"I know the ‘Divino Amore’ is Rome’s most beloved Marian sanctuary. During some visits, I also experienced secular piety and there, especially in the oldest church, one could almost feel the motherly presence of the Virgin": it was said this morning by Pope Benedict XVI, during the audience in the Vatican, to the priests of the diocese of Rome. "The fact of this sanctuary, to which people come with their hopes, questions, problems and sufferings, is essential for the diocese of Rome", went on the Pope, who added that "we see, more and more often, that sanctuaries are a source of life and faith in the Universal Church. In my country, three days’ walking pilgrimages to Althotting enable the pilgrims to experience the rediscovery of their conscience of faith. It is a true walk towards the Virgin, towards God’s Family and then towards the Eucharist, rediscovering confession and inner renewal". Then, Benedict XVI highlighted that "the sanctuary as such is a place of prayer, confession, Eucharistic celebration. So I think its essential service consists precisely in lending itself as a place of prayer, of sacramental life and accomplished life of love".
