PHOTOS: Pope Francis marks Immaculate Conception in Rome with prayer, surprise art visit

Pope Francis gazes up at the bronze statue of Mary atop the 39.4-foot column at Rome’s Spanish Steps, Dec. 8, 2024. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA CNA Newsroom, Dec 8, 2024 / 15:33 pm (CNA). Pope Francis marked the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception with a spiritual journey across Rome on Sunday, beginning at the Basilica of St. Mary Major and continuing to the Spanish Steps — where he reminded the faithful that “the true jubilee is inside” — before making an unexpected visit to a painting particularly dear to his heart.Beginning his Marian devotions at Rome’s most important Marian basilica, the pope prayed before the ancient icon “Salus Populi Romani” (“Protectress of the Roman People”), echoing his cherished tradition of visiting this beloved image before and after his international trips.Pope Francis prays before the Salus Populi Romani icon at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome, Dec. 8, 2024. Credit: Vatican MediaDespite cold and rainy weather, thousands of faithful gathered in Rome’s historic center as the pope continued the long-standing papal tradition of paying homage to the Immaculate Conception at the foot of the Marian column near the Spanish Steps.Pope Francis arrives with flowers for the traditional act of veneration of the Immaculate Conception at the Spanish Steps in Rome, Dec. 8, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNAThe statue of the Immaculate Conception, which sits atop a 39.4-foot-high column, was dedicated on Dec. 8, 1857, shortly after the Church proclaimed the doctrine of Mary’s Immaculate Conception. Since the 1950s, beginning with Pope Pius XII in 1953, it has been customary for popes to venerate the statue for the feast day.Pope Francis reads his prayer of dedication to Mary Immaculate during the ceremony. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNAAt 7 a.m., Rome’s firefighters had continued their own decades-old tradition, ascending to the top of the statue to place a wreath of flowers on the Virgin’s arm. The gesture honors their 220 colleagues who participated in the monument’s inauguration over 166 years ago.Pope Francis greets the crowd gathered at Rome’s Spanish Steps, Dec. 8, 2024. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNAIn his prayer at the Spanish Steps, Francis highlighted the significance of Rome’s preparation for the upcoming 2025 Jubilee Year, which he will inaugurate this Christmas Eve by opening the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica.‘Rome is alive, renewing itself’The pope noted that while Rome’s many construction projects preparing for the jubilee year cause “not a few inconveniences,” they are also “a sign that Rome is alive, renewing itself, trying to adapt to needs, to be more welcoming and functional.”“Because, without meaning to,” Francis noted in his prayer, “we risk being totally taken up by organization, by things that need to be done, and then the grace of the holy year, which is a time of spiritual rebirth, of forgiveness and social liberation, this jubilee grace may not come well, may be a little suffocated.”“But your maternal gaze sees beyond,” the pope prayed before the statue. “And I seem to hear your voice that with wisdom tells us: ‘My children, these works are good, but be attentive: Do not forget the construction sites of the soul! The true jubilee is not outside, it is inside: inside of you, inside hearts, inside family and social relationships.’”The 2025 Jubilee Year, themed around hope, will begin Dec. 24 with the opening of the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica.Pope Francis visits Marc Chagall’s painting “White Crucifixion” at Palazzo Cipolla in Rome on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, Dec. 8, 2024. Credit: Vatican MediaFollowing the Marian celebration, Francis made an unexpected stop at the Museo del Corso, where he viewed Marc Chagall’s “White Crucifixion.”The artwork, which depicts Christ’s crucifixion against a backdrop of Jewish suffering, combines religious imagery with historical context. On loan from the Art Institute of Chicago, it is currently on display as part of a range of cultural events leading up to the jubilee year.