Pompeii (Italy) (AFP) – Pope Leo XIV said he felt “blessed” as he marked one year as leader of the Catholic Church on Friday with a visit to southern Italy, after weeks dominated by a clash with Washington. On the anniversary of his May 8, 2025, election, the first US pontiff visited a shrine in the city of Pompeii founded by a former Satanic priest.
“What a beautiful day, so many blessings,” the pope told a crowd of faithful inside the church, including some 400 sick and disabled people. “I feel the most blessed for being able to come here to the sanctuary…on this anniversary,” the pope said. The pope flew in on a white helicopter, eliciting cries of “the pope has arrived!” from thousands of pilgrims assembled in a vast square in Pompeii. One of them was Salvatore Sica, 68, who had come from nearby Naples.
“I’m curious to see the new pope…He’s not like Francis, who was one of the family, like a brother or a father,” Sica told AFP. “He preaches peace but I see him as distant from the people. But he is a good pope.” The 70-year-old pontiff’s measured and discreet style contrasts with the more spontaneous Francis, the late Argentine pope who died on April 21 last year.
The visit came a day after Leo received US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for an audience aimed at easing tensions after scathing criticism of the pope’s anti-war views from US President Donald Trump. At the time, the pope said he had a “moral duty” to speak out, and this week added: “The Church’s mission is to preach the Gospel and to preach peace.” Rubio on Friday said he had a “very good meeting” with Leo, adding: “It’s important to share our points of view and an understanding of where we’re coming from.”
Among the faithful in Pompeii, Mariella Annunziata, 52, said the pope had responded “in an elegant way” to Trump’s comments. “He did not give in to provocation,” she said. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who was also criticised by Trump after defending the pope, paid tribute to the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics. “In a complex and highly uncertain time, his voice is a point of reference on a global level — for Christians but not only,” she wrote on X.
During the visit, Pope Leo toured the square in Pompeii on his popemobile, with people leaning out of windows or gathering on balconies above to see him. Wearing a red mozzetta short cape over his white papal robes, he greeted a crowd of around 20,000 people outside with a “Good morning Pompeii!” before entering the basilica.
At an outdoor mass, the pope returned to his anti-war message, saying: “We cannot resign ourselves to the images of death that we see on the news every day.” He also prayed for God to “enlighten all those who bear special responsibilities of governance” and for a “renewed commitment” to end all wars. Among the attendees, Tommaso Del Sorbo, 32, carried a small poodle named “Giorgio” during the mass. “It’s a wonderful feeling because it’s not every day that we have the pope here among us, especially one year after his election,” he said.
The pope was visiting the sanctuary of the Virgin of the Rosary of Pompeii, near the ruins of the ancient Roman city destroyed by a volcanic eruption. Leo cited the sanctuary in his first address from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on the day he was elected. The one-day trip marks the first of several short pastoral visits planned this summer in Italy, and comes a fortnight after a tour of four African nations.
Later on Friday, the pope headed to Naples, where he venerated the relics of San Gennaro, the city’s patron saint, and greeted the crowds in the Piazza del Plebiscito. In a speech, he praised the city’s beauty, calling it a “pearl of the Mediterranean”, but also spoke of its “multiple faces of poverty.”
© 2024 AFP
