Vatican City, Dec 9, 2008 / 15:16 pm
Yesterday, on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the Holy Father traveled to Rome’s Piazza di Spagna to pray at the statue of Mary Immaculate. Gathered in the square packed with thousands, the Pope prayed that Christians be given the courage to become “the soul of the world at this difficult moment of history.”
Upon arriving at the square, the Holy Father blessed a basket of roses and placed them at the foot of a column bearing Mary’s statue, according to tradition.