On February 6, cyclists from all over the country headed early in the morning, some even before dawn, towards Fatima, in order to take part in the IX National Pilgrimage of Cyclists. The mild weather and the sunshine helped. An unusual gesture marked the pilgrimage this year. To the Bishop Emeritus of Leiria-Fatima a bicycle was offered, on behalf of the cyclists, by the Portuguese Federation of Cyclotourism
The World Day of the Sick, on February 11, liturgical Memory of Our Lady of Lourdes/France, is celebrated every year by the Catholic Church. The Pope proposed for 2011 that the activities promoted in the various dioceses, on this Day, "should be a stimulus to make care for the suffering increasingly effective." At the Shrine, as a response to this exhortation from the Holy Father, a specific program has been prepared, which is open to all wishing to participate in it.
The 30th Meeting of Interpreter-Guides will be held on February 3 & 4, in the House of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, at the Shrine of Fatima. It is being organized by the Shrine’s Pilgrim Service Department in cooperation with a group from the Guides. The program proposes for the first day the presentation of various projects and initiatives related to the Centennial of the Apparitions of Fatima, specially those scheduled for the first year of the seven-year program of celebrations, the pastoral year 2010-2011. On the second day (Feb. 4), there will be several conferences related to the theme “Monachism”.
The five planned lectures will all be related to the theme proposed by the Shrine of Fatima to its pilgrims and visitors for this pastoral year: “Most Holy Trinity, … I adore You profoundly”. January 9, 2011, in Basilica, at 16h00 – Lecture by Teresa Messias on “Faith in Mary: experience of God and human fullness".
The beginning of the commemoration of the Centennial of the Apparitions is scheduled for the afternoon of December 1. This will be the first of a set of initiatives that the Shrine is proposing to mark “an event important for the life and faith of Christians, for Portugal and for the World”, in the words of the Rector of the institution.
The Archbishop of São Salvador da Bahía, Brazil, His Eminence Geraldo Majella Cardinal Agnello, presided over the International Anniversary Pilgrimage of October 2010 at the Shrine of Fatima, whose theme was: “Be intent on things above” (Cl 3, 2). In his homily of the Mass of the 13th, the Cardinal spoke extensively on the expressions of Marian devotion that exist a little throughout the world: “Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ and of His disciples, has been near us, has taken us under Her protection, has cared for us under Her maternal protection. We have asked Her, as Mother, perfect disciple and catechist of the Evangelization, to teach us to be Her children in Her Son and to do whatever He tells us. The Virgin Mary is the splendid image of conformity to the project of Most Holy Trinity, which is fulfilled in Christ. From Her Immaculate Conception up until Her Assumption, She reminds us that the beauty of the human being consists entirely in the bond of love with the Trinity and that the fullness of our freedom consists in our positive response to It”.
The exhibition “Jacinta Marto: candle lighted by God”, open to the public since March 11, 2010, is going to close this October 31st. At about 3 weeks from its closing and after seven months since it was opened, the exhibition was visited, up to now, by 287,000 people.
The Priestly Fraternity of the Diocese of Leiria-Fatima gathers at the Shrine of Fatima, in a festive and thankful atmosphere, on September 30, in order to jointly celebrate the Golden Anniversary of the ordination to the Priesthood of some of its members. Mass will be celebrated at 11h00 in the Church of the Most Holy Trinity and it will be presided over by Most Rev. António Marto, Bishop of Leiria-Fatima.
On November 19 thru 21, The Movement of the Message of Fatima (MMF) organizes, in the House of Our Lady of Sorrows, at the Shrine of Fatima, some days of reflection on the life and testimony of Blessed Jacinta Marto. Members of MMF, specially those in charge of the Movement at parish level, diocesan level and national level.
Under the title “ Through Mary, Mother of Unity”, the Rector of the Shrine of Fatima in Portugal reflects, in editorial in the September issue of “Voz da Fátima”, the institu-tion’s official newspaper, on the apostolic visit Holy Father Benedict XVI is making to the United Kingdom on the 16th thru the 19th of this month. The visit is seen by the Rector as “very important”, “since it is a nation with an Anglican majority and an enormous influence throughout the world as well as one of the great targets of the ecumenical dialogue inn which the Catholic Church is engaged in”.
On September 12/13 Fatima receives the International Anniversary Pilgrimage commemorating the fifth apparition of Our Lady on September 13, 1917. The theme of this year’s pilgrimage is: “Don’t worry about tomorrow”. "Significantly, it is not only for us: individual Christians and Christian communities, that the `cares and concerns of life and of those things on which our lives depend` constitute obstacles to faith in a provident God. They constitute veritable problems and obstacles to belief in God and his guidance of creation and humanity for national governments and world organizations, including the United Nations", said His Eminence Peter Kodwo Appiah Cardinal Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, president of the pilgrimage.
The accusations widely disseminated through the Internet saying that, by order of the Rectory of the Shrine of Fatima, dogs found there are mistreated or killed are false and calumnious; The shocking images, showing caged dogs, were not taken at the Shrine of Fatima, as suggested in the communications circulating in the Internet, but were taken from a Site for the fight against the mistreatment of animals, without mentioning the source; To accede to the entire press release:
The Pilgrimage of the African Communities to Fatima, organized by the Chaplaincy for Africans, will be held on August 7. In the program, the celebration of Mass at 12h30, in Most Holy Trinity Church, concelebrated by Bishop José Camnate, of Bissau, and Bishop Pedro Zili, of Bafatá, Diocese of Guinea-Bissau, stands out.
The August 12/13 pilgrimage will be pre-sided over by Bishop Claude Schockert, Presi-dent of the National Service for Pastoral Mi-nistry amongst Migrants in France. The theme the Shrine of Fatima proposes for reflection to its pilgrims and visitors during the month of August is: “By the Spirit you’ll live”. But because Fatima these days is filled specially with pilgrims from the “Pilgrimage of the Migrant and the Refugee”, organized by the Bishops’ Committee for Human Mobility, another motto is proposed to them: “With Francisco and Jacinta Welcome Christ in Migrants and Minor Refugees”.
Two months after Benedict XVI’s pilgrimage to the Shrine of Fatima on May 12 thru 14, the Gold Rose donated by the Roman Pontiff to this Shrine can now be seen at “Fatima Light and Peace”, the continuous exhibition located in the Rectory Building.