Pope Leo XIV will venerate Mary at Rome’s Immaculate Conception statue on 8 December, continuing a beloved tradition alongside firefighters and civic leaders.
Newsroom (03/12/2025 Gaudium Press ) Tradition and popular devotion will once again converge in the heart of the Eternal City on Monday 8 December, when the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
At the foot of the towering 12-metre column in Piazza Mignanelli, just steps from the Spanish Steps, Pope Leo XIV will personally pay homage to the statue of Our Lady, continuing a practice cherished by his predecessors, including St John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and, most recently, Pope Francis.
One year ago, on 8 December 2024, Pope Francis knelt before the same statue to entrust the forthcoming Jubilee Year to Mary, describing it as “a message of hope for humanity tried by crises and wars.” Now, only weeks before the Jubilee’s conclusion, Pope Leo XIV returns to the same spot in a gesture that underscores continuity and filial devotion.
The day’s events will begin early, respecting a ritual that has become emblematic of Roman piety. At 7:00 a.m., firefighters from the Vigili del Fuoco – the first to honour the Virgin each year – will ascend the column using their extension ladders to place a large wreath of flowers on the outstretched arm of the Madonna, an act that never fails to draw applause from early-rising onlookers.
In the afternoon, at 4:00 p.m., Pope Leo XIV will arrive in the piazza. He will be welcomed by Cardinal Reina, Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome, and by Mayor Roberto Gualtieri. After a moment of silent prayer at the base of the column, the Holy Father will lay his own floral wreath, prepared by the Vatican’s florists, at the feet of the Immaculate Conception.
The solemnity will be enriched by numerous other moments throughout the day. At 8:30 a.m., the band of the Vatican Gendarmerie will perform a hymn to the Madonna. Delegations from the Sovereign Order of Malta, the Legio Mariae, the Circolo San Pietro, the Don Gnocchi Foundation, Unitalsi, and several Roman educational institutions will then present their floral offerings.
At 9:00 a.m., Holy Mass will be celebrated in the nearby church of Trinità dei Monti, presided over by Monsignor Francesco Pesce, diocesan delegate for social and labour pastoral care, with the participation of workers from various Roman companies.
Meanwhile, the Conventual Franciscan Friars Minor at the Basilica of the Twelve Holy Apostles will conclude the city’s oldest novena to the Immaculate Conception. From 29 November to 7 December, the faithful have gathered daily at 5:45 p.m. for the Rosary and litanies, followed at 6:30 p.m. by Mass introduced by the singing of “Tota Pulchra,” a composition by Conventual Franciscan friar Alessandro Borroni. Each evening Mass during the novena has been presided over by a different cardinal.
For Romans and pilgrims alike, 8 December remains one of the capital’s most heartfelt religious appointments – a day when civic authorities, firefighters, religious orders, and the Successor of Peter unite in simple, profound veneration of the Woman proclaimed “full of grace” from the first instant of her conception.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Vatican News
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