Diarmuid Pepper Reporting from Naples

IN THE NAPLES Cathedral yesterday afternoon, workers were busy literally rolling out the red carpet ahead of the visit of Pope Leo XIV.

To mark one year in the office, the pontiff is today visiting Pompeii and Naples.

In Naples Cathedral, a plentiful supply of flowers were brought to the altar, security barriers were covered with a tasteful red covering, and two women fixed the tiling in the Royal Chapel to the Treasury of St Januarius.

People hard at work to prepare the Royal Chapel of the Treasury of San Gennaro ahead of Pope Leo’s visit tomorrow. The papal visit will coincide with the first anniversary of his election. @thejournal_ie pic.twitter.com/vEMOq1Pyf9

— Diarmuid Pepper (@Diarmuid_9) May 7, 2026

Priests were also seen in a fluster in the Royal Chapel, moving candelabras here and there to make the place look perfect for the leader of the Catholic Church.

Leo will first proceed privately to this chapel within the Cathedral upon his arrival in Naples.

The hustle and bustle in the Cathedral confused some tourists, who asked a tour guide what all the big fuss was about.

“Papa is coming tomorrow,” came the reply, and the tourists sought confirmation that “papa” meant “pope”.

Getting the red carpet ready for the pope pic.twitter.com/XdwdrwJ8Fa

— Diarmuid Pepper (@Diarmuid_9) May 7, 2026

To be fair to them, there was little happening outside of the Cathedral that would have suggested something was afoot.

But as evening came, the streets outside the Cathedral were lined with metal barriers and there was a heavy police presence.

While the build-up to the pope’s visit to southern Italy might be low-key, events surrounding the pontiff aren’t.

Flower arrangements still ongoing at Naples Cathedral ahead of the visit of Pope Leo pic.twitter.com/NwrXjVBySa

— Diarmuid Pepper (@Diarmuid_9) May 8, 2026

Leo yesterday met with US Secretary of State Mark Rubio for what the Vatican described as “cordial discussions” amid an ongoing feud between Donald Trump and the first US pope.

While Rubio said the meeting had been planned prior to Trump’s attacks on the pope, he acknowledged that “obviously we had some stuff that happened” and that “there’s a lot to talk about with the Vatican”.

A read-out from the Vatican following the meeting yesterday remarked that the need to “foster good bilateral relations between the Holy See and the United States of America was reaffirmed”.

The Vatican added that there was an “exchange of views on the regional and international situation, with particular attention to countries affected by war”.

The first stop for Leo this morning was Pompeii, where he marked the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii, as well as the anniversary of his election.

In Pompeii, Leo visited the shrine of the Virgin of the Rosary of Pompeii and then met with people who are sick or disabled.

Pope Leo XIV arrives at the Basilica of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary of Pompeii on the anniversary of his May 8 election. pic.twitter.com/zgiQpRXGUu

— Courtney Mares (@catholicourtney) May 8, 2026

Here, Leo remarked on the wars being fought today and added: “We cannot resign ourselves to the images of death that the news presents to us every day.”

Speaking ahead of the visit to Pompeii, the region’s Archbishop Tommaso Caputo noted that southern Italy “faces social challenges”.

“There are difficulties caused by precarious and often poorly paid work,” said Archbishop Caputo.

He expressed hope that the pope’s visit will “make our hope ever more alive, and to give renewed impetus to our works of charity”.

After celebrating Mass in Pompeii, Leo will get a helicopter to Naples and head for the city’s Cathedral, where the reliquary containing the ampoules of the blood of St Januarius will be displayed.

St Januarius was beheaded in 305 and it is said that some of his blood was collected and preserved in two glass ampoules.

The solid blood within the ampoule traditionally liquifies three times a year: on the Saturday before the first Sunday in May; on 19 September, the feast day of St Januarius; and on 16v December, which marks the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, when the blood is said to have spared Naples from destruction.

The blood liquidated last Saturday and a monsignor paraded the reliquary in the Royal Chapel to the Treasury of St Januarius on the evening before Leo’s arrival.

Crowd gathers as a priest holds the relic containing the blood of San Gennaro, who was beheaded in 305. The dry blood is said to liquify three times a year, including last Saturday. pic.twitter.com/nV2BjwIPlg

— Diarmuid Pepper (@Diarmuid_9) May 7, 2026

After leaving the Cathedral, Leo will proceed to the Piazza del Plebiscito, an important central square in Naples, where he will address the city.

Leo will then depart by helicopter for his return to the Vatican.