CREDIT: Vatican News
CV NEWS FEED // Pope Leo XIV made his first journey outside the Vatican on Saturday, May 10 with a surprise pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Genazzano, Italy.
Located about 30 miles southeast of Rome, the shrine has been a center of Marian devotion for centuries. The origins of the shrine date back to the fifth century, when a church was first built in gratitude for the town’s contributions to the construction of Rome’s Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. In 1356, the shrine was entrusted to the Augustinian Order, the religious community to which Pope Leo belongs.
Addressing the faithful gathered in front of the sanctuary, Pope Leo expressed his deep desire to visit the shrine in the earliest days of his papacy. “I wanted so much to come here in these first days of the new ministry that the Church has given me, to carry out this mission as Successor of Peter,” he said.
The Pope’s visit was marked by a festive welcome from several hundred people, who filled the square outside the sanctuary. Inside, Pope Leo greeted the Augustinian religious community and paused in prayer before the altar.
Together with those present, he recited the prayer of Pope Saint John Paul II to the Mother of Good Counsel, followed by the Ave Maria and the Salve Regina. The Pope then greeted the faithful both inside the church and gathered outside before joining the community for a private meeting in an internal room.
Following his time in Genazzano, Pope Leo continued his pilgrimage with a visit to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, where he prayed privately at the tomb of his predecessor, Pope Francis.
A historic shrine
The Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel’s fame grew dramatically in 1467, during the turmoil of the Turkish offensive in Albania. According to tradition, a fresco of the Madonna and Child disappeared from the church of Scutari, Albania, as the city faced invasion.
On April 25 of that year, during Vespers in Genazzano, witnesses described a luminous cloud descending upon the unfinished church. Then, the church bells miraculously rang – and the cloud vanished to reveal the image of the Madonna and Child on a thin sheet of plaster, resting on a narrow ledge in the church.
The fresco – remarkably delicate, as thin as an eggshell – was soon recognized as the same image that had disappeared from Scutari, and was believed to have been miraculously transported for safekeeping.
The event transformed the shrine into a destination for pilgrims from across Europe. Within the first six months after the image’s appearance, over 170 healings and miracles were recorded, and the devotion was quickly endorsed by the Apostolic See.
The image, initially called the Madonna of Paradise, became known as Our Lady of Good Counsel, and the church was completed with the support of the faithful, inspired by the miracle.