Carmen Álvarez Cuadrado
After a year and a half, a familiar scene repeats. This is how the pope arrived in Genazzano, home to the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel — a Marian devotion closely tied to both Prevost and Pope Leo XIV.
The pontiff has turned to Mary in prayer at key moments in his life. For example, after he was elected prior of the Augustinians. It was also the destination of his first surprise outing as pope. This time, he came to celebrate the Mass for the Nativity of Mary.
POPE LEO XIV
We celebrate the birth of a girl destined to become the Mother of her Creator, the Mother of the God who saves. And yet, she is born simply a girl, like the daughters and granddaughters we hold in our arms. Today, we give her noble and lofty titles as Lady and Queen, but God’s way has been and remains simpler and quieter — yet no less powerful and transformative.
And before one of his most beloved Marian images, the pope did not hesitate to pray for peace in the world. He did so as a son speaks to his mother.
POPE LEO XIV
Yes, dear brothers and sisters, we want to imagine peace, expand the boundaries of understanding and give it shape in our souls; to recognize that it already exists, to welcome it and serve it. It is a gift from God, the breath of the Risen One, the work of the Holy Spirit. Let us allow peace to grow within us. It will take root in the world. And Our Lady of Good Counsel will accompany us on this mission.
According to tradition, in 1467, a fresco of the Virgin miraculously flew from Albania to escape the Turkish invasion and came to rest in an Augustinian church that a widow was trying to rebuild in Genazzano. Today, it is a famous pilgrimage site. And one of its most famous pilgrims is, without a doubt, Pope Leo XIV.
