Pope Leo at the shrine of the Mother of Good Counsel, in Ghenacan

2025-05-10 19:41:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Pope Leo XIV went this afternoon to the town known to Albanians, outside Rome, to privately visit the church with the figure of the Patroness of Albanians, who came from Shkodra, a figure beloved also by the Augustinians.

The Pope greeted the people in the square and prayed before Our Lady: "I very much wanted to come here in these first days of the new ministry that the Church entrusted to me, to carry forward the mission as the Successor of Saint Peter."

For his first unannounced appearance, Pope Leo XIV chose a symbolic place dear to Albanians, the sanctuary of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Gjenancan, outside Rome, where the image of Our Lady is located, having come from Shkodra and been welcomed by the Augustinians, who serve in that church, of which the Holy Father is a member. The Pope arrived this afternoon, around 4:00 p.m.

Everyone knows the story of Our Lady's escape from Shkodra to escape the Ottomans, coming to Gjenacan, where the Augustinians dedicated a church to her and where Albanian Catholic believers from all over Italy and all over the world make a pilgrimage every year. Not far from May 25, the last Sunday of the month, as is now tradition, Albanians will once again go on a pilgrimage to Our Lady to spend the day with her, with a mass at 12.30 celebrated by the president of the Episcopal Conference of Albania, Bishop Gjergj Meta.

We recall that the image of Our Lady of Good Counsel was particularly dear to the predecessor of the current Pope with the same name, Pope Leo XIII, who never managed to visit it, but in 1903 he raised the church to the dignity of a minor basilica. Other Popes have also gone to pray to the Mother of Good Counsel: Pope Saint John XXIII in 1959 and Pope Saint John Paul II in 1993, before leaving for Albania, where he took a copy of the image of the Lady to Shkodra. Pope Leo XIV had gone for the last time as a cardinal, on April 25, 2024, to celebrate the feast of the “Advent” of the Mother of Good Counsel in Ghegnadzor. In his homily, the then Cardinal Prevost expressed his devotion to the Virgin, calling on the faithful to be inspired by Mary to spread peace and reconciliation in the world.

Greeting people and praying to Our Lady

This afternoon, Pope Leo XIV arrived in a Volkswagen, sitting in the front seat; he was greeted by a cheering crowd of hundreds of people, who immediately gathered in the square, or watched from windows and balconies. After entering the church, where he greeted the faithful, the Pope stopped to pray, first before the altar and then before the figure of Our Lady of Good Counsel. With those present, he said the prayer of John Paul II to Our Lady of Good Counsel.

In the hands of Saint Mary

Finally, after the prayers “Hail Mary” and “Hail Queen”, the Pope addressed those present in the church, greeting them and the people of Gennacani gathered outside: “I very much wanted to come here in these first days of the new ministry that the Church entrusted to me, to carry forward this mission as the Successor of Saint Peter”. Recalling the visit made after his election as superior general of the Order of Saint Augustine, and the desire to “offer my life to the Church”, Leo XIV emphasized “faith in the Mother of Good Counsel”, companion of “light, wisdom”, with the words that Saint Mary said to the servants at the Wedding of Cana, mentioned in the Gospel according to John: “Do whatever she tells you!”

Afterwards, the Pope and the entire Augustinian community went to an inner hall for a private meeting.