Pope Leo to visit Genazzano as ‘pilgrim’ before Mother of Good Counsel
Pope Leo XIV returned to the Shrine of the Mother of Good Counsel in Genazzano, Italy, to celebrate Mass on the eve of the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The visit included a private pilgrimage, a painting unveiling by Marco Innocenzi depicting the Pope in prayer, and the presence of various Augustinian clergy and Albanian Archbishop Giovanni Peragine for concelebration. The shrine commemorates the miraculous arrival of the Virgin Mary's image from Shkodër, Albania, in 1467, and the Pope's visit highlighted the historic connection between Genazzano and Albania. Pope Leo XIV expressed devotion to Our Lady, noting her maternal presence and guidance throughout his life, and wore liturgical vestments donated by the faithful of Genazzano. The event took place in Genazzano, a medieval town about 40 km from Rome, and was part of the Pope's early ministry after his election as Bishop of Rome.
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Pope Leo XIV visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Genazzano on September 7, 2026, celebrating Mass on the vigil of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The visit combined his personal devotion to the Marian shrine with reflections on Mary’s role in salvation, contemplative prayer, and the growth of peace. 1 3
Genazzano, located roughly 40 kilometers east of Rome, welcomed the Pope with large crowds along the route and around the shrine. Leo arrived shortly after 5 p.m., traveled through the town in the popemobile, and was welcomed by local authorities, Augustinian friars, and Bishop Mauro Parmeggiani of Tivoli and Palestrina. 1 3
The visit was Leo’s return to the shrine after a private pilgrimage on May 10, 2025, two days after his election as Bishop of Rome. He had then written that Our Lady of Good Counsel had accompanied him throughout his life through “her maternal presence, her wisdom and the example of her love for her Son,” whom he described as the center of his faith. 1 3
The Pope’s visit took place amid celebrations for the Nativity of Mary, with many people unable to enter the church because the streets and surrounding areas were filled with pilgrims. 3
A painting by Marco Innocenzi was unveiled during the visit. It portrays Leo kneeling in prayer before the icon of Our Lady and joins portraits of earlier popes who visited Genazzano, including Urban VIII, Pius IX, John XXIII, and John Paul II. 1
The shrine is administered by the Order of Saint Augustine, to which Pope Leo belongs. The Mass included the participation of Augustinian leaders and clergy, as well as Archbishop Giovanni Peragine of Shkodër-Pult in Albania. 1
According to the shrine’s tradition, the Marian image arrived miraculously in Genazzano from Shkodër on April 25, 1467. Albanian Catholics continue to honor Mary there as the “Lady of Albania,” while Genazzano commemorates the image’s arrival each year. 1
A central moment of the celebration was Leo’s presentation of a Golden Rose with three branches to the Mother of Good Counsel. Its base bears the emblems of the shrine and of Martin V, Leo XIII, and Leo XIV. 1
Martin V reportedly presented the shrine with a Golden Rose in 1431, although that rose was later lost during the Napoleonic era. Leo XIII raised the shrine to the rank of a basilica. 1
The Pope also received an ex ossibus relic of Blessed Stefano Bellesini, an Augustinian who had served as parish priest of the shrine. The vestments Leo wore were donated by the people of Genazzano and embroidered with imagery evoking water and the wedding at Cana, where Mary was present for Jesus’ first miracle. 1
In his homily, Leo focused on Mary’s quiet but transformative presence in salvation history. Drawing on the writings of the Augustinian St. Thomas of Villanova, he reflected on the Gospel’s limited details about Mary’s life and on the significance of her presence in the account of Jesus’ birth. 3
Leo said that Mary’s presence introduces unexpected newness into history and changes Joseph’s expectations and actions. He described Mary as the place where salvation finds a home: “God with us!” 3
The Pope contrasted this mystery with the apparent simplicity of God’s action. He said that God’s way is “simpler and quieter,” while remaining powerful and transformative, and presented the Kingdom of God as one in which arrogance gives way to creation, service, and care for life. 3
Leo connected contemplation with the ability to recognize God’s work in circumstances that remain hidden or uncertain. He described prayer as the place where what is not yet visible can take shape and acquire strength, calling this “not fantasy, but prophecy.” 3
He concluded by praying that the feast of Mary’s birth would increase peace within people. He urged the faithful to recognize, welcome, and serve peace so that it might grow within them and “blossom in the world,” with the Mother of Good Counsel accompanying them. 3
The celebration ended with a hymn invoking Mary’s protection, counsel, and care for the people of Genazzano. 3
Bishop Parmeggiani described the Pope’s visit as a family celebration and a great gift for the town. He said the shrine should encourage people to respond with stronger faith, deeper unity with the Pope and the Church of Rome, and active pastoral work promoting unity, peace, respect for others, and care for creation. 1
The shrine’s rector, Father Ludovico Centra, said Leo’s devotion to Mary dates back to his years in Chicago. He presented the Pope’s message as an invitation to entrust oneself to Mary, who leads believers to Jesus and, as at Cana, directs them to listen to and follow her Son. 1*
Explore the historical role of Marian devotion in fostering Catholic–Albanian ties
Marian devotion has functioned as a powerful religious and cultural bridge between Albanian Catholicism and the wider Catholic Church, especially through the cult of Our Lady of Good Counsel and Our Lady of Shkodër. It linked Albania to Rome, sustained Catholic identity during persecution, and helped frame the Church’s post-Communist renewal as both a spiritual and national reconstruction.
