OUH LA, LA…POPE LEO CELEBRATES FIRST VESPERS FOR THE FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY ROSARY…

And Pope Leo wears the most beautiful cope, with deacons wearing matching Dalmatia’s or tunicles. It is the most beautiful cope seen on a pope since, well, Pope Benedict XVI!

Please note Pope Leo’s alb made of his grandmother’s lace!!!

Beautiful ad orientem altar arrangement, no? And I have to say that the ambo is perfectly placed and quite stunning and the right size!

Pope: 'God will not save without us'

Pope Leo celebrates Vespers at the Domus Australia, a spiritual home for Australian pilgrims in Rome.

By Mario Galgano

On the eve of the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary, Pope Leo XIV celebrated Vespers at the Domus Australia in Rome, a church guesthouse that primarily accommodates Australian and English-speaking pilgrims and tourists.

Originally established as a Marist Fathers’ residence, the Domus Australia was acquired in the late 2000s by the Archdiocese of Sydney with support from other Australian dioceses. It was officially inaugurated in 2011 by Pope Benedict XVI as a spiritual home for Australian pilgrims in Rome.

The celebration in Rome drew a significant crowd of faithful who greeted Pope Leo XIV with chants of "Viva il Papa!" and applause. Many gathered with their children at windows along the streets. Inside the chapel of Domus Australia — dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii — members of Rome’s Australian Catholic community assembled, joined by Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke.

For the Vespers service, Pope Leo XIV entered the church and paused silently before the Blessed Sacrament. The London-based choir The Gradualia Consort welcomed him with a rendition of Tu es Petrus.

A message of Marian hope

A spiritual home for Australians

Since its opening, Domus Australia has offered daily Mass in English, along with Eucharistic Adoration and sacred music. At its dedication in 2011, Pope Benedict XVI expressed hope that Australian pilgrims “would return home with a strengthened faith, a more joyful hope, and a more fervent love.”

THE HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS, POPE LEO XIV:

Dear brothers and sisters,

I am pleased to be with you for the celebration of First Vespers as you mark your Patronal Feast ofOur Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii. Indeed, this devotion to Our Blessed Mother holds a special place in my heart, so I am also happy to share this occasion with the Australian community present for this solemn blessing of the restored image of Our Lady of Pompeii. It is my hope that this image, which was gifted for this chapel many decades ago by the soon to be Saint Bartolo Longo, will inspire an ever greater devotion to her among the residents of the Domus and those who visit as pilgrims, as well as the members of the local community.

Providentially, we are gathered together during this Jubilee Year, which is focused on the theological virtue of Hope. In a particular way, Mary embodied that virtue through her trust that God would fulfil his promises. This hope, in turn, gave her the strength and courage to spend her life willingly for the sake of the Gospel and abandon herself entirely to God’s will. It has often been said that the Incarnation first took place in Mary’s heart, before it took place in her womb. This emphasizes her daily fidelity to God.

Of course, Mary did not know precisely how or when God would save his people, yet she lived in abandonment to God’s will, trusting that he would save his people according to his design. God never delays, we are the ones who have to learn to trust, even if it requires patience and perseverance. God’s timing is always perfect. Thus, we heard in the Scripture passage from Saint Paul, “when the appointed time came, God sent his Son to redeem the subjects of the law”.

God always comes to save and liberate us. The Israelites were born under the law but also with the fragility, weakness and concupiscence of our fallen human condition. God’s plan has now been brought to fulfilment in the mission of the Lord Jesus. Moreover, he did not come simply to redeem us from slavery to sin, but to free our hearts to say ‘yes’ to him, just as Our Blessed Mother did. 

(POPE LEO’S SOTERIOLOGICAL EMPHASIS, SELDOM HEARD IN THE PREVIOUS PAPACY:)

Now through the gift of baptism, we are born under the law of grace as children of God. In the words of the Canticle, God our Father “chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world … he destined us in love to be his sons and daughters through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.” The purpose of his will is to bring us to eternal life. In this regard, Saint Augustine wrote that, “God created us without us, but he will not save us without us.” Thus, we are called to cooperate with him by living out a life of grace as his sons and daughters, making our own contribution to the plan of salvation. This is true even though we do not know what the future holds. Nevertheless, like Mary, we can always be trustful and grateful for his work of salvation. 

Dear friends, in a moment we will chant the Magnificat. In doing so, let us reflect on how Mary, the true Daughter of Zion, rejoiced in God, her Savior, because she saw the graces bestowed on her and how God has always been faithful to Abraham and his descendants.

As you venerate Our Lady of Pompeii at the Domus Australia, it is my prayer that you also will be strengthened by the Holy Spirit in your own service to the Lord and his Church, and that you may bear much fruit, fruit that will last.