2009-09-25 15:41:25

Pope may visit Fatima next year


(Sept 25, 2009) Pope Benedict XVI will visit the Fatima shrine in Portugal next year, the Portuguese president's office as well as the country’s bishops have announced. The pope will preside at the Marian shrine's annual May 13 ceremonies, a brief statement from the office of president Aníbal António Cavaco Silva said on Thursday. Even though the Vatican has not made any official announcement as yet, the president of the Portuguese Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Jorge Ferreira da Costa Ortiga of Braga on Thursday issued a statement saying the Vatican Secretariat of State has communicated that Pope Benedict has accepted the invitation of the Portuguese bishops and the nation’s president to visit the country. The papal visit is to mark the anniversary of the first apparition of the Virgin Mary to the three shepherd children on May 13, 1917, in Fatima, a small town some 110 kilometres north of the capital Lisbon. Pope Benedict's visit will be the fifth by a pontiff. Paul VI was the first, in 1967. Fatima is a major shrine in Christendom, attracting an estimated 6 million pilgrims each year.







All the contents on this site are copyrighted ©.