CNA Staff, Dec 8, 2020 / 01:45 am
Pope Francis made a surprise visit Tuesday morning to the statue of the Immaculate Conception in Rome's Piazza di Spagna.
The Holy See press office said Dec. 8 that the pope had made a private visit to the statue, days after it announced that he would not make his customary public afternoon visit to the site due to the pandemic.
"At 7 a.m. this morning, on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Holy Father went to the Spanish Steps for an act of veneration in private to Mary Immaculate," the press office said.
"At the first light of dawn, in the rain, he laid a bouquet of white roses at the base of the column where the statue of Our Lady stands and he turned to Her in prayer, so that she might watch over Rome and its inhabitants with love, entrusting to Her all those in this city and in the world who are afflicted by sickness and discouragement."