One of the most beloved and venerated images of Rome is that of the "Salus Populi Romani".
Tradition has it that this icon, which is visited by the Pope before and after each trip, was made by St. Luke the Evangelist himself and brought to Rome by St. Helena in the 4th century.
To her intercession is attributed the salvation of the Roman city from the plague that devastated it in the 6th century.
