As he does every year on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Francis visited Rome's Piazza di Spagna to pay homage to Our Lady. He prepared a special prayer for the occasion.
POPE FRANCIS
'Here, today, in the heart of Rome, we hear your motherly voice calling all of us to walk towards that door, which represents Christ.â?
Afterward, he left flowers, in Vatican colors, at the feet of Our Lady.
The Pope then spent about half an hour greeting a large group of people that had come to see him. Dozens of sick people waited for him in the street, and he gave special attention to speaking with each of them.
At the end of the event, the Pope stepped into the car he normally uses to get around Rome and headed to the Basilica of St. Mary Major.