The Holy Father Pope Leo XIV presided at Vespers at the chapel of Domus Australia in Rome for the vigil of the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii.
Pope Leo is the second pope to visit Domus Australia, with Pope Benedict XVI blessing and officially opening Domus Australia in October 2011.
The visit of Pope Leo came about following an invitation from the rector of Domus Australia, Fr Joseph Hamilton, who spoke to The Catholic Weekly about the spiritual link between the chapel at Domus Australia and the Holy Father.
Fr Hamilton explained that the Domus Australia chapel is under the patronage of Our Lady of Pompeii and holds one of the original images of the Virgin of Pompeii gifted to the chapel by Blessed Bartolo Longo, who will be proclaimed a saint by Pope Leo on 19 October.
The supplica, the Prayer of Supplication to Our Lady of Pompeii, is traditionally prayed before the image at midday on 8 May and also on the first Sunday in October.
However, the image was only restored over the sanctuary of the Domus Australia chapel earlier this year at the direction of Fr Hamilton, and so 8 May 2025 was the first time the supplica had been prayed in the chapel for decades.
It also happened to be the day of Pope Leo’s election.
Stepping out onto the loggia at St Peter’s and addressing the faithful for the first time as Pope Leo XIV, the Holy Father noted that it was the day of the Prayer of Supplication to Our Lady of Pompeii and invoked Mary’s intercession under that title.
“I wrote to him and told him we prayed the supplica for him hours before he was elected,” Fr Hamilton said. “And I invited him to come to the chapel and bless the image on the next big feast.”
The feast would be the last Sunday in October, the next day the supplica would be prayed and the vigil of the feast of Our Lady of Pompeii (also known as the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary), which is the patronal feast for the Domus Australia chapel.
“I also began a 54-day Rosary novena, commencing on the Solemnity of the Assumption and concluding on today’s feast,” Fr Hamilton added.
The Holy Father accepted the invitation just two days before his visit, but Fr Hamilton had planned a celebration to honour the Virgin of Pompeii regardless.
The Gradualia Consort, an eight-person choir, had been arranged, singing Tu es Petrus as the Pope processed in.
“I don’t think anyone was expecting just how magnificent the choir would be,” Fr Hamilton said. “People were blown away.”
Fr Hamilton explained that the chapel was filled beyond capacity, but people had also gathered outside because the choir could be heard from the street.
Among those attending solemn vespers were the Australian Ambassador to the Holy See Keith Pitt, Hungarian Ambassador to the Holy See Eduard Habsburg-Lothringen and his wife, Maria, US Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch, and his wife, Sara, and more than 100 clergy from around the world.
“I told the Holy Father that while this chapel is under the care of the Church in Australia, the Blessed Mother has gathered clergy and faithful from five continents to worship here,” Fr Hamilton said.
“Every day in the chapel, there is Solemn Exposition and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament with Benediction, Rosary and Mass. By his presence, the Holy Father endorsed our ministry here.”
Fr Hamilton also took the opportunity to point out the image by artist Paul Newton of Catholics in Sydney gathered around the Blessed Sacrament that hangs in the chapel above where the pope was seated for Vespers.
“I told him it was the official image for the International Eucharistic Congress in 2028,” he said.
Fr Hamilton was very pleased with the success of the pope’s visit. “He loved it,” Fr Hamilton beamed.
In his homily, Pope Leo XIV reflected on the role of the Virgin Mary in the context of the Jubilee Year, which he described as a time marked by hope, Vatican News reported.
“In a particular way, Mary embodied [hope] through her trust that God would fulfil his promises,” the pope said.
“This hope, in turn, gave her the strength and courage to spend her life willingly for the sake of the Gospel and abandon herself entirely to God’s will.”
Pope Leo reminded the faithful that the Incarnation first took place “in Mary’s heart” before it occurred in her womb, and that people are called to learn patience and trust: “God’s time is always perfect,” he said.
