Pope Leo’s name also has a Marian significance. Pope Leo XIII wrote 11 encyclicals on the rosary and was also the first pope to embrace the concept of Mary as mediatrix, which holds that Mary helps distribute Christ’s grace through her intercession. One of the new pope’s first visits was to the Mother of Good Counsel in Italy, and when he was bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, he offered a prayer of consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary before the pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fátima, which he requested be brought to Chiclayo from the Fátima shrine in Portugal.
Pope Francis held a special place in his heart for the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major, one of five ancient basilicas in Rome and where he chose to be entombed. In his final testament, issued after his April 21 death, Pope Francis wrote, “I wish my last earthly journey to end at this very ancient Marian shrine where I would go to pray at the beginning and end of each apostolic journey to confidently entrust my intentions to the Immaculate Mother and to thank her for the docile and maternal care.” Why were Francis and seven other popes who are also buried there so attached to this church?