Overview
- At the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo XIV urged the faithful to “believe as Mary believed” and to renew a daily yes to God through prayer and concrete service.
- He taught that Mary’s unique grace is echoed for Christians in Baptism, which cleanses from original sin and makes them children of God.
- Continuing a long-standing papal custom linked to the 1857 monument, he laid flowers at the statue of the Immaculate in Piazza di Spagna and greeted a crowd reported by Vatican media at about 30,000.
- He entrusted to Mary a constant prayer for peace following the Angelus.
- The White House issued an official presidential message recognizing the feast and recalling Mary’s historic place in American religious life.