The Shrine of Fatima, which was following up, though from afar, the weak state of health of Fr. Fernando Leite, SJ, one of the most important students of the Message of Fatima, while announcing his death, expresses here its gratitude towards this Jesuit priest, both for the high number of publications on Fatima and for his direct, monthly and encouraging collaboration with the Editorial Staff of Voz da Fátima (Voice of Fatima), official newspaper of the Shrine of Fatima, collaboration which Fr. Fernando Leite only ceased offering during the last few years of his life, because of evident physical impossibility and with sadness on both parts. Rector Fr. Virgílio Antunes, on behalf of the Shrine of Fatima, offers its condolences both to the blood family and the religious community of Fr. Fernando Leite, as well as to all his collaborators and friends.
With the purpose in mind of helping pilgrims to celebrate Christmas, the Department of Art and Patrimony of the Shrine of Fatima (DAP) organized a new exhibition that chose, as main motto, the concept of Light, to remind us that “the Word was the true light”, as St. John wrote in the Prologue to his Gospel. Between 6th December 2009 and February 2010, some of the most valuable candles donated to Our Lady of Fatima will be able to be seen in the entrance hall of ‘Convivium de Santo Agostinho’, in the Complex of Most Holy Trinity Church.
Five years after the first publication of “Marian Hymns of the Shrine of Fatima” (October 12, 2004), which has since then been republished, the Shrine of Fatima presents a new musical work, available for sale at the Bookstore of the Shrine of Fatima. The voices in this CD, titled “I saw the Holy City”, belong to the members of the Choir of the Shrine of Fatima, reinforced, as it is the custom during the anniversary pilgrimages, with some elements of the choir groups of the Parishes of Alburitel and Our Lady of Pietà (Ourém). Mr. Nicholas Roger is the organist.
ELHUNYT P. KONDOR LAJOS - NYUGODJÉK BÉKÉBEN! Yesterday, October 28, Fr. Louis Kondor, Vice-Postulator for the Cause of Canonization of the Little Shepherds of Fatima, died in Fatima. His mortal remains will be present, for a vigil of prayer, at the Seminary of the Word of God, in Fatima. Funeral Mass and funeral service will be held on Friday, October 30, at 11h00, at the Church of the Most Holy Trinity / Shrine of Fatima. Burial will be at the Cemetery of Fatima.
Starting in Advent, on the third Saturday of every month, the Shrine of Fatima invites the younger ones to a special program, just tailored for them. This project, titled “Day with Children”, is free and open to all. It begins on December 19 and includes times for celebration of Mass, prayer and catechesis.
By a fortunate coincidence we’ll have the Holy Father in Fatima in the year we celebrate the centennial of the birth of Jacinta Marto, the little shepherd seer who most expressed her dedication to the Pope and to the Church. From amongst the events of Fatima, this is a most significant element, since it reveals a most relevant feature of the spirituality of little Jacinta. It is in this context that the Shrine of Fatima, in order to mark these commemorations, is going to hold a congress on Jacinta Marto. It will take place on June 4 thru 6, 2010, at Paul VI Pastoral Center, in the Shrine of Fatima, and it will be titled “Jacinta Marto: from encounter to compassion”.
Besides the preparation, in a festive atmosphere, of the visit of Holy Father Benedict XVI, which will coincide with the tenth anniversary of the beatification of seers Francisco and Jacinta Marto (May 13, 2000), the Shrine of Fatima also marks, in 2010, the Birth Centennial of Jacinta Marto. In the context of the celebration of this Centennial, there will held in June – on a date and with a program still to be announced - a congress that will start off with the life and testimony of Jacinta Marto. Also, during the annual Children’s Pilgrimage, on June 9/10, the little seer of Fatima will be the inspiring figure.
From October 12 to November 30, 2009, the Shrine of Fatima welcomes the Exhibition “Celebration. Gratitude. Abstraction. Christ-King 50 Years”, which shows works of Francisco de Noronha Andrade. It can be found next to the Perpetual Adoration Chapel, in the Complex of Most Holy Trinity Church.
On November 9, 1989, the wall dividing Berlin in two zones began being torn down. Its construction had been ordered by the authorities of the Eastern sector of the city and began on August 12/13, 1961. After the tearing down began, some fragments of the “iron curtain” found their way to the Shrine of Fatima, some of which are in exhibition at two different sites.
The Shrine of Fatima has planned for Friday, October 9, at 19h00, an audition for new members of the children’s choir of the Shrine of Fatima Schola Cantorum Pastorinhos de Fatima. The audition will be held in the House of Our Lady of Sorrows, at the Shrine, and it is open to children with ages between 5 and 14.
The City of Faro welcomes, from September 19 to October 3, one of the pilgrim statues of Our Lady of Fatima. It is all part of a visit which concludes the pilgrimage the Marian Statue has been making through the Diocese of Faro, Algarve, since October 2007.
‘Day of the Elderly’, on Wednesdays In order to offer a more intimate and special welcome to elderly people visiting the Shrine of Fatima, the Shrine is proposing a special program for all those wishing to take part in it, either individually or in group. The ‘Day of the elderly’ is being launched in April, from Easter Sunday up until the end of October, always on Wednesday, with the following time schedule:
The International Anniversary Pilgrimage of September 12/13 was presided over by the Most Rev. Carlos Azevedo, Auxiliary Bishop of Lisbon. The theme of the Pilgrimage was: “Modesty protects the mystery of the human person and of its love” (CCC #2522). In his homily, during the Mass of the 13th celebrated in the Prayer Area, Bishop Azevedo prayed to God: “Free our political conscience so that we can fight, with determination, for a Portugal and a world guided by worthy and noble ideals, which may mobilize everyone to cheerfully unite wills so that life may be more beautiful”. More than ninety thousand pilgrims attended this Mass, which celebrated the anniversary of the fifth apparition of Our Lady at Fatima.
In one of the halls in the Galilee of Apostles Peter and Paul, the one contiguous to the Perpetual Adoration Chapel, at the Complex of Most Holy Trinity Church, the Shrine of Fatima exhibits, until the end of September, ‘Eucharistic Miracles in the World’, an exhibition organized by St. Clement Institute, of Milan, Italy. Can be visited between 9h00 and 19h00, all week long, free of charge, as it is the case with all the other exhibitions open to the public at the Complex of Most Holy Trinity Church.
The 4th apparition of our Lady of Fatima occurred on August 19, 1917, at Valinhos, distant about 500m from the Village of Aljustrel, because, on the 13th , the children had taken to Ourém by the County’s Administrator . The program for this year’s pilgrimage is this:
The youth pastoral plan ‘Youth House’, promoted by the Shrine of Fatima, is being revived, during this month of August, after several years of interruption. With the collaboration of several religious institutions already used to work with youth, ‘Youth House’ will be located at the South Colonnade, in the former Reconciliation Chapel. It will be a space for listening and dialogue, prayer and reflection. It will be open every weekend in August.
In order to celebrate the liturgical feast of Sts. Anne and Joachim, parents of Our Lady and grandparents of Jesus, on July 26, the Shrine of Fatima, with the collaboration of the Movement of Fatima, is preparing an encounter-pilgrimage at the Shrine, on the 25/26 weekend. The program is open to grandparents and grandkids. The admission is free. It is right now being prepared: it includes times for reflection and times for liturgical celebrations.