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Portugal: Pope Francis visits the pilgrimage site of Fatima

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Portugal
Pope Francis visits pilgrimage site of Fatima

Pope Francis prays in front of the statue of the Virgin Mary. photo

© Gregorio Borgia/AP/dpa

He drove through the crowd in the popemobile, silently praying in front of the statue of Mary. Around 200,000 people attended the Pope’s visit.

Pope Francis visited the Portuguese city of Fatima and prayed in front of hundreds of thousands of people in the important Catholic pilgrimage site. The head of the church used his trip to the World Youth Day in Lisbon for a short detour on Saturday to the place north of the capital where in 1917 the Blessed Mother is said to have appeared several times to three shepherd children.

Mary still leads believers to Jesus today, the pontiff said after praying the rosary with the people, including many who were sick and disabled.

According to local authorities, around 200,000 people attended the event in the main square in Fatima. Francis came from Lisbon in a helicopter and then drove through the crowd in an open popemobile. Then he sat in front of the statue of Mary and prayed silently. It had been announced in advance that the Pope primarily wanted to pray for peace in the world. The detour to Fatima had been added to the itinerary at relatively short notice.

The Pope had already addressed Fatima in spring 2022 in connection with the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. At that time he performed an unusual church ritual when he consecrated Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Thereby he asked for the close assistance of the Blessed Mother for the countries. The ritual goes back to the Marian apparitions of 1917 – at that time the mother of Jesus is said to have instructed three children to consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary so that the country would not break away from the Christian faith.

At noon, Francis flew back to Lisbon, where later there was a meeting with Jesuits and then in the evening (9:45 p.m. CEST) in Tejo Park, a joint prayer with participants of the World Youth Day. The event ends on Sunday, the Pope returns to the Vatican.