Pope Leo XIV was met by hundreds gathered in the square in front of the Shrine of the Mother of Good Counsel in Genazzano, the Vatican said Saturday.

The pope entered the church and stopped to pray, first in front of the altar and then in front of the image of the Virgin Mary, where he recited Pope John Paul II’s prayer to the Mother of Good Counsel, according to the Vatican press room.

After reciting the Ave Maria and singing the Salve Regina, the pope turned to those in the church, greeting them and the people of Genazzano gathered outside: "I wanted so much to come here in these first days of the new Ministry that the Church has given me, to carry forward this mission as the Successor of Peter."

At the end of his visit, the Vatican said Pope Leo appeared at the door of the basilica and said a few words, expressing the joy of being able to come to pray to the Mother of Good Counsel, calling it "such a great gift" for the people of Genazzano, from which also comes a great responsibility: "Just as the Mother never abandons her children, you must also be faithful to the Mother."

The pope also greeted the young people and the young at heart: "We are all!"

Finally, before leaving the sanctuary, he blessed those present.

On his way back to the Vatican, the press office said Pope Leo went to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, where he stopped to pray before the tomb of Pope Francis and the icon of the Virgin, Salus Populi Romani.

-ABC News’ Phoebe Natanson

Pope Leo XIV made his first trip outside Rome since being elected as leader of the Catholic Church.

The pope was driven to the Augustinian Sanctuary of the Mother of Good Counsel on Saturday afternoon local time, the Vatican said.

"This afternoon, shortly after 4:00 p.m., Pope Leo XIV reached the Shrine of the Mother of Good Counsel in Genazzano for a private visit. The shrine, run by the religious of the Order of Saint Augustine, houses an ancient image of the Virgin, dear to the Order and to the memory of Leo XIII," the Vatican said in a statement.

The pope travelled in a black Volkswagen van seated in the front seat next to the driver. There was a motorcade with Vatican security accompanying him.

-ABC News’ Phoebe Natanson

The Vatican is revealing more about Pope Leo XIV's meeting with the cardinals on Saturday morning.

The newly elected pope met with the cardinals for about two hours, Matteo Bruni, the director of the Holy See press office, told reporters.

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the cardinals, gave a short greeting to the new pope at the start of the meeting.

After the greeting, the pope addressed them and invited the cardinals to also speak. The short speeches were similar to what took place at the general congregations, a continuation of what was discussed in those meetings, Bruni said.

Bruni was also asked by reporters where the pope is residing now. He had no further information except that "the pope has returned to where he was residing before being made pope."

Matteo added that by this evening we should have information about Pope Leo XIV's coat of arms.

A cardinal told some Vatican reporters after the meeting that Pope Leo XIV is thinking of having some regular consultation with his cardinals but it is not worked out yet.

-ABC News’ Phoebe Natanson

The Press office of the Holy See released comments that Pope Leo XIV made to his cardinals at their meeting this morning.

"Beginning with Saint Peter and up to myself, his unworthy Successor, the Pope has been a humble servant of God and of his brothers and sisters, and nothing more than this," the pope began his address.

His remarks praised the late Pope Francis for his "example" shown.

"It has been clearly seen in the example of so many of my Predecessors, and most recently by Pope Francis himself, with his example of complete dedication to service and to sober simplicity of life, his abandonment to God throughout his ministry and his serene trust at the moment of his return to the Father’s house," Pope Leo said. "Let us take up this precious legacy and continue on the journey, inspired by the same hope that is born of faith.”

He also explained his decision to take up his papal name, saying he was inspired by Pope Leo XIII “who in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution."

He explained, "In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice and labour."