world
Pope Leo XIV Visits Pompeii Sanctuary on Our Lady of Pompeii Feast Day
The first American pope helicoptered to the shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii on May 8, 2026, exactly one year after white smoke signaled his election as Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost. He opened the day by meeting sick and disabled pilgrims before celebrating Mass and launching a series of Italian day trips.
MA
Nbc NewsAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
Developing·Limited corroboration so far. This page will refresh as more sources emerge.
White smoke rose over the Sistine Chapel one year before May 8, 2026, the day Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected pope. Now known as Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope in history marked the anniversary Friday by traveling by helicopter to Pompeii near Naples. Pope Leo XIV visited Pompeii to mark the May 8 feast of Our Lady of Pompeii on the first anniversary of his election.
The feast commemorates the day in 1876 when the cornerstone for a shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary in Pompeii was laid. D. 79 by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
Throngs of cheering Italians met Pope Leo XIV in Pompeii on May 8, 2026, some of whom had been waiting since the middle of the night. He opened his visit by meeting with sick and disabled people cared for by a charity center affiliated with the sanctuary. The sanctuary is closely associated with St.
Bartolo Longo, who founded the basilica. Pope Leo XIV made St. Bartolo Longo a saint in October. Pope Francis approved the miracle necessary for St. Bartolo Longo’s canonization from his hospital room a few weeks before he died.
Pope Leo XIII declared the Pompeii sanctuary a pontifical basilica in 1901. ” Pope Leo XIV recalled that when St. ” The visit kicked off a series of day trips Pope Leo XIV will make over the next few weeks up and down the Italian peninsula.
On the night of his election as the former Robert Prevost, Pope Leo XIV led the faithful in prayer for his pontificate on the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica. ” Pope Leo XIV’s first words to the world after his election were a call for peace.
