Pope celebrates first anniversary of election with visit to Pompeii to pray at shrine

The sanctuary is located near the excavations of the city that was buried in A.D. 79, when Mount Vesuvius erupted and spewed volcanic ash and gas across the region. While the Pompeii archaeological site draws millions of tourists each year, the sanctuary attracts Catholic pilgrims who are particularly devoted to praying the rosary.

“What a beautiful day, how many blessings the Lord wanted to give to all of us,” Leo told throngs of faithful inside the sanctuary before Mass. “I feel I am the first blessed to be able to come here to the sanctuary of the Madonna on the day of her feast and on this anniversary.”

The visit kicked off a series of day trips that Leo will be making over the next few weeks, up and down the Italian peninsula, as he gets to know better the Italian church of which he is the symbolic head as bishop of Rome.

A pontificate that began with a prayer

Friday marked the anniversary of the election of the former Robert Prevost as history's first U.S.-born pope. Leo had referred to the Pompeii feast day on the night of his election, when he emerged on the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica and was introduced to the world. That night, he led the faithful in the piazza below in a prayer for his pontificate.

He said then that Mary, the mother of Christ, “always wants to walk at our side, to remain close to us, to help us with her intercession and her love."

“Let us pray together for this new mission, for the whole church, for peace in the world, and let us ask Mary, our Mother, for this special grace,” Leo said then.

The Pompeii sanctuary is closely associated with the figure of St. Bartolo Longo, who founded the basilica and is venerated especially in Italy for his charitable works for orphans, prisoners and other marginalized people. Pope Francis had approved the miracle necessary for Longo’s canonization from his hospital room, just a few weeks before he died, and Leo made him a saint in October.

Pompeii welcomes Leo

Leo opened his visit to Pompeii by meeting with sick and disabled people who are cared for by a charity center affiliated with the sanctuary, which Leo’s namesake, Pope Leo XIII, declared a pontifical basilica in 1901.

In his opening remarks, Leo recalled that when Longo arrived in the Pompeii valley, “he found a land plagued by great poverty, inhabited by a few very poor farmers, and ravaged by malaria and bandits.”

“He was able to see, however, the face of Christ in everyone: in the great and the small, and especially in the orphans and the children of prisoners, to whom he made the beating of God’s heart felt through his tenderness,” he said.

Leo was met by throngs of cheering Italians, some of whom had been waiting since the middle of the night to greet him. They seemed keenly aware of Leo's recent sparring with U.S. President Donald Trump over the Iran war, and said they liked what they saw.

“He doesn't let anyone intimidate him. Look at the recent issues with Trump,” said Rita Borriello, from nearby Torre del Greco. Trump criticized him, but Leo "simply answered, ‘I preach the Gospel’. I see him as a very humble pope, very close to us, a pope who entered in our hearts.”

Winfield reported from Rome.

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