POPE LEO XIV
Subscribe to our free daily newsletter
Pope Leo XIV made his first trip outside Rome on the afternoon of May 10, 2025. He traveled to Genazzano, a small town of just over 5,000 inhabitants located 30 km southeast of the Italian capital (about 19 miles), to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel.
This shrine was founded in the 15th century by an Augustinian nun, Blessed Petruccia. Pope Leo is also an Augustinian.
Upon the Pope's return to Rome, he stopped at another Marian sanctuary: the Basilica of St. Mary Major where Pope Francis is buried.
Our Lady of Good Counsel
The new head of the Catholic Church arrived around 4 p.m. in the small town in Lazio in a dark blue Volkswagen van, riding in the front seat.
He was greeted by about 100 residents gathered in the square in front of the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel and made his first appearance in public, greeting those present and blessing children.
Leo XIV then went to the Marian basilica, a sanctuary linked to the Augustinian family since the 13th century. In the church, the pontiff greeted the four brothers of the Augustinian community that maintains the site.
He came to pray before a representation of the Virgin and Child that has been an object of popular devotion since the 15th century.
According to tradition, the fresco venerated in this place comes from a basilica in Albania destroyed by the Turks. But two angels are said to have carried away a piece of the wall depicting the Virgin and Child. They then transported it to Genazzano, entrusting it to Blessed Petruccia, an Augustinian nun who had set out to rebuild a church entrusted to the Order of St. Augustine half a century earlier.
News of the miracle led to the construction of a Marian shrine, and the fresco was quickly associated with numerous miracles of healing.
A link to St. John Paul II
In front of the venerated image, the pontiff recited with those present the prayer to Our Lady of Good Counsel that Pope John Paul II had pronounced in 1993 during his trip to Albania. In that country, the fresco is known as Our Lady of Scutari, after the monastery where it originated.
In 1993, John Paul II presented the faithful of Shkodra (Scutari) and all of Albania with the image of Our Lady of Good Counsel and blessed the cornerstone of the sanctuary, which was to be rebuilt for the third time at the Rozafa Castle in Shkodra.
The American-Peruvian Pope then recited an Ave Maria and sang a Salve Regina with those present before saying a few words.
“I was so eager to come here in these first days of the new ministry entrusted to me by the Church, to carry out this mission as Successor of Peter,” he told them, confiding that he had already visited here after his election as Prior General of the Order of St. Augustine in 2001.
John Paull II's prayer
You precede the Church in the pilgrimage of faith: look upon your Albanian sons and daughters, as they experience the path of trial and tribulation. Sustain the weak, give comfort to the afflicted, keep the faith alive in the hearts of all.
Mother of the Saviour, bless the Christian families, which express a fundamental dimension of the Church of your Divine Son.
Mother of hope, hasten the day when this noble people can once more see recognized the deepest aspirations of its spirit, when all its sons and daughters will be once more united and in harmony, in the building of a future of justice and peace.
With my Apostolic Blessing.
May 6, 1988
Do whatever he tells you
The 267th pope explained that after choosing to “offer his life to the Church,” he wanted to reiterate his “trust in the Mother of Good Counsel,” describing her as a companion “of light and wisdom.”
He recalled the words of the Virgin Mary during the episode of the Wedding at Cana in the Gospel of St. John: "Do whatever he tells you."
The Pontiff then retired to an adjoining room to spend time in private with members of the Augustinian community.
Also linked to Leo XIII
The sanctuary in Genazzano is linked to Leo XIII, the pope who inspired Leo XIV's name.
In 1903, the Italian pope elevated this Marian shrine to the rank of minor basilica. He also that year added "Mother of Good Counsel" to the Litany of Loreto.
A spiritual center for the Augustinian family, but also for Catholics in Albania, it regularly welcomes Augustinians residing at the Santa Monica College in Rome, particularly for further studies, who come to assist the local community.
Always be faithful
Later, Leo XIV appeared before the crowd in front of the basilica and expressed his joy at being able to come to Genazzano to pray to Our Lady of Good Counsel, describing her as “a great gift” for the people of this small town.
“As the Mother never abandons her children, you must always be faithful to the Mother,” he urged them.
He then greeted the young people and those who are young at heart — “we all are,” he added — and spoke of the spirit of enthusiasm with which we must follow Jesus, as Mary did. He then blessed those present before leaving to return to the Vatican.
With Pope Francis
This first visit by Leo XIV is reminiscent of the one Pope Francis made to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major to pray before the image of the Virgin Salus Populi Romani the day after his election. Francis went on to visit her more than 120 times during his pontificate, before choosing to be buried near this icon in the Marian basilica.
And that was where Pope Leo XIV headed next. Around 7 pm, he went to that Roman basilica and prayed at Francis' tomb and before the icon Salus Populi Romani.
Leo XIV placed a white rose on his predecessor's tomb, as was done at Pope Francis' funeral on April 26. This is a reference to the late pope's devotion to St. Thérèse of Lisieux.
After this brief stop, the Holy See Press Office announced that Pope Leo XIV would return to the Vatican. For the time being, he is staying in his apartment in the Palace of the Holy Office, where he moved less than two months ago.
