Pompeii prepares to welcome Pope Leo on 1st anniversary of pontificate

Expressing his joy and gratitude for Pope Leo XIV’s upcoming visit to the city of Pompeii on 8 May 2026, Archbishop Tommaso Caputo said “The Holy Father’s visit to Pompeii to celebrate the first year of his pontificate is a most special gift, one that we wish to welcome with hearts full of gratitude, so that our community may become ever more a sanctuary of light, a school of prayer, and a fortress of peace.”

Speaking to Vatican News just days ahead of the Pope's one-day visit to Naples and nearby Pompeii in Italy's southern Campania region, the Pontifical Delegate for the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii described the “enthusiastic and joyful” anticipation of the faithful. He also revealed the fact that organisers have received “countless requests to participate from all over, many of which unfortunately cannot be accommodated due to limited space.”

Pope Leo XIV’s visit comes eleven years after the last papal pilgrimage to Pompeii by Pope Francis in March 2015. The first Pope to visit the city was Saint John Paul II in 1979, who returned again in 2003. Pope Benedict XVI also visited in 2008 to pray before the Virgin's image.

“A Pope’s visit is always a historic moment for a city—an epoch-making event that marks a ‘before’ and an ‘after,’” Archbishop Caputo said.

At the heart of the day will be the celebration of the Eucharist, which Pope Leo XIV will preside over at 10:30 a.m. local time in the square before the Shrine.

Following Mass, the Holy Father will lead the traditional Supplica to Our Lady of Pompeii, the solemn act of entrustment to the Blessed Virgin composed in 1883 by the Shrine’s founder, Saint Bartolo Longo.

Tens of thousands of faithful are expected to welcome the Pope. His visit will begin symbolically with a meeting with representatives of the “Temple of Charity,” who assist the Shrine’s charitable initiatives.

The Pope will then travel by popemobile through the surrounding streets and, before Mass, will meet the sick, persons with disabilities, and the elderly inside the Basilica.