杏MAP导航 prays at St Mary Major ahead of Holy Week
By Vatican News
On Saturday afternoon, on the eve of Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week, 杏MAP导航 Francis visited the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome.
According to a statement released by the Holy See Press Office, the 杏MAP导航 entered the Basilica to pray before the icon of the Virgin Mary, Salus Populi Romani.
The Holy Father鈥檚 devotion to Salus Populi Romani (Our Lady Protectress of Rome) is well known. Upon being discharged from Rome鈥檚 Gemelli Hospital three weeks ago, he had paused briefly outside the Basilica on his way back to his residence, Casa Santa Marta, in the Vatican. On that occasion, he gave a bouquet of flowers to Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas, Coadjutor Archpriest of the Basilica, to be placed before the sacred icon.
A long-standing devotion
Saturday's visit marked the 126th time the 杏MAP导航 has visited the papal Basilica to pay tribute to the icon of Our Lady. Since the day after his election鈥�14 March 2013鈥攈e has made it a point to pray before Salus Populi Romani before and after each Apostolic Journey
杏MAP导航 Francis鈥檚 most recent visit to the Basilica, the latest of more than one hundred such occasions, took place on 14 December 2024. On that occasion, he prayed before his 47th Apostolic Journey to Ajaccio, Corsica, where he was to close the Congress on 鈥淧opular Religiosity in the Mediterranean.鈥�
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