GENAZZANO, Italy (AP) — Pope Leo XIV returned Monday to a shrine where he prayed just after his election and unveiled a permanent sign of his devotion to the site: a fresco depicting him praying that now adorns an upper cornice of the basilica. Leon unveiled the portrait before celebrating mass with his Augustinian brothers at the Sanctuary of Our Mother of Good Counsel in the medieval town of Genazzano, south of Rome. He joins a handful of previous popes whose visits to the shrine were commemorated with portraits adorning its walls, dating back to Pope Urban VIII in 1630. Leo visited the shrine on May 10, 2025, just two days after his election and on his first outing as pope. The former Robert Prevost had already been there many times, as the place has special significance for the Pope’s Augustinian religious order. The sanctuary is managed by Augustinian friars and has been a place of pilgrimage since the 15th century. León’s namesake, Pope Leo XIII, elevated it to a minor basilica and expanded the adjacent convent in the early 20th century. León referred to that 2025 excursion during his homily at the basilica on Monday, which commemorates the birth of Mary. León remembered what he wrote then in the sanctuary’s guest book. The new Pope then wrote that he felt the “need and deep desire” to come to the sanctuary after his election to pray before the Virgin of Good Counsel “who has accompanied me all my life with her maternal presence, with her wisdom and example of love for her son, who is always the center of my faith.” Leo and the Vatican are stepping up their activities now that the summer lull is coming to an end. The Holy See’s normally busy fall conferences and audiences are taking shape, and Leo is preparing for a trip to France at the end of the month and his long-awaited trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru in November. ___Winfield reported from Rome.___Associated Press religion coverage is supported through AP’s partnership with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
