Pope Leo XIV will return on September 7 to the sanctuary of Our Lady of Good Counsel, in the Italian town of Genazzano, on the eve of the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. The visit will have special significance, as during the day a painting showing the Pontiff praying before this historic Marian image will be presented.
This will be the Holy Father’s second visit to this place since his election as Successor of Peter. Just two days after his election, on May 10, 2025, he surprised the faithful by traveling to this sanctuary, located about 40 kilometers from Rome, to entrust his ministry to the Virgin. On that occasion, Leo XIV left in the guest book the deep spiritual bond that unites him to this Marian devotion.
A sanctuary linked to Leo XIV’s journey
The Holy Father then assured that he felt «the duty and a deep desire» to go to the sanctuary and thanked Mary for the closeness with which she has accompanied him throughout his life. «The Virgin has guided me with her maternal presence, her wisdom, and her example of love for Christ, who is always the center of my faith,» he wrote, before entrusting her with the mission received at the head of the universal Church.
The relationship of the former priest Robert Prevost with Genazzano goes back a long way. Guarded for centuries by the Augustinians, the sanctuary has been a reference point in his vocational and pastoral journey. His first encounter with Our Lady of Good Counsel dates back to the 1980s, during his years of formation in Rome. Later, as prior general of the Order of Saint Augustine, he returned on numerous occasions. The last before becoming Pope took place in 2024, when he presided over the Eucharistic celebration of the feast of this devotion, patroness of the Augustinians.
The image that, according to tradition, crossed the Adriatic
The fame of Our Lady of Good Counsel is closely linked to an ancient tradition that places its origins in Albania, during the advance of the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century. According to this account, when the city of Scutari (now Shkodër) was threatened by Turkish troops, the faithful feared that the Marian image venerated in a local church would disappear or be destroyed.
Tradition holds that on April 25, 1467, the painting miraculously detached from its sanctuary and was transported by angels to Genazzano, where it appeared on one of the walls of a church under construction. For this reason, Our Lady of Good Counsel is also considered the patroness of Albania and enjoys special veneration both in that country and in Italy.
The current sanctuary stands on an ancient chapel dedicated to the Virgin that existed as early as the 13th century. At the beginning of the 15th century, the Augustinians undertook the expansion of the church and the nearby convent. A widow named Petruccia de Nocera, an Augustinian tertiary, decided to finance the work by selling all her goods. Convinced that the Virgin had asked her to build a chapel in honor of Our Lady of Good Counsel, she continued despite the resources proving insufficient to complete the work. Tradition narrates that, while the work remained unfinished, on April 25, 1467, the image of the Virgin with the Child miraculously appeared on one of the walls.
A sign of hope in times of war
That event coincided with one of the most difficult periods in Albania’s history. Under the leadership of Gjergj Kastrioti, known as Scanderbeg, the country resisted the Ottoman advance. After the death of the Albanian hero, Scutari eventually fell into the hands of the invaders. Tradition assures that to protect the Marian image from destruction, it miraculously left the city and crossed the Adriatic Sea to Italy. Two Albanian soldiers who allegedly followed its journey certified upon arriving in Genazzano that it was the same image previously venerated
Original source: www.aciprensa.com (published on August 9, 2026)
