While Pope Francis traveled from Rome to Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia) for a historic visit, in August 2023, a very peculiar detail was shared on social networks: the Marian invocation that accompanies him on each of his trips.
Vatican News shared on X (formerly Twitter) that the image of Our Lady of Bonaria, patron saint of the Italian island of Sardinia, “has accompanied Francis’ travels.”
Receive the main news from ACI Prensa by WhatsApp and Telegram
It is increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. Subscribe to our free channels today:
Our Lady of Buenos Aires (Bonaria)
Between the capital of Sardinia, Cagliari, and Buenos Aires (Argentina), the land of Pope Francis, there is a historical bond.
Francis himself explained the link in a general audience shortly after beginning his pontificate, on May 15, 2013.
On that occasion, the Pope indicated that “when the city of Buenos Aires was founded, its founder (Pedro de Mendoza) wanted to call it ‘City of the Holy Trinity’, but the sailors who had taken him there were Sardinians (from Sardinia). and they wanted me to call it ‘City of the Virgin of Bonaria’.”
“There was a discussion between them and in the end they reached a compromise, but the name of the city turned out to be very long: ‘City of the Holy Trinity and Port of Our Lady of Bonaria.’ But, of course, it was so long that only the last words remained: Bonaria, Buenos Aires, in memory of your image of the Virgin of Bonaria,” the Holy Father said.
Originally published August 31, 2023. It has been updated for republication.
David Ramos
Graduated in Communication Sciences from the Universidad Privada del Norte in Trujillo, Peru. With more than 12 years of experience in Catholic journalism working at ACI Prensa, I have been based in Mexico since 2018. I have covered Pope Francis’ trips to Ecuador, Paraguay, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Panama.