Pope Francis is embarking on a two-day visit to Fatima today (Friday) and tomorrow to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Marian apparitions, which began on the 13 May 1917, when three shepherd children reported seeing the Virgin Mary. Keep up to date on the trip with live video and updates below.
During the visit, the pope was to preside over the canonisation ceremony of two of the young seers, Blessed Francisco and Blessed Jacinta Marto. On Friday night he told tens of thousands gathered for the rosary that the Virgin Mary is not a remote "plaster statue" figure restraining a vengeful God...
(all times are local)
MONDAY 15 MAY 2017
14.30 - UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK
Portugal and the Holy See organised a commemorative event to run in tandem with Pope Francis' trip to Fatima, in which they unveiled a special visitor: the Marian statue that usually rests in the Little Chapel of the Apparitions, in Fatima. The statue - which has been blessed by Pope Pius XII in 1947, and on the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the Fatima apparitions and blessed again by the Bishop of Fatima in 1952. The statue had visited the UN Headquarters once before when Mgr Harold Colgan, a New Jersey priest and founder of the Blue Army and World Apostolate of Fatima, organised for the statue to be placed in the Meditation Room off of the Visitors’ Lobby where they prayed the Rosary for peace in the world and for the end of the Korean War.
11.00 - PAPAL PLANE TO ROME
While the investigations into the very first alleged apparitions at Medjugorje must continue, Pope Francis used the return papal plane trip from the 100th anniversary of the Marian apparitions at Fatima, Portugal, to confess his doubts about claims that Mary continues to appear in the Bosnia-Herzegovinan village...
You can read the full article on thetablet.co.uk ...
CANONISATION CEREMONY - LIVE REPLAY!
SATURDAY 13 MAY 2017
17.30 - FATIMA
Pope Francis called for a Church that is “poor in means and rich in love” as he canonised two shepherd children who had witnessed apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Fatima a century ago.
You can read the full article on thetablet.co.uk ...
CANONISATION CEREMONY - LIVE REPLAY!
14.30 - FATIMA
The Pope’s second in command last night sought to debunk the conspiracy theories around the Fatima prophesies, including that the Virgin Mary opposed the Second Vatican Council.
You can read the full article on thetablet.co.uk ...
12.30 - FATIMA
Pope Francis called for a Church that is “poor in means and rich in love” as he canonised two shepherd children who had witnessed apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Fatima a century ago this morning...
Full analysis from Christopher Lamb...
FRIDAY 12 MAY 2017
23.45 - RECITATION OF ROSARY, FATIMA, PORTUGAL
“Mercy has to be put before judgment and, in any case, God’s judgment will always be rendered in the light of his mercy. Obviously, God’s mercy does not deny justice, for Jesus took upon himself the consequences of our sin, together with its due punishment. He did not deny sin, but redeemed it on the cross.” Pope Francis told tens of thousands gathered for a night time prayer vigil and recitation of the rosary on the first day of his pilgrimage to the Marian shrine at Fatima, in Portugal. Christopher Lamb reports on the Holy Father's words including his own interpretation of the "bishop dressed in white" prediction..
You can read the full article on thetablet.co.uk ...
CANONISATION CEREMONY - LIVE REPLAY!
16.40 - THE VATICAN
Before his departure, Pope Francis published a video message to the people of Fatima and Portugal in general in which he thanked the Portuguese people and authorities for understanding his "decision to limit the visit to the moments and acts proper to a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Fatima" at "the feet of the Virgin Mother".
"I know that you wanted me to come to your houses and communities, your villages and cities," he said. "Needless to say, I would have liked to accept, but it isn't possible for me."
You can read the full article on thetablet.co.uk...
16.20 - MONTE REAL, PORTUGAL
Pope Francis Al Italia Monte Real air base in Portugal and Pope Francis has disembarked. See live YouTube video below...
POPE FRANCIS IN FATIMA - WELCOME CEREMONY
14.10 - ROME, ITALY
On leaving Italian soil to travel to Portugal, Pope Francis sent a telegram to the Italian president, Sergio Mattarella. It read:
“In leaving Italian soil destined for Portugal, on the occasion of the centenary of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Fatima, I wish to address to you, Mr President, my respectful greeting, and as I intend to meet pilgrims and in particular the sick who go to that Marian sanctuary to find light and hope, I invoke the Lord's blessing on the entire Italian nation and in particular those who suffer in body and spirit.”
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