One year to the day after his historic election as the first American pontiff to lead the global Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV traveled to southern Italy’s Pompeii on Friday to mark the milestone, describing himself as “blessed” amid weeks of public friction with the White House.
The 70-year-old Pope marked the May 8, 2025 anniversary with a visit to the Sanctuary of the Virgin of the Rosary of Pompeii, a religious site founded by a former Satanic priest that held special personal meaning for Leo: he first referenced the sanctuary in his inaugural address from St. Peter’s Basilica balcony on the day of his election. The site sits in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, near the iconic ruins of the ancient Roman city destroyed by the volcano’s eruption centuries ago.
Arriving via white helicopter to the ancient southern Italian city, Pope Leo was greeted by roaring shouts of “the pope has arrived!” from thousands of pilgrims gathered in the main city square. Inside the sanctuary, he addressed a crowd of more than 2,000 faithful, which included 400 sick and disabled worshippers. “What a beautiful day, so many blessings. I feel the most blessed for being able to come here to the sanctuary… on this anniversary,” he told the assembled gathering.
The pastoral trip came just one day after Pope Leo held a long-awaited audience with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a meeting arranged to de-escalate tensions that erupted after U.S. President Donald Trump launched scathing public criticism of the pontiff’s outspoken anti-war stance. In the wake of Trump’s attacks, Pope Leo stood firm, saying he held a “moral duty” to speak out against conflict, and reiterated this position ahead of the Pompeii visit, noting “The Church’s mission is to preach the Gospel and to preach peace.”
Following the meeting, Rubio confirmed the discussion had been productive, telling reporters “It’s important to share our points of view and an understanding of where we’re coming from.” The Pope’s measured response to Trump’s criticism won praise from both lay worshippers and Italian political leaders. Mariella Annunziata, a 52-year-old faithful in attendance at the Pompeii event, told reporters the pope had responded “in an elegant way” to the attacks, adding “He did not give in to provocation.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who also drew criticism from Trump after defending the Pope’s right to speak out on peace issues, issued a public tribute to the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics. Writing on X, she noted: “In a complex and highly uncertain time, his voice is a point of reference on a global level — for Christians but not only.”
After arriving in Pompeii, Pope Leo traveled through the packed square in his popemobile, with crowds leaning out of building windows and gathering on balconies to catch a glimpse of the pontiff. Dressed in a traditional red mozzetta short cape over his white papal robes, he greeted an estimated 20,000 people gathered outside the basilica with a cheerful “Good morning Pompeii!” before entering the sanctuary.
During an outdoor mass held following his tour, the Pope returned to his core anti-war message, telling attendees “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 called on global leaders to make a “renewed commitment” to end all armed conflicts around the world.
For many pilgrims in attendance, the anniversary visit was a historic occasion. Tommaso Del Sorbo, a 32-year-old local who brought his small poodle Giorgio to the mass, said “It’s a wonderful feeling because it’s not every day that we have the pope here among us, especially one year after his election.” Sixty-eight-year-old Salvatore Sica, who traveled to Pompeii from nearby Naples, offered a measured take on the new pontiff, noting his reserved leadership style contrasts sharply with that of the late Pope Francis, the Argentine pontiff who died in April 2024 and was widely beloved for his warm, spontaneous approach. “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 said. “He preaches peace but I see him as distant from the people. But he is a good pope.”
The one-day southern Italy trip is the first of a series of short pastoral visits the Vatican has planned for Italy this summer, coming two weeks after the Pope completed a four-nation tour of Africa. After wrapping up his events in Pompeii, the Pope traveled on to Naples, where he venerated the relics of San Gennaro, the city’s patron saint, and greeted crowds in the iconic Piazza del Plebiscito. In a speech to Naples residents, he praised the city as a “pearl of the Mediterranean” while also drawing attention to its widespread economic hardship and “multiple faces of poverty.”