Pope Francis fulfilled his much-desired wish to pray in silence before the miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe last Saturday. After celebrating the first Mass of his papal trip to Mexico, the Pope made his way to the camarin (“little room”) behind the main altar of the basilica dedicated to Mary. The miraculous mantle, which normally faces the congregation, can be turned around to allow a closer and more private moment of veneration. The Pope arrived on Friday, having flown via Havana. On Saturday, at a ceremony at the national palace, he met President Enrique Peña Nieto, followed by a meeting with Mexico’s bishops in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico’s new shrine. Laying a bouquet of yellow roses in front of the image, the Pope sat down in prayerful silence with eyes closed and head bowed. After roughly 20 minutes, he stood up, laid his hand on the image and departed from the small room. About 12,000 people packed the basilica for the papal Mass and another 30,000 were watching on screens set up in the outer courtyard. Built in 1976, the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe is located near Tepeyac Hill, the site of Mary’s apparitions to St Juan Diego in 1531. With some 12 million people visiting each year, it is Catholicism’s most popular Marian shrine. In his homily, the Pope reflected on the Gospel reading, which recalled Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth. Mary’s humility in saying “yes” to God’s will, he said, is a response “which prompted her to give the best of herself, going forth to meet others”.