The central symbol of this relationship was the shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel at Genazzano, near Rome. According to Catholic tradition, the image venerated there came from Shkodër and was miraculously preserved during the Ottoman invasion of 1467. Pope John Paul II presented this tradition as the foundation of a spiritual connection between Genazzano and Shkodër, describing the two sanctuaries as joined across the Adriatic.
This tradition made Marian devotion more than a private piety. The image became a visible sign that Albanian Catholicism belonged within the universal Church. Albanian pilgrims could approach the shrine in Italy while remaining spiritually connected to their homeland; Italian and international Catholics, in turn, encountered Albania through a Marian devotion associated with Shkodër.
The historical documentation supplied here clearly establishes the importance of the tradition, its devotional reception, and its papal use. It does not independently verify the miraculous migration of the image as a historical event. That distinction matters: the image’s role in Catholic-Albanian identity is well attested in these sources, while the precise historical circumstances of its origin remain presented as a pious tradition.
Marian devotion also helped unite Catholic faith with Albanian cultural identity. In 1988, John Paul II addressed Albanian pilgrims from Europe and America as representatives of the wider Albanian people. He connected their devotion to the Virgin of Shkodër with the preservation of Albanian language, customs, and national heritage among emigrants. He emphasized that Albanian Catholics could be simultaneously “faithful children” of the universal Church and affectionate children of their own land.
This was especially significant because Albanian identity was dispersed geographically and religiously. Marian shrines, feast days, prayers, and pilgrimages offered a common language of belonging for Albanians living in Albania, Italy, the United States, Germany, and elsewhere. The 1995 papal address explicitly welcomed Albanian pilgrims from the homeland and diaspora, noting that they had come to Rome and Genazzano to commemorate the consecration of Albania to Our Lady of Good Counsel.
Thus Marian devotion did not erase the distinction between Catholic identity and Albanian nationality. Rather, it gave their relationship a coherent religious form: devotion to Mary became a way of expressing love for the homeland while remaining connected to the Apostolic See.
The Marian bond acquired particular force during the Communist dictatorship. John Paul II recalled that the sanctuary at Shkodër had been destroyed twice, most recently in 1967 during the regime’s campaign to eliminate every trace of religion. In this context, Marian devotion represented continuity amid an attempted rupture with Albania’s Christian past.
His appeal to the Virgin of Shkodër in 1988 was also a public prayer for religious freedom. He portrayed Albania as a nation undergoing spiritual trial and asked Mary to preserve faith, strengthen families, console the afflicted, and hasten the restoration of justice and peace.
This illustrates an important feature of Marian devotion in Albanian Catholic history: it was not merely devotional consolation. It could also preserve collective memory. When churches were closed or destroyed and religious practice was suppressed, Marian titles and prayers kept alive the idea that Albanian Catholicism had a history extending beyond the Communist state.
John Paul II explicitly interpreted freely lived religion as a force for communion, solidarity, cooperation, peace, and national cohesion. He hoped that the Church, rooted in Albanian soil for two thousand years, would again contribute to the unity and peace of the country. Marian devotion supported this vision by providing a nonviolent and spiritually inclusive symbol of endurance.
Marian devotion also shaped the Church’s diplomatic and pastoral re-engagement with Albania after the fall of Communism. Before his 1993 visit, John Paul II prayed at Genazzano and entrusted his journey to Our Lady of Good Counsel. He then visited Albania, met its Catholic community, ordained bishops, and blessed the foundation stone of a rebuilt sanctuary at Shkodër. The new sanctuary symbolized the reconstruction of the Church after the destruction of the dictatorship.
In 1995, the Pope described Mary as the “Mother of Good Counsel” who should guide Albania along the path of faith and peace. He associated her protection with concrete signs of ecclesial renewal: conversions, returns to religious practice, priestly and religious vocations, Albanian-language biblical and liturgical texts, and social and educational works.
Marian language therefore connected spiritual restoration with institutional rebuilding. Reconstructing churches, restoring worship, educating clergy, and strengthening charitable works were understood not simply as administrative tasks but as part of Albania’s return to religious freedom under Mary’s maternal protection.
The relationship was not one-sided. Albania contributed figures and witnesses who strengthened Catholic awareness of the Albanian nation. John Paul II recalled the Albanian-born Mother Teresa, whose service gave honor both to her homeland and to the Catholic Church, even during the Communist period.
Likewise, the papal addresses linked Albanian Catholic identity with fidelity to communion with the Apostolic See, the memory of martyrs and confessors, and the country’s ancient Christian heritage. Marian devotion gathered these elements into a shared devotional framework: Albania was remembered as a Christian land, the Pope appeared as a guardian of communion, and Mary served as the maternal figure linking the local Church to the universal Church.
The image of the “bridge” is therefore apt. John Paul II himself described the Church’s role along the Adriatic as building “bridges” of prayer and Christian solidarity between the two shores. Genazzano and Shkodër became symbolic poles of that bridge, while pilgrimages, papal visits, diaspora gatherings, and Marian prayers gave it a living social form.
Historically, Marian devotion fostered Catholic–Albanian ties in four principal ways:
Its importance lay not only in devotion to Mary as a theological practice, but also in the way Marian symbols carried memory, belonging, solidarity, and hope across borders. In the papal interpretation reflected here, the Virgin of Shkodër and Our Lady of Good Counsel became signs that Albanian Catholicism, despite persecution and displacement, remained connected to the universal Church.