Remembering the anniversary of the proclamation of the Virgo Fidelis – Faithful Virgin – as the patroness of the Italian military police, Pope Leo XIV praised their dedication for helping those in “dangerous conditions.”

The Carabinieri Corps is a part of the Italian Military, and serves as a national police force in the country.

Although serving under Benito Mussolini during Italy’s Fascist period – 1922-1943 – they were not trusted by the German Nazis occupying much of the north of the country after 1943, and many Carabinieri members joined the resistance.

Speaking in the chapel of the Carabinieri headquarters in Castel Gandolfo, Leo said the town was where Pope Pius XII made the Virgo Fidelis their patroness in 1949.

“After the tragedy of the war, in a period of moral and material reconstruction, Mary’s fidelity to God thus became a model of the fidelity of every Carabiniere to the homeland and the Italian people,” the pope said.

“This virtue expresses the dedication, purity, constancy of commitment to the common good, which the Carabinieri protect by guaranteeing public safety and defending the rights of all, especially those who are in dangerous conditions,” Leo said.

He expressed his deep gratitude “for the noble and demanding service that the Carabinieri Corps renders to Italy and its citizens,” as well as to the Holy See and the faithful who visit Rome.

“I am thinking especially of the many pilgrims of this Jubilee Year,” the pope said.

“The devotion to the faithful Virgin also reflects the motto of the Carabinieri, Faithful over the centuries, expressing the sense of duty and self-sacrifice of each member of the Carabinieri, even to the point of self-sacrifice,” Leo said.

“I therefore thank the authorities present, civil and military, for what you are doing in the fulfilment of your tasks: In the face of injustices that wound the social order, do not give in to the temptation to think that evil can have prevailed. Especially in this time of war and violence, remain faithful to your oath: As servants of the State, respond to crime with the force of law and honesty. This is how the Carabinieri, the Meritorious, will always deserve the esteem of the Italian people,” the pope continued.

“In this Eucharist, as we celebrate the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord, it is right and proper to remember the Carabinieri who gave their lives in the performance of their duty: I entrust to you as an example the venerable Salvo D’Acquisto, gold medal for military valour, whose cause for beatification is underway,” he said.

At the end of the Mass in the c Carabinieri station chapel, Pope Leo visited the Poor Clare Monastery dedicated to the Immaculate Conception in Albano, the town next to Castel Gandolfo.

The Vatican press office said the pontiff proceeded to the monastery’s chapel after being greeted and prayed with the nuns.

Afterwards, Leo spoke with the sisters, greeting each one and addressing them a few words: “It is beautiful that the Church knows your life,” because it is a precious testimony.

The pope also gave the monastery a chalice and paten for Mass and received an icon of the Face of Jesus as a gift from the nuns.

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