The New Pope Invokes the Madonna of Pompeii

When we hear the name Pompeii we immediately think of the Mount Vesuvius volcano which left the ancient city in ruins in 79 AD. But the Madonna of Pompeii is not about that. It's about Mary's concern for the Catholic Faith brought to near ruins nineteen centuries later. 

In the 1870's most of the people in that coastal region of Italy had lost their ancient Catholic faith; ignorance and superstition prevailed. Only a handful of people bothered to attend the services in the little parish chapel.

Any time a pope is elected and for the first time he walks out onto the loggia, the faithful look for signs and symbols that indicate the direction our new shepherd will lead us. Is he wearing the traditional cope and stole? What does the name that he took mean? What is he trying to convey with his gestures?

As soon as he speaks, those signs and symbols become more clear and concrete. We no longer have to wonder what he means to convey. We simply have to listen.

In this Easter season, Pope Leo XIV began with the words of the resurrected Jesus, ‘Peace be with you!” and he ended with a Hail Mary prayer to Mary, Madonna of Pompeii.

For most Catholics, Cardinal Robert Prevost was new. We had never heard of him nor had we heard of the title of Mary which he invoked: 'Madonna of Pompeii'.

He did this because his election happened to fall on May 8, which is the feast day of Our Lady of Pompeii.

Pope Leo said, “Today, the day in which we pray to the Madonna of Pompeii, our mother Mary always wants to stay close to us and help us with her love and her intercession. Let us pray together, this new mission, for the whole church, and for peace throughout the world. And let’s ask for this special grace for Mary, our mother.”

After invoking the Madonna of Pompeii, he led the crowd in praying a Hail Mary. 

So what is the story of the Madonna of Pompeii?

May 8: Our Lady of Pompeii (Taken from romancatholicsaints.com)

Unlike so many of Our Lady’s titles, which go back centuries for their origin, this one is quite recent. The events which gave rise to this title took place less than one hundred years ago.

By the last half of the nineteenth century the Valley of Pompeii, near Naples, was practically deserted. Of the comparatively few people who still lived there, most had lost their ancient Catholic faith; ignorance and superstition prevailed. Only a handful of people bothered to attend the services in the little parish chapel.

In October 1872, a man named Bartolo Longo came to the valley. He was the husband of the Countess of Fusco, who had some property there; and Bartolo came to see what condition it was in. He had been reared a Catholic and was probably still one in name, although it seems he was not very devout.

On October 9th, a few days after his arrival, he was walking along a rather desolate road when suddenly a voice spoke to him. It told him that if he wished to be saved, he should spread devotion to the Rosary and that the Blessed Virgin had promised, that was the way to find salvation.

Bartolo fell on his knees and replied that if the Virgin had truly so promised then he would be saved; he would not leave the valley until he had popularized the Rosary.

His early efforts to interest the people in the Rosary devotion do not seem to have been very successful, but he persisted, and in two or three years he had gathered quite a group around him for daily recitation of the prayers in the little chapel.

The Bishop visited the valley in 1875, and complimented Bartolo on the good work he had done. He suggested that a church be built there in honor of Our Lady of Pompeii, and then, turning prophet, the Bishop pointed to a field near the chapel and declared that someday a basilica would stand on that spot.

As the number of people taking part in the daily recitation of the Rosary grew, it was decided to obtain a picture of the Blessed Virgin, to help the faithful meditate as they prayed. On October 13, 1875, Bartolo went to Naples to see if he could find a suitable picture, but after searching for several days, to his great disappointment, he found that any really good picture would cost around four hundred francs, and he had nowhere near that amount to spend.

He didn’t want to return empty handed, however, and disappoint the good people of Pompeii, so he somewhat reluctantly accepted a secondhand painting from a junk store for five lire. A trucker not knowing what the package contained pitched it on top of a load of garbage and so the picture arrived at the chapel. The people were pleased with the dilapidated picture and enshrined it. Almost immediately several miracles took place through Mary’s intercession as Our Lady of Pompeii. A church was built, 1876-1891 and a new basilica, 1934-1939, ordered by Pope Pius XI.

Interestingly, it was Pope Leo XIII who served as Pope from February 20, 1878, to July 20, 1903 during the construction of the shrine and it's consecration on May 7 1891 by Cardinal Raffaele Monaco La Valletta, representing Pope Leo XIII.

To add to the coincidences, Pope Francis just gave a special endorsement of the Madonna of Pompeii six months ago in November. He rejoiced over the fact that the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the painting would occur during the jubilee year of Hope. 

I find it interesting that the crux of the story is about a renewal of the Catholic Faith in a Europe whose faith had become lukewarm. It was through dedication to praying the rosary that it began to revive. We know this message is super relevant today.

Is Our Lady asking the new pope to bring about a similar marian revival in the Church?

As Blessed Bartolo Longo said, “If you seek salvation, spread the rosary."

Our Lady of Pompeii pray for us... (for more information on this topic see spiritdaily.com)