PHOTOS: Pilgrims honor Mary in St. Peter’s Basilica

Prayer for Mary in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 Prayer for Mary in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 | Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Prayer for Mary in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 The holy door is incensed during a prayer for Mary in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 | Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Prayer for Mary in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 People enter St. Peter's Basilica during a prayer for Mary on May 11, 2022 | Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Prayer for Mary in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 Stopping before Michelangelo's Pietà during a prayer for Mary in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 | Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Prayer for Mary in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 Stopping before Michelangelo's Pietà during a prayer for Mary in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 | Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Prayer for Mary in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 The prayer for Mary stops before an 18th-century mosaic of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 | Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Prayer for Mary in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 Prayer for Mary in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 | Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Prayer for Mary in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 The image of Mater Peregrinorum in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 | Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Prayer for Mary in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 The image of Mater Ecclesiae was one of the stops during a Marian prayer service in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 | Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Prayer for Mary in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 Prayer for Mary in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 | Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Prayer for Mary in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 Prayer for Mary in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 | Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Prayer for Mary in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 Prayer for Mary in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 | Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Prayer for Mary in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 Prayer for Mary in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 | Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Prayer for Mary in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 Mass at the end of a prayer for Mary in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 | Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Prayer for Mary in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 Mass at the end of a prayer for Mary in St. Peter's Basilica on May 11, 2022 | Daniel Ibanez/CNA

On Wednesdays during the month of May, pilgrims can gather in St. Peter’s Basilica for a prayer service honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary.

On May 11, the prayer began at the entrance of the basilica, in front of the holy door, and was followed by a procession through the basilica, stopping at images of the Virgin Mary.

The Marian artistic works in the basilica include Michelangelo’s sculpture of the Pietà, the ancient image of Mater Ecclesiae (Mother of the Church), a small painting of Mater Peregrinorum (Pilgrim’s Mother), and large mosaics of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven and the Presentation of Mary.

Mass at the altar of the Chair of St. Peter concluded the prayer service.

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