From November 29 thru December 1, at the Shrine of Fatima there will take place days of prayer organized by the Movement of the Message of Fatima. Titled ‘Praying with Francisco Marto’, these days will be directed by the Jesuit priest Fr. Dário Pedroso. These Days are one more initiative of prayer promoted by this canonic association of faithful, whose By-laws have been approved by the Bishops Conference of Portugal, which organizes various activities of formation and apostolate. In 2009 the Movement of the Message of Fatima intends to continue to reflect on the testimony of Blessed Francisco. Thus, all the various activities of the Movement, next year, will be held under the general theme: ‘Francisco Marto, Passion for Silence’.
Nov. 1: Sunday’s schedule: 10h00 – ROSARY in Little Chapel 11h00 – HOLY MASS in Most Holy Trinity Church 17h30 – SUNG VESPERS in Basilica Nov. 2: 11h00 – HOLY MASS in Most Holy Trinity Church for the souls of workers, benefactors and pilgrims of the Shrine of Fatima deceased during the past twelve months.
The Fist National Convention of Former Seminarians, an initiative of the Shrine of Fatima, organized by the Shrine, the associations of former seminarians and the Portuguese Federation of Alumni of Catholic Schools, in cooperation with all the Portuguese Seminaries. Planned to be held in connection with the celebrations of the first Centennial of the Birth of Blessed Francisco Marto, this national convention titled ‘Seminaries: from remembrance to prophecy’ will occur on April 24 through April 26, 2009, in the Good Shepherd Hall (Salão do Bom Pastor), at Paul VI Pastoral Center. According to the spokesman for the Organizing Committee, the Convention plans “to reflect on the influence of this Institution (the Seminary) on the personal, professional, social and family life of those who once attended it”.
The Fist National Convention of Former Seminarians, an initiative of the Shrine of Fatima, organized by the Shrine, the associations of former seminarians and the Portuguese Federation of Alumni of Catholic Schools, in cooperation with all the Portuguese Seminaries. Planned to be held in connection with the celebrations of the first Centennial of the Birth of Blessed Francisco Marto, this national convention titled ‘Seminaries: from remembrance to prophecy’ will occur on April 24 through April 26, 2009, in the Good Shepherd Hall (Salão do Bom Pastor), at Paul VI Pastoral Center. According to the spokesman for the Organizing Committee, the Convention plans “to reflect on the influence of this Institution (the Seminary) on the personal, professional, social and family life of those who once attended it”.
Cardinal Backis asks Christians to listen to the voice of God in order to change the destine of Europe During Holy Mass on the morning of the 13th, the Cardinal fulfilled his promise to pray for Europe and urged Christians to listen to the voice of God. “Today, more than ever, one feels the need for a courageous Christian testimony in order to preserve a robust faith in face of the dangers of indifference or ignorance”, he said, while pointing to the importance of Christians “not being deaf to the voice of God”.
Fr. Virgílio do Nascimento Antunes, the newly appointed Rector of the Shrine of Fatima, took over his new job on Thursday, September 25. The ceremony of investiture was held during the 11h00 Mass in the Church of the Most Holy Trinity, which was presided over by the Most Rev. António Marto, Bishop of Leiria-Fatima. Afterwards folowed a moment of thanksgiving and of consecration to Our Lady in the Little Chapel of Apparitions.
Every Sunday, up to the last weekend in October, in the Prayer Area of the Shrine of Fatima, a Pipe Organ Concert is held. Each concert of the Pipe Organ of the Prayer Area of the Shrine, has a duration of 30 minutes, from 16h45 to 17h15. (...)
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 been kidnapped by the County’s Administrator and taken to Ourém. The monument commemorating this apparition (see photo) was built by Hungarian Catholics and inaugurated on August 12, 1956. The white statue of Our Lady of Fatima is the work of Sculptor Maria Amélia Carvalheira da Silva. Program (...)
“Jesus is the Truth that frees us”. With these words Cardinal Martino summed up, during his homily, his reflection on the importance of living and seeking the truth. “Dear brothers and sisters, Jesus, light of the world, true light illuminating all men, came to free us from lies, to turn His Face to God, to us and to the entire freedom. The struggle between truth and lies, freedom and slavery, is reduced, in the end, to acceptance or refusal of the Son. Not to adhere to Him means to kill our truth and God’s Truth”, Cardinal Martino stated at Fatima.
