Pope Francis visited the Piazza di Spagna in Rome on Saturday for the Pope's annual act of veneration of the image of Mary Immaculate. The Pope paid homage to Our Lady both in the Basilica of St Mary Major and before the image of Mary Immaculate in Piazza di Spagna. We provide a working translation of the prayer he offered at Piazza di Spagna.Immaculate Mother, on your feast day, so dear to all Christian people, I come to pay homage to you in the heart of Rome. In my own soul, I bear the faithful of this Church, and everyone who lives in this city, especially the sick, and all those who, because of their different situations, find it difficult to keep going. First and foremost, we want to thank you for the motherly care with which you accompany our journey: how often do we hear, with tears in our eyes, from those who have experienced your intercession, about the graces you ask for us from your Son Jesus! I think also of the simple grace you give people who live in Rome: that of facing the challenges of everyday life with patience. And for this reason we ask you for the strength not to resign ourselves, but rather, that every day, each person may do their bit to improve things, so that the care shown by each person may make Rome more beautiful and livable for all; so that the duty each person performs, might guarantee the rights of all. And thinking about the common good of this city, we pray to you for those who hold positions of greater responsibility: obtain for them wisdom, vision, a spirit of service and collaboration. Blessed Virgin, I wish to entrust you, in a special way, the priests of this Diocese: pastors, assistance pastors, elderly priests, who with a pastor’s heart, continue to work in the service of God's people, the many student priests from all over the world who collaborate in the parishes. For all of them, I ask you the tender joy of evangelizing, and the gift of being fathers, close to the people, merciful. To you, a Woman totally consecrated to God, I entrust consecrated lay women and women religious. Thank God there are many of them in Rome, more than in any other city in the world, and they form a wonderful mosaic of nationalities and cultures. For them I ask you the joy of being, like you, spouses and mothers, fruitful in prayer, charity and compassion. O Mother of Jesus, I ask you one last thing at this time of Advent, thinking of the days when you and Joseph were worried about the already imminent birth of your child, concerned because there was a census underway and you too had to leave your hometown of Nazareth and go to Bethlehem... You know what it means to carry life in your womb and to feel indifference, rejection, even contempt, around you. That's why I ask you to be close to families who today in Rome, in Italy, and throughout the world experience similar situations, may they not be abandoned, but may their rights be protected, human rights that have priority over any necessity, however legitimate. O Mary Immaculate, dawn of hope on the horizon of humanity, watch over this city: its houses, schools, offices, shops, its factories, hospitals, and prisons. May that which Rome holds most precious, that which she preserves for the whole world, never be lacking anywhere: the last testament of Jesus: "Love one another, as I have loved you" (Jn 13:34). Source: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-12/pope-piazza-spagna-veneration-immaculate-conception.html
The Holy Father invites us to pray that we might again learn how to discern, to know how to choose paths of life and reject everything that leads us away from Christ and the Gospel.
In this month of June, the Holy Father invites us to pray that the world might grow in compassion, that each one of us might find consolation in a personal relationship with Jesus, and from his Heart, learn to have compassion on the world.
Gianpaolo gives us a behind the scenes look at his upcoming Behold segment on the York University Catholic Chaplaincy.
On Sunday, June 8, 2025, Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass for the Jubilee of Movements, Associations, and New Communities and spoke about how the Holy Spirit helps the apostles overcome "their fear, shatters their inner chains, heals their wounds, anoints them with strength and grants them the courage to go out to all and to proclaim God’s mighty works."
Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass for the Jubilee of Families, Children, Grandparents, and the Elderly and referred to Pope Francis and mentioned spouses who have been beatified and canonized, like the parents of St. Therese of the Child Jesus.