The Statue of Our Lady of Fatima in the Chapel of the Apparitions Will Travel to Lisbon for the Closing of WYD

The Statue of Our Lady of Fatima in the Chapel of the Apparitions Will Travel to Lisbon for the Closing of WYD

Pope Francis will pray before the world-famous Portuguese Marian icon on two consecutive days: on 5 August in Cova da Iria and on 6 August in Lisbon.

The statue of Our Lady of Fatima which is usually in the Little Chapel of the Apparitions will take part in the final celebration of World Youth Day in Lisbon, the Sending Mass, presided by Pope Francis on 6 August at 9:00 am, on the altar of the Parque Tejo.

It will be the second time that the Image will accompany Pope Francis outside the Chapel of the Apparitions since the Holy Father requested her presence in Rome in what was the twelfth and latest journey of the Image to date, on 12 and 13 October 2013, on the occasion of the Marian Day organised in Rome and promoted within the framework of the Year of Faith. This latest journey was particularly significant, as it was the first time that the Marian icon was absent from the Chapel of Apparitions on an anniversary pilgrimage.

The invitation of the Local Organising Committee of the WYD will allow the Pope and all pilgrims, young and not so young, to pray twice before the Image that is venerated in the Chapel of Apparitions on two consecutive days: on 5 August in Fatima and on 6 August in Lisbon.

The journey of the Statue is already being prepared in order to guarantee the safety and dignity of the centenary sculpture that arrived at the Cova da Iria in June 1920.

The presence of the Image at the final celebration of World Youth Day is also a recognition of the value and importance of this Marian icon in the religiosity of Portugal and the world.

It will be the thirteenth journey of this venerable Image, sculpted by José Ferreira Thedim.

The exceptional events during which the Image has been removed from the Little Chapel of the Apparitions, until today, have taken her three times to Rome, three times to Lisbon, twice to the Sanctuary of Christ the King, in Almada, twice to the Diocese of Leiria-Fatima, once to Madrid (Spain) and once to the Archdiocese of Évora, namely to Vila Viçosa.

The image that is venerated in the Little Chapel will return to Fatima on the afternoon of the 6th.

Fatima will also be present at WYD Lisbon, with the immersive exhibition “Fatima Experience”, which will be open to the public from 1 August, in the Sala do Risco of the Páteo da Galé, in the context of the Youth Festival.