Papa Giovanni XXIII sul treno On 4 October 1962, exactly one week before the Council, he made the pilgrimage, by train, to Loreto and Assisi, praying and praying for the upcoming Council. It was the first exit of a Pope out of Lazio after the annexation of Rome to the Italian State in 1870 so that all the media emphasized the exceptional scope of the event. The press emphasized his speeches in Loreto and Assisi. The vast news captured the liveliest cues of the Pope's impromptu conversations at the window of his wagon in repeated stops at the most important stations. But the most important fact was that the Pope wanted to go on a pilgrimage to Loreto and Assisi to implore extraordinary graces for the upcoming Ecumenical Council II.