Pope Leo XIV marked the first anniversary of his election on Friday by praying in the ancient city of Pompeii, commemorating a Marian feast day that holds special significance for him and coincided with the start of his pontificate.
Leo traveled by helicopter to Pompeii, near Naples, for a daylong visit to celebrate the May 8 feast of Our Lady of Pompeii. This date marks the laying of the cornerstone in 1876 for a shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary in Pompeii.
The sanctuary is situated near the excavations of the city buried in AD 79 when Mount Vesuvius erupted, spewing volcanic ash and gas across the region. While the Pompeii archaeological site attracts millions of tourists annually, the sanctuary draws Catholic pilgrims particularly devoted to praying the rosary.
"What a beautiful day, how many blessings the Lord wanted to give to all of us," Leo told the 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 Leo will make over the next few weeks across the Italian peninsula, as he gets to know the Italian church better, of which he is the symbolic head as bishop of Rome. The pontificate began with a prayer on the anniversary of the election of the former Robert Prevost as history's first US-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 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 approved the miracle necessary for Longo's canonization from his hospital room just weeks before he died, and Leo made him a saint in October.
Leo opened his visit to Pompeii by meeting with sick and disabled people 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 US 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 our hearts."
