(OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV will celebrate Mass in the Basilica Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel on the eve of the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Sept. 7.
The Vatican has confirmed that the pope will travel to Genazzano, the small town located about 35 miles east of Vatican City, to offer an evening Mass at 6 p.m. local time.
Father Ludovico Centra, the rector of the shrine, told Vatican News that a new painting depicting Pope Leo XIV praying before the image of the Our Lady of Good Counsel will be unveiled on the day of the pope’s visit.
Pope Leo previously made a surprise visit to the shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel two days after his election as pope. The Marian shrine was entrusted to the Augustinian religious order in the 14th century.
“I very much wanted to come here during these first days of the new ministry that the Church has entrusted to me, in order to continue the mission as Successor of Peter,” Pope Leo told the Augustinian friars and the faithful gathered outside the basilica during his first visit to Genazzano as pope on May 10, 2025.
In the shrine’s guest book, he added that he had felt the duty and a deep desire to come to the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel after his election.
“Throughout my entire life, she has accompanied me with her maternal presence, with her wisdom, and with the example of her love for her Son, who is always at the center of my faith. The way, the truth and the life. Thank you, Mother, for your help; accompany me in this new mission,” the pope wrote, according to Vatican News.
Pope Leo’s devotion to Our Lady of Good Counsel
Pope Leo’s devotion to Our Lady of Good Counsel goes back decades. The Augustinian Province of Chicago, where then-Robert Prevost entered the order, was dedicated to Our Lady of Good Counsel.
As an Augustinian friar, the future pope had visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel many times. He first visited it as a young student in Rome in the early 1980s; later, he returned frequently as prior general, and subsequently as bishop of Chiclayo and as a cardinal.
Before his election as pope, his most recent visit had been for the Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel on April 25, 2024. In his homily, he urged the faithful to look to Mary as an inspiration for spreading peace and reconciliation throughout the world.
Immediately before the world met Pope Leo as the 267th Successor of Peter on the central loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica, the newly elected pope prayed before the image of Our Lady of Good Counsel located to the right of the altar in the Pauline Chapel in the Apostolic Palace, according to Vatican News.
The history of the shrine
The Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel stands on the site where a small church dedicated to Mary had already existed in the 13th century, while the Augustinian friars lived in a small convent on the outskirts of the town of Genazzano.
In 1356, the Colonna family, who were the nobility in the area, entrusted pastoral care of the place of worship to the friars. At the beginning of the 15th century, they decided to rebuild and enlarge it, together with the adjoining convent.
An Augustinian tertiary widow named Petruccia contributed to the project by selling all her possessions. Although she was mocked because she did not have sufficient funds to complete the work, she always maintained that the Blessed Virgin and Saint Augustine would bring it to completion.
According to local tradition, a miraculous event took place at the shrine on April 25, 1467: an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared on a wall of the church, which was still under construction. It was later recognized by two Albanian pilgrims as the same image venerated in Shkodër, Albania, which had disappeared from the place where it had been venerated.
The event caused great amazement and attracted thousands of faithful. Miracles and graces were reported, and thanks to the donations that poured in, the construction of the church and the Augustinian convent was completed.
Over the centuries, other popes also visited the shrine in Genazzano, including Urban VIII, Pius IX, John XXIII, and John Paul II. Their images are depicted on the walls of the shrine’s small chapel.
Pope Leo’s namesake, Pope Leo XIII, was also known to have a deep devotion to Our Lady of Good Counsel. He approved the small white scapular of Our Lady of Good Counsel, endowing it with indulgences. And in 1903, Pope Leo XIII added the invocation “Mater boni consilii” to the Litany of Loreto.
A version of this story was originally published by Vatican News and distributed through a partnership with OSV News.
