Pope Prays at Santa Maria Maggiore - © PHOTO.VA - OSSERVATORE ROMANO

Returning From Panama, Pope Stops at Santa Maria Maggiore

After His 26th Apostolic Visit Abroad, Francis Prays Before Mary in Marian Basilica

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Share this Entry

Monday afternoon after having landed in Rome’s Ciampino Airport around 11:20 a.m. in Rome on Jan. 28, 2019, Pope Francis traveled to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore to offer thanks for the success of his four-day Apostolic Visit to the Central American country of Panama, Jan. 23-27, 2019, for the occasion of the XXXIV World Youth Day.
Director ‘ad interim’ of the Holy See Press Office, Alessandro Gisotti, on his Twitter, made the following tweet: “On returning from his journey to Panama for World Youth Day, Pope Francis went to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major to pray.
It is already a usual detour for the Holy Father to go to the Marian Basilica; he always venerates the icon before and after his international apostolic trips.
During his time inside, Francis prayed before the ancient image of Mary, Salus Populi Romani, in silence for several minutes.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Share this Entry

Deborah Castellano Lubov

Deborah Castellano Lubov is Senior Vatican & Rome Correspondent for ZENIT; author of 'The Other Francis' ('L'Altro Francesco') featuring interviews with those closest to the Pope and preface by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin (currently published in 5 languages); Deborah is also NBC & MSNBC Vatican Analyst. She often covers the Pope's travels abroad, often from the Papal Flight (including for historic trips such as to Abu Dhabi and Japan & Thailand), and has also asked him questions on the return-flight press conference on behalf of the English-speaking press present. Lubov has done much TV & radio commentary, including for NBC, Sky, EWTN, BBC, Vatican Radio, AP, Reuters and more. She also has contributed to various books on the Pope and has written for various Catholic publications. For 'The Other Francis': http://www.gracewing.co.uk/page219.html or https://www.amazon.com/Other-Francis-Everything-They-about/dp/0852449348/

Support ZENIT

If you liked this article, support ZENIT now with a donation