Wlodzimierz Redzioch interviews Msgr. Caputo

May 8th is a significant date for Pope Leo XIV: the day of his election to the Chair of Peter. The Pope has chosen this important anniversary to visit the Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of the Holy Rosary in Pompeii. I spoke about this historic visit with Msgr. Tommaso Caputo, Archbishop Prelate of Pompeii and Pontifical Delegate for the Sanctuary.

Why did Leo XIV want to commemorate the anniversary of his election at the Sanctuary of the Madonna of the Rosary specifically?

Pope Leo XIV, a pontiff with a deeply Marian heart, has shown his connection to the Pompeii Sanctuary since that May 8, 2025, when the cardinals, gathered in Conclave, gave the universal Church a new pastor. It was the Holy Father himself who recalled the significance of that day in his first message delivered from the Loggia of the Blessings at St. Peter’s Basilica. This bond is made even stronger by the fact that, in choosing his regnal name, our thoughts turn to Leo XIII, the “Pope of the Rosary,” who led the Church from 1878 to 1903 and followed the first steps of the emerging Pompeian work like a caring father.

In fact, Pope Pecci received Bartolo Longo and his wife Marianna de Fusco twelve times; they donated the Sanctuary to him in 1894. This event is depicted in a fresco. In 1901, Pope Leo XIII elevated the Pompeii Sanctuary to a Pontifical Basilica, calling it the “parish of the world” due to the massive influx of pilgrims. Now, to that “parish” which welcomes millions of faithful from every continent each year, Pope Leo XIV will arrive—a Pope who has already inscribed his name in the history of the Marian City by canonizing Bartolo Longo on October 19, 2025.

I wanted to know if, before being elected Pontiff, Father Prevost ever visited the Pompeii Sanctuary?

I have no information regarding that. He certainly knew the Sanctuary and our Marian City well. Pope Prevost is from Chicago, which is home to a shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Pompeii, the oldest landmark parish for the Italian-American community. That parish was established in 1911 and entrusted to the Scalabrinian Fathers, while the church itself was built in 1923.

What are the key points of Leo XIV’s brief visit, and what is their significance?

Our founder, Saint Bartolo Longo, in a 1925 issue of “Il Rosario e la Nuova Pompei” (the Sanctuary’s periodical), defined the Valley of Pompeii—a land blessed by the presence of the Madonna—as a “triumph of Faith and Charity.” On another occasion, he spoke of a “temple of Faith” and a “temple of Charity.” This is why, as soon as he arrives in Pompeii by helicopter, the Holy Father will meet in a large hall with people cared for by the Sanctuary’s social works, along with the religious staff and educators who look after them.

It will be an intimate, family-like moment during which Leo XIV will listen to testimonies and address those present with a brief speech. The protagonists of this meeting with the Pope will be children, youth, single mothers, women and minors in difficulty, people with disabilities, the poor, and immigrants. These are the “little ones” of the Gospel, the beloved of the Lord Jesus.

Half an hour later, the Holy Father will leave the Trapani Hall in an open car, passing through the adjacent streets and Piazza Bartolo Longo to reach the Basilica. There, he will be welcomed by the sick, the elderly, and people with disabilities, whom the Pope will bless and greet. I would say that fragility will be a central theme of Pope Leo’s visit. This first part of the visit concerns the “temple of charity.”

Then, at 10:30 AM, he will celebrate Holy Mass on the square outside the Sanctuary. At the conclusion of the rite, he will lead the recitation of the Supplica (Petition), composed by Saint Bartolo in 1883. We could say that this will be the moment the Holy Father visits the “temple of faith.”

The Sanctuary’s bell tower is dedicated to the Sacred Heart and is a symbol of peace. To cast its 8 bells, 100 quintals of bronze war cannons were used so that their sound would constantly remind us of Pompeii’s commitment to peace. In the Sanctuary, people pray for world peace. Will the Pope’s visit, at a time when the world is torn by wars, also be a Petition for peace?

Yes, certainly! And that prayer will be raised to Heaven right in front of the Sanctuary’s Facade, inaugurated on May 5, 1901, which Saint Bartolo dedicated to universal peace. At the summit stands a statue of the Madonna of the Rosary, at whose feet “PAX” is written in large letters.

When we hear tragic news every day from dozens of contexts around the world where fighting is happening, the first, very human feeling is resignation. Yet, we believers are called to always keep the light of hope burning. We must pray; we need to pray. Even to Saint Bartolo, arriving in Pompeii in 1872, it must have seemed impossible that a desolate land inhabited by a few peasants harassed by brigands and malaria could become a global center of Marian spirituality and a symbol of peace and brotherhood. It seemed impossible, and yet, thanks to God, this land was transformed and redeemed.

Peace, expressed in every single word of the Gospel, is continually invoked by Pope Leo. On May 8th, led by the Holy Father, we will recite these verses: “Your Motherly heart will not allow us, your children, to be lost. The Child we see upon your knees and the mystical Crown we behold in your hand inspire us with confidence that we shall be heard.”

The interview was published in Polish in the weekly magazine “Niedziela.”