Pilgrim of Hope and Peace Returns to Fatima

Carmo Rodeia

The return of Pope Francis to Fatima, in 2023, is an “enormous joy” and the “recognition of the importance of Fatima for the world”. This is how the leaders of the Church in Portugal, and of the Shrine of Fatima in particular, reacted to the announcement made by the President of the Republic about the Holy Father’s expressed wish to return to Fatima during the World Youth Day, that will take place in Lisbon in August 2023.

“This statement of the Pope saying he intends to come to Fatima in 2023 is for us a motive of enormous joy. He even intends to return to Fatima, since we already had the joy of counting on his presence on the occasion of the centenary of the apparitions, in 2017,” said Fr. Carlos Cabecinhas.

At the end of his private audience with the Pope at the Vatican, on March 12, following his re-election, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa revealed that Francis, besides going to Lisbon, also wants to be in Fatima: “It was, as it had been five years ago [after Marcelo was elected head of state for the first time], an occasion to see how attentive the Pope is to everything. [...] He spoke, of course, of going to Portugal, in 2023, to Lisbon and to Fatima - he immediately added - on the World Youth Days,” the President of the Republic said.

“Knowing today, after the meeting with the President of the Republic, that the Pope intends to return to Fatima,” on the occasion of WYD, “is, indeed, a reason for great rejoicing, and the Shrine is obviously preparing to receive him with open arms.”

“The WYD itself has a Marian theme – ‘Mary arose and went with haste’ - and, therefore, it means a lot to us and it impacts the life of the Shrine,” said Fr. Carlos Cabecinhas, highlighting: “This is already our pastoral option for this period” until the WYD, which “is now crowned with this news”. In November 2020, the Shrine of Fatima announced that it would align the next three years of its pastoral action with the preparation of the WYD.

“For us, it also means preparing to welcome him in the best way and, above all, to live this moment intensely, helping pilgrims to experience the closeness not only of Mary, but also the closeness of Peter’s successor,” the Rector added.

The Bishop of the diocese of Leiria-Fatima, Cardinal Antonio Marto, considered for his part that this intention of Pope Francis is a recognition of the importance of Fatima for the world: “The intention of the Pope is certainly a reason for pride for all Christians in our country and a further recognition of the importance that Fatima has for the whole world,” said Bishop Antonio Marto.

In the same statement, Bishop Antonio Marto added: “the Diocese of Leiria-Fatima happily welcomes the possibility of the visit of Pope Francis to Fatima on the occasion of the World Youth Day to be held in Lisbon in 2023, communicated by the Presidency of the Republic.”

“At this moment it is only an expectation as it will depend on the program of that event, one of the world's greatest gathering of young people,” the Bishop stressed.

The President of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP), Bishop José Ornelas, also highlighted the importance that Pope Francis gives to Fatima and Marian devotion: “Fatima has a projection in the Catholic world, throughout the world, that is really huge. We recognize the importance that the Pope gives to Fatima and to the Marian devotion, not simply to the spirit of devotion to Mary, but to what it means regarding the role and importance of women in the Church that he has highlighted,” said Bishop José Ornelas, also Bishop of Setubal. Moreover, the president of CEP said he was not surprised by this announcement, which “was expected”, admitting that the majority of young people who will go to Lisbon on such occasion will also want to go to Fatima.

Pope Francisco was at the Shrine of Fatima for the first time in May 2017, in a visit of less than 24 hours, to preside over the celebrations of the centenary of the events of Fatima and the canonisation of Francisco and Jacinta Marto, two of the children who in 1917 claimed to have seen Our Lady in Cova da Iria.

This was the sixth visit of a Pope to the Shrine of Fatima. Paul VI (1967), John Paul II (1982, 1991 and 2000) and Benedict XVI (2010) were the previous popes to visit Portugal.