope Francis, I was struggling with a doozy of a knot. I entrusted Our Lady, Undoer of Knots with it and she did her awesome untying thing.

She is amazing.

Meg Saligman became acquainted with Our Lady, Undoer of Knots when Sr. Mary Scullion, of Philadelphia’s Project HOME urged her to create a work of art that would honor Pope Francis’ love for the devotion to Our Lady, Undoer of Knots.

That was a year ago.

Saligman took up the challenge and has created a remarkable wooden grotto that is 20 feet wide and 13 feet tall. Wooden slats are woven to form the walls of the grotto, giving the impression of a knot, representing the knots in our lives that we wish Our Lady, Undoer of Knots to untie.

Thus we have it. Our Lady, Undoer of Knots has tied us together, I suppose you could say.

Today I visited the Grotto of Our Lady, Undoer of Knots, which rests on the grounds of the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul.

I wasn’t prepared for what I saw. And I certainly wasn’t prepared for the way it touched my heart.

The wood of the grotto is barely visible anymore, because there are thousands of ribbons tied to it. Saligman has invited others to tie a cloth ribbon to the grotto with the name of the knot to be untied written on it. She further extended the invitation by allowing knots to be submitted online, strung by fishing line, symbolic of the fishing line St. Peter used. A volunteer scribe writes each knot on a ribbon and other volunteers tie the ribbons to the grotto.

The knots started coming in six months ago.

Saligman told me today that there are close to 100,000 ribbons. Yesterday alone, 70,000 new requests came in.

There are so many, in fact, that volunteers have begun weaving tapestries of ribbons, which are hanging in the plaza area near the grotto. More are being woven in the workroom.

What started as a project to honor Pope Francis and at the same time raise awareness for the homeless (the grotto coincidences with a fund-raising effort for Project HOME) has become an international ministry to help our Blessed Mother undo the knots that keep her children bound in sinfulness and sadness.

And that’s what touched my heart.

While I was there visiting, I saw people – young and old – from countries around the world coming to the grotto, writing their knots onto ribbons and tying the ribbons onto the latticework.

By Saligman’s inspiration, it’s customary that, when you tie a knot, you also untie one. She encourages pilgrims to read the petition on another knot and commit to praying for it after they leave.

“You leave one, and you take one,” she explained to me. “It’s a meaningful exchange.”

Indeed it is.

Saligman through her art and I through mine are both aiming for the same goal: To lead others to Our Lady, Undoer of Knots and encourage them to place the ribbon of their lives in her hands. If we do that in true surrender, our Blessed Mother will take our ribbon and undo even the most impossible of knots.

I left my knot at the grotto today – a very emotional moment – and chose the knot of a child whose handwriting I couldn’t even read. But I can tell you that there were lots and lots of hearts drawn on it.

It doesn’t matter that I can’t read the knot, because Our Lady, Undoer of Knots can. And she will untie it.