(OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV returned Sept. 7 to the Marian shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel, where he asked the Virgin Mary for aid to bring God’s word to light through “courageous and wise decisions.”

The pope traveled to Genazzano, a small town about 35 miles east of Rome, to celebrate an evening Mass at the Basilica Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel on the vigil of the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The visit was the second he has made to the basilica since becoming pope. Pope Leo recalled how he previously made a surprise visit to the shrine just days after his election in the May 2025 conclave to pray before the image of the Virgin Mary to whom he has long been devoted. 

“As you may remember, ‘in the early days of my pontificate, I felt the duty and a deep desire to visit Genazzano, the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel, who has accompanied me throughout my life with her maternal presence, her wisdom and the example of her love for her Son, who is always the center of my faith,'” the pope said at the start of his homily, quoting words he wrote in the shrine’s guest book on his first visit. 

‘Mary is the dawn of a new day’

Reflecting on the birth of the Virgin Mary, which the Church celebrates on Sept. 8, the pope said that “Mary is the dawn of a new day, of our world finally freed from evil.”

“Let us ask her for her Good Counsel, so that we may welcome the divine Word, keep it within us, and bring it to light through courageous and wise decisions, decisions of authentic conversion,” he said.

The shrine holds special significance for Pope Leo, who visited many times prior to his election as pope. The Augustinian Province of Chicago, where then-Robert Prevost entered religious life, was dedicated to Our Lady of Good Counsel, and he has visited the Genazzano sanctuary for decades since his first visit while studying in Rome in the early 1980s.

His pilgrimages to pray before the image continued throughout his time as prior general of the Augustinians, bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, and later as a cardinal.

New fresco of Pope Leo unveiled at Marian shrine

The shrine, entrusted to the Augustinians since the 14th century, has drawn many pilgrims over the centuries, among them several popes, including Urban VIII, Pius IX, John XXIII and John Paul II, who are depicted in frescoes on the walls of the basilica. 

Pope Leo arrived in Genazzano shortly after 5 p.m. and greeted pilgrims gathered outside and inside the basilica who enthusiastically kissed his ring. He first knelt in prayer before the main altar and then visited the chapel containing the revered image of Our Lady of Good Counsel, where he prayed silently and presented a golden rose, a traditional papal gift.

Before Mass, a new fresco on the wall of the basilica was unveiled depicting the current Augustinian pope kneeling before the Marian image. 

In his homily for the Church’s celebration of Mary’s birth, Pope Leo invited prayerful contemplation of the virtues of the Virgin Mary. 

‘She is born simply a child’

“We celebrate the birth of a little girl called to become the Mother of her Creator, the Mother of God who saves,” he said. “And yet, she is born simply a child, like the daughters and granddaughters we hold in our arms.”

The pope quoted St. Thomas of Villanova, a 16th-century Augustinian bishop and theologian, who pondered why the Gospels did not provide more details about Mary’s life, describing this as an invitation to contemplate her holiness and virtues.

Pope Leo commented that “St. Thomas invites us to engage in this wonderful exercise of the imagination,” adding that contemplative prayer is especially important today “in times of destruction and uncertainty.” 

St. Thomas of Villanova wrote, “Let your imagination run wild … paint in the depths of your soul a young woman who is most pure, most prudent, most beautiful, most devout, most humble, most gentle, full of every grace, rich in sanctity, adorned with all the virtues, embellished with all the charisms, absolutely pleasing to God.”

Courtney Mares is Vatican editor for OSV News. Follow her on X @catholicourtney.