First he wanted to meet the traders of via Condotti, then, among a crowd of Romans and pilgrims, the homage to the Virgin as has already happened since 1958. It was John XXIII who was the first to establish a tradition so dear to the Romans. Pope Leo, with the mayor of Rome Gualtieri next to him, recited the prayer we are publishing at the foot of the statue
Prayer of the Holy Father
Hail, oh Mary!
Rejoice, full of grace,
of that grace which, like gentle light, makes us radiant
those on whom the presence of God reverberates.
The Mystery has surrounded you from the beginning,
from your mother’s womb he began to do great things in you,
who soon requested your consent,
that “Yes” that inspired many other “yes”.
Immaculate, Mother of a faithful people,
your transparency illuminates Rome with eternal light,
your path perfumes its streets more than the flowers we offer you today.
Many pilgrims from the whole world, O Immaculate,
they walked the streets of this city
throughout history and in this jubilee year.
A humanity tested, sometimes crushed,
humble as the earth from which God shaped her
and into which his Spirit of life never ceases to blow.
Look, O Mary, at the many sons and daughters in whom hope has not been extinguished:
what your Son sowed will sprout in them,
He, the living Word who asks everyone to grow further,
to take flesh, face and voice.
May Jubilee hope flourish in Rome and in every corner of the earth,
hope in the new world that God is preparing
and of which you, O Virgin, are like the gem and the dawn.
After the holy doors, other doors will now open
of homes and oases of peace in which dignity flourishes,
let us educate ourselves in non-violence, let us learn the art of reconciliation.
The kingdom of God come,
news that you hoped for so much and to which you completely opened yourself up,
as a child, as a young woman and as a mother of the nascent Church.
It inspires new intuitions in the Church that walks in Rome
and to the particular Churches that gather in every context
the joys and hopes, the sadness and anxieties
of our contemporaries, especially the poor,
and of all those who suffer.
Baptism still generates holy and immaculate men and women,
called to become living members of the Body of Christ,
a Body that acts, consoles, reconciles and transforms
the earthly city in which the City of God is being prepared.
Intercede for us, struggling with changes
which seem to find us unprepared and helpless.
Inspire dreams, visions and courage,
you who know more than anyone else that nothing is impossible for God,
and at the same time that God does nothing alone.
Put us on the road, with the haste that one day moved your steps
towards your cousin Elizabeth and the trepidation with which you became an exile and a pilgrim,
to be blessed, yes, but among all women,
first disciple of your Son,
mother of God with us.
Help us to always be Church with and among people,
leaven in the dough of a humanity that calls for justice and hope.
Immaculate, woman of infinite beauty,
take care of this city, of this humanity.
Point her to Jesus, bring her to Jesus, introduce her to Jesus.
