With the recent addition of a Polish mosaic, this spiritual labyrinth serves as an immense open-air shrine uniting the diverse cultures of Catholic peoples.
Occupying about 57 acres — a little more than half the surface area of the world’s smallest state — the Vatican Gardens are a vast space of meditation desired by the popes. They also shelter a remarkable heritage of Marian devotion, which was enriched on Tuesday, June 30, when a mosaic representing Our Lady of Gietrzwałd was inaugurated.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, blessed the work, created in the mosaic workshop of Castel Gandolfo. Several Polish bishops were also in attendance. The inauguration was part of the beginning of celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the Gietrzwałd apparitions. Taking place in the Vatican Gardens, it highlighted the deep spiritual link uniting the Vatican and Poland. This bond has been particularly strong since the pontificate of St. John Paul II.
Devotion to Our Lady of Gietrzwałd is the fruit of the Marian apparitions that occurred between June 27 and September 16, 1877. The events took place in a village in northeastern Poland that was under German domination at the time, hence its Germanic-sounding name.
The Virgin Mary reportedly appeared to two young girls, Justyna Szafryńska and Barbara Samulowska. She gave them a message inviting the faithful to pray the Rosary, convert, do penance, live soberly, and remain faithful. During these apparitions, Mary reportedly spoke in Polish, a language forbidden by the Prussian authorities in the region. As a result, the events acquired strong national significance. Pope Leo XIV has been invited to visit Poland next year to mark the anniversary.
A replica of the grotto of Lourdes
The new mosaic joins numerous representations of the Virgin Mary from the Catholic world’s major shrines. Together, they turn the gardens into a spiritual labyrinth where statues, grotto replicas, and mosaics rub shoulders with monuments evoking the greatest apparitions and national devotions.
The oldest and most famous of these representations is a very faithful replica of the Lourdes grotto of Massabielle. Bishop François-Xavier Schoepfer of Tarbes and Lourdes offered it to Pope Leo XIII, and it was inaugurated in 1902. It recreates the rocky landscape, the niche where the Virgin appeared, and the atmosphere of the French shrine. A statue of Our Lady of Lourdes dominates the cavity, while a figure of St. Bernadette Soubirous kneels below in prayer.
For the centenary of the apparitions in 1958, the original marble altar used at the Lourdes grotto was given to the Vatican. It was installed in the replica, further strengthening the symbolic link between the two shrines. Pope Benedict XVI was particularly attached to this place. He loved to visit as both the reigning pontiff and pope emeritus. Delightful photos even show him playing with cats there!
St. John Paul II and Our Lady of Fatima
Another major Marian image is that of Our Lady of Fatima. While its installation recalls the 1917 apparitions to the three young Portuguese shepherds, it’s also intimately linked to St. John Paul II’s own life story. The Polish Pope was gravely wounded in an assassination attempt on May 13, 1981, the anniversary of the first Fatima apparition. He attributed his survival to the Blessed Mother’s intercession.
Following a pilgrimage to the Portuguese shrine the following year, he cultivated a special devotion to Our Lady of Fatima at the Vatican. The statue’s presence in the gardens recalls both the message of conversion transmitted at Fatima and the profound Marian piety of John Paul II.
Mosaics reflecting Latin American piety
The Americas are largely represented by a monument dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Other depictions of Mary also multiplied during the pontificate of Pope Francis, creating a veritable Latin American Marian path. These include Our Lady of Aparecida (Brazil), Our Lady of Luján (Argentina), Our Lady of Chiquinquirá (Colombia), Our Lady of Coromoto (Venezuela), Our Lady of El Quinche (Ecuador), Our Lady of Copacabana (Bolivia), Our Lady of Caacupé (Paraguay), Our Lady of Suyapa (Honduras), and Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre (Cuba), among other great national devotions. These countries have installed their mosaics or other images with the support of their respective embassies at the Vatican over the years.
In January of this year, Pope Leo XIV inaugurated a Marian mosaic and a statue of St. Rose of Lima in the Vatican Gardens, thus bringing his second homeland with him to the Vatican.
Italian devotions also occupy an important place. Statues representing Our Lady of the Guard, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, and Our Lady of Mercy are present in the gardens. Visitors can also find a representation of Our Lady of Divine Love. Her Roman shrine remains one of the premier pilgrimage sites for the Diocese of Rome. Several popes, including Pius XII, St. John Paul II, and Francis, have shown profound devotion to her.
An open-air shrine for global Catholics
Other Marian images are nestled in the gardens more discreetly, to the point that no perfectly exhaustive census exists. Some are integrated into small oratories, while others decorate fountains or quiet spaces for reflection.
They often testify to gifts made by dioceses, bishops’ conferences, or religious communities to mark a jubilee, a pontificate anniversary, or an official visit. Their iconographic diversity is remarkable. Mary appears variously as the Immaculate Conception, Queen of Heaven, Mother of the Church, Our Lady of Sorrows, or the protectress of a specific people.
Each statue or mosaic evokes a local history, a miracle, a recognized apparition, or a national tradition. Together, they compose a rich panorama of Mary’s place in Catholic spirituality. Visitors pass symbolically from the Pyrenees to Portugal, from Mexico to Poland, and from Liguria to Argentina without ever leaving the garden paths. Thus, the Vatican Gardens serve as an immense open-air Marian shrine where the diversity of Catholic peoples is expressed through their protective Marian patronages.
