Praying with Mary in Pompeii
Around the world, there are thousands of churches and shrines dedicated to Mary. Published in Commonweal by Vanessa Carcoran
Some, like the Basilica of Mary Major, where Pope Francis chose to be buried, have their origins in early Christianity. Some of the more modern Marian shrines, such as Guadalupe, Lourdes, and Fátima, attract pilgrims from all over the world, drawing millions of visitors annually. But an Italian shrine that contains a once-discarded Marian icon has captured the interest of Pope Leo XIV.
On May 8, the one-year anniversary of his election to the papacy, Pope Leo will not be in Rome. Instead, he will travel to Pompeii to visit the Pontifical Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Holy Rosary. Our Lady of the Rosary in Pompeii is less well-known than many other shrines in Rome but is a thoughtful choice for a pope who has expressed his devotion to Mary throughout his papacy.
When Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE, Pompeii was covered with volcanic ash and remained undisturbed for more than a thousand years. The archaeological excavation process to uncover it began in 1599 and took centuries to complete. Though the nearby city of Naples thrived as the largest city in southern Italy, Pompeii was not repopulated until the middle of the nineteenth century. In 1876, the ancient city gained a major Marian shrine because of the unlikely patronage of Bartolo Longo, an Italian lawyer.
The feast day for Our Lady of Pompeii is on May 8, commemorating that date in 1876 when the cornerstone for the new Marian shrine was laid. It was also on this date that Longo wrote his “Supplication to the Queen of Victories” prayer. Longo dedicated the rest of his life to helping the poor, especially by funding schools and homes for orphans.
Pope Leo has continued to affirm the importance of Mary for both his personal devotion and for the Church at large.
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| The Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Holy Rosary in Pompeii (Kasa Fue/Wikimedia Commons) |
Some, like the Basilica of Mary Major, where Pope Francis chose to be buried, have their origins in early Christianity. Some of the more modern Marian shrines, such as Guadalupe, Lourdes, and Fátima, attract pilgrims from all over the world, drawing millions of visitors annually. But an Italian shrine that contains a once-discarded Marian icon has captured the interest of Pope Leo XIV.
On May 8, the one-year anniversary of his election to the papacy, Pope Leo will not be in Rome. Instead, he will travel to Pompeii to visit the Pontifical Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Holy Rosary. Our Lady of the Rosary in Pompeii is less well-known than many other shrines in Rome but is a thoughtful choice for a pope who has expressed his devotion to Mary throughout his papacy.
When Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE, Pompeii was covered with volcanic ash and remained undisturbed for more than a thousand years. The archaeological excavation process to uncover it began in 1599 and took centuries to complete. Though the nearby city of Naples thrived as the largest city in southern Italy, Pompeii was not repopulated until the middle of the nineteenth century. In 1876, the ancient city gained a major Marian shrine because of the unlikely patronage of Bartolo Longo, an Italian lawyer.
Feast Day: October 5 | Patronage: The Rosary, Pompei
Saint Bartolo Longo, b. 1841, Died October 5, 1926 in Pompei, Italy
Longo experienced a crisis of faith and suffered from depression while he was studying at the University of Naples, and he was ordained as a Satanic priest. During his mental-health crisis, a friar and nun reached out to him, offering him a rosary. Longo wrote in his memoir that it was “through the intercession of our great Mother, whom we venerate in Pompeii by her title of the Rosary” that he returned to the Catholic Church.
Renewed by his faith, Longo established a confraternity of the rosary in Pompeii. Rosay confraternities, which had become one of the most popular Marian practices in the early modern period and still exist today, are composed of both religious and lay people who commit to praying the rosary on a weekly basis. As part of his efforts to further local Marian devotion, Longo sought to obtain an image of the Madonna and Child for supplicants to use as a devotional tool in prayer. He ultimately found a discarded one in a secondhand store and restored it. This seventeenth-century image (artist unknown) depicts Mary and Jesus flanked by St. Dominic and St. Catherine of Siena. The infant Christ hands one rosary to St. Dominic, and Mary gives the other to St. Catherine. Numerous miracles have been attributed to Mary’s intervention at this shrine.
Renewed by his faith, Longo established a confraternity of the rosary in Pompeii. Rosay confraternities, which had become one of the most popular Marian practices in the early modern period and still exist today, are composed of both religious and lay people who commit to praying the rosary on a weekly basis. As part of his efforts to further local Marian devotion, Longo sought to obtain an image of the Madonna and Child for supplicants to use as a devotional tool in prayer. He ultimately found a discarded one in a secondhand store and restored it. This seventeenth-century image (artist unknown) depicts Mary and Jesus flanked by St. Dominic and St. Catherine of Siena. The infant Christ hands one rosary to St. Dominic, and Mary gives the other to St. Catherine. Numerous miracles have been attributed to Mary’s intervention at this shrine.
