Pope Francis prays at the tomb of John Paul II and in the Ne

Tuesday after the Vatican Basilica closed for the evening, the Holy Father Francis paid a visit to the tomb of Blessed John Paul II, on the anniversary octave of his death. The pope remained on his knees for a long time in silent prayer before the tomb of Blessed John Paul II in the Saint Sebastian Chapel, but he also stopped briefly to meditate at the tombs of Blessed John XXIII and Saint Pius X. Like the visit on the day before to the tomb of Saint Peter and the Vatican Grottoes, Tuesday's visit to the Basilica signified the deep spiritual continuity of the Petrine ministry of the Popes, which Pope Francis lives and feels intensely, as he also demonstrated in the visit and repeated telephone convers ...