New addition to Saint Peter Basilica

I served as a tour guide of Saint Peter Basilica in Rome for one year.  Once per week, I led a group of English-speaking pilgrims through the basilica.

I oftentimes pointed out how the basilica was a living place – not a museum or a historical artifact.  This is most evident in the liturgical life of the basilica, but also can be seen in the changes, additions, and modifications that are made in it.  It is not frozen it time, but rather, it is updated and modified as time passes.

While in Rome earlier this month, I noticed the following addition.

Late last year a Marian image was added over the funerary monument of Pope Gregory XIV.  Recently restored, this image of the Virgin Mary under the title of “Mother of Pilgrims” was painted in the early 1500s and was venerated in the now demolished church of San Giacomo Scossacava which stood just a short distance away from Saint Peter.  This church, said to have been founded by Saint Helen in the fourth century, was the welcoming point for pilgrims as they approached the tomb of Saint Peter.  The Church was demolished in 1937 to make way for the Via della Conciliazione.  The beautiful icon of the Virgin Mary with the child Jesus not only has been restored artistically, but it was been restored to its original purpose: to welcome pilgrims to the tomb of Saint Peter.  The sign next to the image states that it is placed in the basilica for a renewed increase of devotion by the faithful.

Pictures are mine, all rights reserved.