The feast day for Our Lady of Pompeii is on May 8, commemorating that date in 1876 when the cornerstone for the new Marian shrine was laid. It was also on this date that Longo wrote his “Supplication to the Queen of Victories” prayer. Longo dedicated the rest of his life to helping the poor, especially by funding schools and homes for orphans.
Saint Bartolo Longo also continued to promote Marian devotion throughout Italy. Pope Leo XIV canonized Bartolo Longo as a saint on October 19, 2025, referring to Longo as a “benefactor of humanity.”
Pope Leo has continued to affirm the importance of Mary for both his personal devotion and for the Church at large.
In doing so, Francis humbly entrusted the Church to his mother, believing that she would lead the way to her son. In a similar vein, when he began his pontificate, Pope Leo asked for Mary’s guidance in his first public address. When he stood on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica on May 8, 2025, Pope Leo acknowledged the feast day of Our Lady of Pompeii and closed his address with a request for Mary’s guidance: “Today is the day of the Supplication to Our Lady of Pompeii…. Our blessed Mother Mary always wants to walk with us, be close to us, she always wants to help us with her intercession and her love. So let us pray together for this mission, and for all of the Church and for peace in the world.”
Since those first few words a year ago, Pope Leo has continued to affirm the importance of Mary for both his personal devotion and for the Church at large. In an address to six hundred Marian scholars who were in Rome last September for an academic conference, Pope Leo stated that Mary “never ceases to open doors, build bridges, break down walls and help humanity to live in peace and in the harmony of diversity.” As someone who described himself as a bridge-builder in his first public address, he appears to be aligning himself with her as a peacemaker in uncertain times. A month later, during the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality as part of the 2025 Jubilee Year, he dedicated the month of October to the rosary and encouraged others to “pray the rosary for peace.”
Many popes of the modern era have made at least one trip to Pompeii to visit the shrine. When the Vatican helped to restore the Madonna and Child painting in 1965, Pope Paul VI visited Pompeii and laid a crown before it (as is often tradition with Marian paintings and statues). When Pope Francis commemorated the 150th anniversary of the building of Our Lady of Pompeii in 2024, he spoke of the rosary as a useful tool for contemplation, accomplished “through the gaze of Mary.” In response to the announcement of Pope Leo’s forthcoming visit, the Archbishop of Pompeii Tommaso Caputo referred to the timing as “the wonderful synthesis of the expectations and hopes of our Marian City.”
On the morning of May 8, 2026, Pope Leo will preside over Mass in Pompeii and pray the supplication prayer to Mary that St. Bartolo Longo wrote more than 150 years ago. Like Leo, previous popes also eschewed formal commemorations tied to their election, as Leo seems to be doing—perhaps to take the focus off of themselves and shine it onto smaller events that align with their chosen pastoral mission. On the first anniversary of his election, Pope Francis participated in a Lenten retreat outside of Rome. Pope Benedict XVI opted to attend a concert that celebrated the 2759th anniversary of the “birth of Rome.”
Since those first few words a year ago, Pope Leo has continued to affirm the importance of Mary for both his personal devotion and for the Church at large. In an address to six hundred Marian scholars who were in Rome last September for an academic conference, Pope Leo stated that Mary “never ceases to open doors, build bridges, break down walls and help humanity to live in peace and in the harmony of diversity.” As someone who described himself as a bridge-builder in his first public address, he appears to be aligning himself with her as a peacemaker in uncertain times. A month later, during the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality as part of the 2025 Jubilee Year, he dedicated the month of October to the rosary and encouraged others to “pray the rosary for peace.”
Many popes of the modern era have made at least one trip to Pompeii to visit the shrine. When the Vatican helped to restore the Madonna and Child painting in 1965, Pope Paul VI visited Pompeii and laid a crown before it (as is often tradition with Marian paintings and statues). When Pope Francis commemorated the 150th anniversary of the building of Our Lady of Pompeii in 2024, he spoke of the rosary as a useful tool for contemplation, accomplished “through the gaze of Mary.” In response to the announcement of Pope Leo’s forthcoming visit, the Archbishop of Pompeii Tommaso Caputo referred to the timing as “the wonderful synthesis of the expectations and hopes of our Marian City.”
On the morning of May 8, 2026, Pope Leo will preside over Mass in Pompeii and pray the supplication prayer to Mary that St. Bartolo Longo wrote more than 150 years ago. Like Leo, previous popes also eschewed formal commemorations tied to their election, as Leo seems to be doing—perhaps to take the focus off of themselves and shine it onto smaller events that align with their chosen pastoral mission. On the first anniversary of his election, Pope Francis participated in a Lenten retreat outside of Rome. Pope Benedict XVI opted to attend a concert that celebrated the 2759th anniversary of the “birth of Rome.”
Focusing on his pastoral ministry, Pope Leo has chosen an opportunity to pray with his spiritual mother on this historic day—and invites us to do the same.
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