13 february, 2011
 13.05.2010 - International Anniversary Pilgrimage of May
At the end of the International Anniversary Pilgrimage of May, which this year gathered hundreds of thousands of pilgrims around the figure of Blessed John Paul II, His Eminence Sean Cardinal O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston (U.S.A.), who presided over this meeting of faith and prayer, wrote the following message on the Shrine’s Guest Book: “I leave a portion of my heart here at the feet of Our Mother; totus tuus!”.
In the homily of the Mass of the 13th, he stated: “God doesn’t improvise. Like John Paul II, I too am convinced that Our Lady of Fatima intervened, on that 13th day of May 1981, to save the life of our Pope when he was shot in St. Peter’s Square. His life was spared so that he could be God’s instrument to bring down the Iron Curtain and end Communism’s political oppression in the world”.
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156 groups of pilgrims reported to the Department of Pilgrim Services (SEPE) of the Shrine of Fatima their presence as participants in the celebrations held on the morning of the 13th.
These groups came from the following countries (between parentheses I show the largest numbers from a single country): Portugal (52 groups), Germany (12), Australia, Austria, Benin, Brazil (5), Cape Verde, South Korea, Croatia, Slovakia, Spain (10, United States (4), France (6), Gibraltar, Holland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy (22), Malaysia, Mexico, Poland (8), United Kingdom (4), Isle of Reunion, Switzerland (4), Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine and Venezuela.
The Mass of the 13th, which was presided over by Cardinal O’Malley of Boston, was concelebrated by the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon, the Apostolic Nuncio in Lisbon, 21 bishops and 425 priests.
Up until 13h00 of the 13th, 605 people were attended at the First-Aid Station of the Shrine and 1022 at the Foot Washing Station. 2930 faithful received the Sacrament of Reconciliation and 487 people the Blessing of the Sick.
Archive:
The Bishops Conference of Portugal (CEP) has just announced that there will a national celebration on May 13 at the Shrine of Fatima, in order to mark the beatification of John Paul II, which will be held on May 1, in St. Peter’s Square.
Fr. Manuel Morujão, CEP’s spokesman, declared that the May 13 pilgrimage is the ideal occasion to celebrate the event: “It is a great motive for the celebration of the beatification of our Pope”.
fter the meeting of the Permanent Council of CEP, held on February 15 in Fatima, the priest talked to journalists about John Paul II, pilgrim of Fatima in 1982, 1991 and 2000, as “an example of holiness”.
The International Anniversary Pilgrimage of May 2011 will be presided over by American Cardinal Sean O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston, Massachusetts (USA) and the motto will be: “Blessed are you because you believed!”
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