On April 23, Pope Francis received pilgrims from the Santuario di Madonna delle Lacrime (Shrine of the Madonna of the Tears), which is located in Treviglio, a small northern Italian city.

“The community is celebrating 500th anniversary of the miracle of the Virgin, who saved the city from the French troops with her tears,” Vatican News reported.

“Mary teaches us not to be ashamed of tears,” Pope Francis said. Mary’s tears, he added, are “a sign of God’s cry for the victims of the war that is destroying not only Ukraine.”