It was an honor and a joy for the Shrine of Fatima to welcome, on the morning of July 26, 2008, the visit of the President of Timor, Dr. Ramos Horta, former recipient of the Nobel Peace Award. On the occasion of the ceremony held by Msgr. Luciano Guerra, Rector of the Shrine of Fatima, to welcome the Timorese group, Mr. Ramos Horta wrote on the Book of Honor of the Shrine: “It is with much emotion that I come to Fatima in pilgrimage to thank the Most Holy Virgin for sparing my life, so that I can continue serving my people in particular and mankind in general”. (...)
The Movement of the Message of Fatima (MMF) makes its pilgrimage to Fatima this weekend of July 19/20. ‘Listen to God and live in the Truth’ is the motto of this National Pilgrimage, which is being presided over by the Most Rev. António Marto, Bishop of Leiria-Fatima, who is the Assistant General of MMF. The main Mass of the Pilgrimage will be celebrated on the 20th, in the altar of the Prayer of the Shrine, at which time the messengers will renew their consecration to Our Lady of Fatima. (...)
Grandparents and grandchildren are invited to join the Grandparents’ Pilgrimage to be held in Fatima the weekend of July 26/27. All are invited to take part in the Rosary and Candlelight Procession on Saturday night and in the 11h00 International Sunday Mass in the Prayer Area. On June 26, the Church celebrates the liturgical Feast of ST. JOACHIM and ST. ANNE, parents of Our Lady and grandparents of Jesus.
Organized by the Missionary Institutes Ad Gentes, a Missionary National Pilgrimage is being held this weekend (July 4/5) at Fatima. According to Fr. José Luís Pimenta, with the organizers, they are expecting 20,000 people for this pilgrimage whose motto is ‘Live the Mission, Expand your Horizons’. The celebrations are being presided over by Most Rev. António Couto, Auxiliary Bishop of Braga and President of the Bishops Committee for the Missions. The 11h00 Sunday Mass is being presided over by Most Rev. Jean Louis Bruguès, Archbishop of Angers, France, Secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education. This pilgrimage is done in preparation for the National Missionary Congress to be held in September at Fatima.
Organized by the National Service of Sacred Music and the National Secretariat of Liturgy, and sponsored by the Shrine of Fatima, a course of Liturgical Music will have its first classes between the 18th and the 30th of August, in Fatima. It is an initiative whose principal targets are people in charge of Sacred Music and the Liturgy at the vicar, archpriest or pastor levels, as well as singers, organists and choir directors working in the communities. The course WILL LAST THREE YEARS, with the first classes being held in the last weeks of August, then two days after Christmas and again two days after Easter. The structure and orientation of the Course will be done by the National Service of Sacred Music, whose president is Canon Dr. António Ferreira dos Santos.
The 23rd World Youth Day, the largest youth event in the Catholic world, being held this year in Sidney, Australia, with the presence of the Holy Father, was mentioned at Fatima, on the morning of July 13, during the Mass of the International Anniversary Pilgrimage, which was being presided over by the Auxiliary Bishop of Lisbon, Most Rev. Joaquim Mendes. Thus prayed the faithful at Fatima: “For Holy Father Benedict XVI, so that, during World Youth Day being held in Sidney, Australia, he may rekindle in youth the fire of divine love, which would transform them in sowers of hope in a new mankind.”
The next performance of the Oratorio on the Apparitions of Fatima "‘Fatima, Sign of Hope for Mankind’" is scheduled for this July 13, this time in Algarve, more precisely in ‘Pavilhão da Arena’, Portimão. Admission is free and the show begins at 16h30.
On June 13, 2008, anniversary of the second apparition of Our Lady at Fatima and also anniversary of the enthronement of the statue of Our Lady in the Little Chapel of Apparitions, a Memorial to Jacinta, the little seer of Fatima who died on February 20,1920, was blessed and inaugurated at the Cemetery of Ourém. This gesture of homage to the Seer and Little Shepherd, who was beatified together with her brother Francisco by Pope John Paul II on May 13, 2000, was a joint initiative of the local government of Ourém and the Secretariat of the Little Shepherds, headed by Fr. Kondor, Vice-Postulator for the Cause of Canonization of Francisco and Jacinta Marto. The monument will recall, for the people of Ourém and the devotees who will visit it, the place of rest for fifteen years of the mortal remains of Jacinta Marto until the day of their translation, on September 12, 1935, to the Cemetery of Fatima and, later on, to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima, in the Shrine of Fatima, on April 30, 1951.