Italy Genazzano- Pope Leo XIV ended his first public blessing with Hail Mary as Hail Mary after invoking the feast of Our Lady of Pompeii. On his first papal journey, he went to the sanctuary of our good lawyer's mother in the medieval village of Genazzano, and drove back and stopped to pray at the grave of Pope Francis in the Cathedral of St. Mary in Rome.

That was just the countless Virgin Marys all over the world, whose sublime was at the heart of the Pope to ordinary faithful Catholics. Even many people who are not too far away know what throwing hail Mary means.

The month of May is dedicated to Marian celebrations, so here’s what Mary’s history and traditions are about and why praying to her means a lot to many.

According to the gospel, Mary is the mother of Jesus, and the mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God is at the heart of Christian dogma.

Mary's oldest title happens to be "Mother of God" or Theotokos in the original Greek. It was chosen after the fierce theological debates of the first centuries of Christianity.

Major St. Mary is the oldest sanctuary that remains dedicated to it, said Giuseppa Falanga, professor of etiquette at Pontificia Universita della della Santa Croce in Rome. It was built in one of the hills of Rome in the 5th century - according to tradition, due to the Pope's dream and the snowfall in August, it is now also known as "The Wild Lady of the Wild".

Mary has three main categories of titles – first ones related to dogma and the major events of her life.

For example, the hypothetical celebration of Mary being brought to heaven on August 15. It is characterized by mass and religious festivals, and also the peak of summer vacations for faithful and atheists in countries such as Italy and Greece, except for the most important work on that feasting day, all the most important work fell into trouble.

Then there is the title related to Phantom. In December, millions of people gathered in Mexico and throughout the Americas to celebrate Guadalupe's virginity, and according to the church tradition, he appeared to an indigenous person in 1531. Millions of people have visited more of the sanctuary of Fatma, Portugal and Lourdes in France, and other attributes over the past few centuries.

Then there is the title based on pilgrims and faithful wishes - from excellent consultants to protection (many "guards" Mary) to the Ocean Star cited by the seamen.

"It's almost like having everything about Mary," said Kayla Harris, professor and director of the Marian Library at the University of Dayton, Ohio.

That's why rosary is one of the most widely used prayers, including the open Pope's prayers, and why popular devotion to the Virgin Mary, including parades and festivals, is at the heart of Christianity, Franca said.

However, Harris added that Mary was represented in different ways.

There are "Black" Virgin Mary - black skin paintings and statues, such as the Brazilian beloved Aparecida. In rare icons, she represents pregnant or represents an older woman.

She was either portrayed by one person or mostly holding the baby Jesus, as in Gitzano's 15th century paintings, with a close-up of these two faces being Jesus' fingers holding his mother's neck. Mary's looking at Jesus is also a theological point of view - inviting believers to gaze at Christ, not her.

In fact, according to catechism, Catholics should give Mary a special worship, but not her - something reserved for God only.

Harris says it is the relevance of being a mother figure that makes Mary’s intercessors so universally attractive.

She added that May has been committed to the Virgin Mary since the 19th century - although already in the Greek and Roman times, the goddess of fertility was celebrated this month in the spring.

Mother's Day is also celebrated in many countries, including Italy and the United States, in line with Leo's first public Sunday blessing at noon, an invitation to the Virgin Mary once a day.

Two mothers who visited the Genazzano church where the Mary Icon were located on the most recent working day said they prayed that their children, ages from 18 to 24, would maintain their faith.

“Madonna has been holding my hand since I was a kid,” Anastasia Galizia grew up in the village and witnessed Leo’s visit. "I asked her how she loved her son, and I prayed for the conversion for me, my family and the whole world."

In the Cathedral of St. Augustine in Rome, served by the Augustinians (Religious Order of Leo) - Mother has two popular prayer points. One is a sculpture called "Labor Madonna", hoping that my mother will go. Another is the relics of St. Monica, the relics of St. Augustine's mother, who keeps praying for his conversion.

Pasquale Cormio, the principal of the cathedral, said: “We welcome many children who come to pray to Santa Monica, whose children have freed themselves from their faith and they ask the Lord to give gifts to touch their hearts.”

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