While it is not yet fully known what our new Holy Father Pope Leo XIV’s favorite devotions are, some good indications of a Marian leaning have already appeared.
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After he was introduced as the new Holy Father and before giving his first blessing urbi et orbi from the Loggia of Blessings of St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo XIV greeted the faithful and concluded with these words, “Our Mother Mary always wants to walk at our side, to remain close to us, to help us with her intercession and her love. So I would like to pray together with you. Let us pray together for this new mission, for the whole Church, for peace in the world, and let us ask Mary, our Mother, for this special grace.” Then he led everyone in praying the Hail Mary.
After his election, at his first Regina Caeli on Sunday, May 11, Leo XIV ended his remarks by again referring to our Blessed Mother, seeking her intercession: “May the Virgin Mary, whose entire life was a response to the Lord’s call, always accompany us in following Jesus.” He then concluded by not reciting, but beautifully singing, the Regina Caeli.
That wasn’t the first time he sang the Easter-season Marian hymn as Pope — he also sang the Regina Caeli in Latin with the cardinals at the conclusion of his first Mass as the new Pontiff.
His Marian devotion was on display as the world prayed during Pope Francis’ final illness, too. On March 3, then-Cardinal Robert Prevost, prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, led a gathering in St. Peter’s Square in praying the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary for Francis’ health to improve during those days of convalescence. The recitation of the Litany of Loreto followed the Rosary.
At that prayerful gathering, the cardinal emphasized Mary, saying that “the Mother of Holy Hope assists, restores and consoles all those who have recourse to her help.” He also focused on the hope that she might be “a sign of consolation and of sure hope.”
This gathering took place before the image of “Mary, Mother of the Church” placed on the porch leading up to St. Peter’s Basilica.
May 8 Feast
Leo XIV, the first Augustinian Pope, was elected on May 8, the day the Augustinian order remembers Mary in her title of Our Lady of Grace. While the order venerates the Blessed Mother under several titles, this one is the oldest, dating to the 13th century. At that time the daily chant or recitation of the Benedicta Tu (“Blessed Are You”) was first prescribed for the order.
There is another important Marian celebration on that date, although not listed on the general universal calendar. The new Holy Father referred to Mary under this title in his inaugural address in St. Peter’s Square, noting: “Today is the day of the Prayer of Supplication to Our Lady of Pompeii.”
Augustinian Devotion
Since around the 17th century, the Augustinians have had a principal devotion to our Blessed Mother under the title of Our Mother of Consolation, derived from a vision St. Monica, St. Augustine’s mother, had of Our Lady.
And since at least the 15th century, Augustinians have had devotion to Our Lady of Good Counsel. In 1467, as they were renovating a village church, a miraculous image of Our Lady and the Child Jesus appeared on a wall. The image was named after the title of the parish church: Our Lady of Good Counsel.
Thus it was fitting that, on the first Saturday (the day dedicated to Mary) of his papacy, Leo XIV went to pray at the Sanctuary of the Madre del Buon Consiglio (Mother of Good Counsel) in Genazzano, near Rome. That is administered by the Augustinians and “houses an ancient image of the Virgin, dear to the Order and to the memory of Leo XIII,” according to the Vatican. There, the Pope prayed St. John Paul II’s prayer to the Mother of Good Counsel with everyone present.
He reminded everyone of their Marian need, saying, “As the Mother never abandons her children, you must also be faithful to the Mother.”
That same day, the Pope also prayed at the Basilica of St. Mary Major at the tomb of his immediate predecessor, Pope Francis. He also prayed before the striking statue of Ave Regina Pacis (“Queen of Peace”).
More Augustinian Devotions
Finally, need it be said that since Leo XIV is an Augustinian, he surely must have a devotion to St. Augustine?
Nor should it be a surprise that Leo XIV reportedly has a devotion to St. Nicholas of Tolentino, an Augustinian saint. There is a shrine dedicated to this saint in Zaña, approximately 422 miles southeast of Chiclayo, where the now-Pope once served, including as bishop. As Father Prevost, he reportedly would come to the small chapel in Zaña to pray before an image of St. Nicholas of Tolentino, a miracle worker who is best known as the patron saint of souls in purgatory. St. Nicholas gave sick people bread to eat and offered prayers for the Blessed Mother’s intercession for healing.
Marian Legacy
Pope Leo XIV’s predecessor Leo XIII also had a strong devotion to Mary.
Pope Leo XIII has the record for the number of encyclicals on the Holy Rosary — 12 in all. And in 1883 he declared the feast of Queen of the Holy Rosary. In these dozen encyclicals he promoted Marian devotion. A sampling:
“The Rosary is the most excellent form of prayer and the most efficacious means of attaining eternal life. It is the remedy for all our evils, the root of all our blessings. There is no more excellent way of praying.”
“It is mainly to expand the kingdom of Christ that we look to the Rosary for the most effective help.”
“In Mary, God has given us the most zealous guardian of Christian unity. There are, of course, more ways than one to win her protection by prayer, but as for us, we think that the best and most effective way to her favor lies in the Rosary.”
In Octobri Mense (On the Rosary), Leo XIII wrote, “We may well believe that the Queen of Heaven herself has granted an especial efficacy to this mode of supplication [the Rosary], for it was by her command and counsel that the devotion was begun and spread abroad by the holy Patriarch Dominic as a most potent weapon against the enemies of the faith at an epoch not, indeed, unlike our own, of great danger to our holy religion.”
Leo XIII also has a May 8 connection. In 490, St. Michael the Archangel appeared in the world on May 8 on Mount Gargano, in Italy, where there is an important shrine dedicated to him. (His feast was kept on this date until 1960.)
Leo XIII had a heavenly vision that included St. Michael defeating the devil — and this vision led Leo XIII to give the Church the prayer to St. Michael, instructing it to be prayed after every Mass, which was done until 1965. In recent years the prayer has been reinstituted in many churches and some dioceses. Could the choice of the name of such a predecessor as Leo XIII, who also met personally with St. Thérèse of Lisieux and gave her permission to enter Carmel at such a young age, signal similar strong devotional ties to angelic help?
Already, Leo XIV’s Marian connection seems to be strong. At his first papal Mass with the cardinals, he concluded his first homily as Holy Father thus: “May God grant me this grace, today and always, through the loving intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church.”
This articles was originally published on NCRegister.
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