Sawt Falasteen - 'Blessed' Leo marks one year as pope with southern Italy visit

On the first anniversary of his May 8, 2025, election, the first US pontiff visited a shrine in the city of Pompeii founded by a former Satanic priest.

"What a beautiful day, so many blessings," the pope told a crowd of faithful inside the church, which included some 400 sick and disabled people.

"I feel the most blessed for being able to come here to the sanctuary... on this anniversary," the pope said.

The pope flew in on a white helicopter, eliciting cries of "the pope has arrived!" from thousands of pilgrims assembled in a vast square in Pompeii.

One of them was Salvatore Sica, 68, who had come from nearby Naples.

"I'm curious to see the new pope... He's not like Francis, who was one of the family like a brother or a father," Sica told AFP.

"He preaches peace but I see him as distant from the people. But he is a good pope."

The 70-year-old pontiff's measured and discreet style contrasts with the more spontaneous Francis, the late Argentine pope who died on April 21 last year.

The visit comes a day after Leo received US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for an audience aimed at easing tensions after scathing criticism of the pope's anti-war views from US President Donald Trump.

At the time, the pope said he had a "moral duty" to speak out, and this week added: "The Church's mission is to preach the Gospel and to preach peace."

Among the faithful in Pompeii, Mariella Annunziata, 52, said the pope had responded "in an elegant way" to Trump's comments.

"He did not give in to provocation," she said.

Fra Gianluca, a 24-year-old Franciscan friar, said the pope had shown "the beautiful face of someone who receives an offence but knows that what he is doing is for the good of the Church".

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who was also criticised by Trump after defending the pope, paid tribute to the leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

"In a complex and highly uncertain time, his voice is a point of reference on a global level -- for Christians but not only," she wrote on X to mark the anniversary.

- 'Good morning Pompeii!' -

During the visit, Pope Leo toured the square in Pompeii on his popemobile, with people leaning out of windows or gathering on balconies above to see him.

Wearing a red mozzetta short cape over his white papal robes, he greeted the crowds outside with a "Good morning Pompeii!" before entering the basilica.

During an outdoor mass, the pope returned to his anti-war message saying that "we cannot resign ourselves to the images of death that we see on the news every day".

He also prayed for God to "enlighten all those who bear special responsibilities of governance" and for a "renewed commitment" to end all wars.

The pope was visiting the sanctuary of the Virgin of the Rosary of Pompeii, near the ruins of the ancient Roman city destroyed by a volcanic eruption.

Leo cited the sanctuary in his first address from the balcony of St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.

It holds the body of Bartolo Longo, a 19th-century saint who rediscovered his Catholic faith after being a Satanic priest.

The shrine also has a strong connection with Leo XIII -- the 19th century pope who inspired the current pontiff with his defence of workers -- who made the shrine a pontifical basilica in 1901.

The one-day trip marks the first of several short pastoral visits planned this summer in Italy, and comes a fortnight after a tour of four African nations.

Later on Friday, the pope will head to Naples, the teeming southern Italian metropolis where he will venerate the relics of San Gennaro, the city's patron saint, and greet the crowds in the Piazza del Plebiscito.

W.AbuLaban--SF-PST