Pope shakes hands with Rome Mayor

(ANSA) - Rome, December 9 - Pope Francis and Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi exchanged a long and warm handshake at a ceremony marking the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in Rome Thursday.
    There had been speculation about relations between Rome's new administration and the Vatican after Raggi, who took office in June, did not attend the ceremony for the end of the Jubilee Holy Year of Mercy last month. The pontiff was blessed with sunny and unseasonably mild winter weather on Thursday to mark the feast of the Immaculate Conception as he paid homage to the statue of Mary in Rome's historic Piazza di Spagna.
    Thousands of Italians flocked to the square to greet the Argentine pope, on his annual pilgrimage to the sculpture of the Virgin.
    The tradition of the papal pilgrimage was revived by pope John Paul II, a devout follower of the Virgin Mary, more than 20 years ago.
    The statue of the Virgin Mary stands on a column in the northern section of the piazza, just around the corner from the famed Spanish Steps known to all tourists.
    The column was erected by Pope Pius IX in 1854 after he declared the dogma of her immaculate conception, meaning that Jesus' mother was conceived without the stain of original sin.