Pope to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Genazzano

By Tiziana Campisi

Pope Leo XIV will return to Genazzano, the small town located about forty kilometers (about twenty five miles) from Rome — a summer resort during the Roman Empire and, in the Middle Ages, a village that later became part of the fiefdom of the Colonna family. It is home to the Basilica Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel, which was originally a small church dedicated to the Virgin Mary and was entrusted to the Augustinian religious in the 14th century.

The Pope made a private visit on May 10, 2025, two days after his election to the papacy. Over a year later, he will travel to the Marian shrine on September 7 at 6:00 p.m. to celebrate Mass on the eve of the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

First visit as Pope

“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. 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.”

“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.

He had entered the Order of Saint Augustine in the Augustinian Province of Chicago, which is itself dedicated to Our Lady of Good Counsel.

A personal with Our Lady of Good Counsel

The visit on May 10, 2025, was also Pope Leo’s first surprise outing.

As an Augustinian friar, he had visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel for decades. 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.

Pope Leo prays before the image of Our Lady of Good Counsel in May 2025   (@Vatican Media)

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.

Moreover, on the day of his election, May 8, 2025, before appearing on the Central Loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica, he prayed in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace before the image of Our Lady of Good Counsel, located to the right of the altar.

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.

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In 1356, the Colonna family, who were the lords of 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.

On April 25, 1467, a miraculous event took place: 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 pontiffs also visited the shrine in Genazzano: Urban VIII, Pius IX, John XXIII, and John Paul II. Their images are depicted on the walls of the shrine’s small chapel.

Regarding the upcoming visit and celebration on September 7, Father Ludovico Centra, rector of the shrine, told Vatican News that a painting depicting Pope Leo XIV praying before the image of the Virgin, like his predecessors, will be unveiled.