Pope Leo marks first year as Pontiff at Marian shrine, highlights importance of the Rosary

Pope Leo XIV marked the first anniversary of his election to the papacy on May 8 with a visit to the Pontifical Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary of Pompeii, placing his pontificate under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary and urging the faithful to rediscover the Rosary as a prayer centered on Christ, the Eucharist, charity, and peace.

The Pope arrived at the Marian shrine Friday morning, first visiting the chapel of St. Bartolo Longo, the founder of the shrine, to venerate his relics and greet the bishops present. He then met with priests of the shrine in the Chapel of Reconciliation before presiding over Mass at 10:30 a.m. in Piazza Bartolo Longo. After the traditional Supplication to Our Lady of Pompeii, Archbishop Tommaso Caputo, Prelate of Pompeii and pontifical delegate for the shrine, offered words of thanks to the Pontiff.  

In his homily, Pope Leo made clear that his visit was not merely devotional but deeply tied to the anniversary of his election.

“Exactly one year ago, when the ministry of Successor of Peter was entrusted to me, it was precisely the day of the Supplication to the Virgin — this beautiful day of the Supplication to the Virgin of the Holy Rosary of Pompeii! I therefore had to come here, to place my service under the protection of the Holy Virgin,” he said. 

The Holy Father also connected his papal name to the Marian devotion of Pope Leo XIII, who was known for his extensive teaching on the Rosary. He said that connection, together with the recent canonization of St. Bartolo Longo, “apostle of the Rosary,” offered a key for reflecting on the Word of God proclaimed at the Mass. 

Preaching on the Annunciation and Mary’s “yes” to God, Pope Leo said that in Mary’s “Eccomi” — “Here I am” — “not only is Jesus born, but also the Church.” Mary, he said, is both Mother of God and Mother of the Church.

The Pope described the Hail Mary as “an invitation to joy,” saying that through Mary, God’s mercy comes upon a wounded humanity marked by sin, domination, and war. “Mary thus becomes Mother of Mercy,” he said. 

A central theme of the homily was the Rosary, which Pope Leo described not as a mechanical prayer, but as a deeply biblical, contemplative, Christ-centered, and Eucharistic prayer.

“The repetition of this prayer in the Rosary is like the echo of Gabriel’s greeting, an echo that crosses the centuries and guides the gaze of the believer to Jesus, seen with the eyes and heart of the Mother,” he said. 

Quoting St. Bartolo Longo, Pope Leo recalled that “the Eucharist is the living Rosary,” adding that in the Eucharist “all the mysteries of the life of Christ are found, so to speak, concentrated in the memorial of his sacrifice and in his Real Presence.” The Rosary, he said, has “a Marian appearance, but a Christological and Eucharistic heart.” 

The Pontiff also praised the charitable legacy of St. Bartolo Longo, who welcomed orphans and the children of prisoners in Pompeii. Leo said that when the Rosary is truly prayed and “celebrated,” it naturally becomes a source of charity toward God and neighbor.

The final portion of the homily turned to peace. Recalling St. John Paul II’s emphasis on the Rosary as a prayer for the family and for peace, Pope Leo said those intentions remain urgent today amid international tensions and an economy that “prefers the arms trade to respect for human life.” 

From the shrine whose façade Bartolo Longo conceived as “a monument to peace,” the Pope reminded that “no earthly power will save the world, but only the divine power of love, this divine power of love that Jesus, the Lord, has revealed and given to us. Let us believe in him, hope in him, follow him!”