On the afternoon of 8 December, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Leo XIV went—as tradition dictates—to Piazza di Spagna for the act of veneration. The Pontiff, greeted by Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri and Cardinal Vicar Baldo Reina, offered a basket of white roses as a tribute to the Immaculate. In his prayer, the Pope invoked hope for humanity: "A humanity tested, at times crushed, humble as the very earth from which God shaped it and into which He does not cease to breathe His life-giving Spirit". "May jubilee hope blossom in Rome and in every corner of the earth, hope in the new world God is preparing, of which you, O Virgin, are like the bud and the dawn", Prevost stated. "After the holy doors, may other doors now open—doors of homes and oases of peace where dignity may flourish again, where people may learn nonviolence and the art of reconciliation". The Pope's prayer to the Immaculate Conception continues: "Intercede for us, grappling with changes that seem to find us unprepared and powerless. Inspire dreams, visions, and courage—you who know better than anyone that nothing is impossible for God, and also that God does nothing alone. Help us to always be a Church with and among the people, leaven in the dough of a humanity crying out for justice and hope. Immaculate one, woman of infinite beauty, watch over this city, over this humanity. Point them to Jesus, lead them to Jesus, present them to Jesus".