According to the Vatican, Pope Francis left quarantine to walk about in the deserted streets of Rome and to venture into a Catholic church to pray directly to a statue of the Virgin Mary and to a special ‘voodoo’ crucifix believed to have magical powers to stop plagues.
The Holy See Press Office issued the report, saying, “This afternoon, just after 4 PM, Pope Francis left the Vatican and made a private visit to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, to offer a prayer to the Virgin Mary, Salus Populi Romani, where her icon is kept and venerated.”
Then, the Pope went on to pray to a special crucifix that was held by a procession to stop the Great Plague in 1522. They continue…
“Then, after taking a walk along the Via del Corso – as if making a pilgrimage – he visited the church of San Marcello on the Corso, where a miraculous crucifix is housed. In 1522 it was carried in procession throughout the neighborhoods of the city so that the “Great Plague” might cease in Rome. With his prayer, the Holy Father pleaded for an end to the pandemic that has struck Italy and the world. He also implored the healing of the many sick people, remembered the numerous victims of these past days, and asked that their families and friends might find consolation and comfort.”
Reportedly, the Mary idol Our Lady Salus Populi Romani is one of his favorite inanimate objects to pray to and he regularly stops in on special feast days to talk to the statue.
