Theologico-Pastoral Symposium to Reflect on the Meaning of Fatima in the Contemporary World

Theologico-Pastoral Symposium to Reflect on the Meaning of Fatima in the Contemporary World 

Dealing with the theme: “Fatima today: what does it mean?”, this seminar is intended to “find new ways to talk about Fatima, scrutinize the richness of its themes and outline relevant keys for interpreting the Message of Fatima for the humanity of 21st century”

From the 22nd to the 24th of June, the Shrine of Fatima will organize in the auditorium Bom Pastor of the Centro Pastoral Paulo VI, the Theologico-Pastoral Symposium “Fatima today: what does it mean?”. The objective of the seminar is to propose a distinctive contribution to the analysis and understanding of the theme suggested by the Shrine for this pastoral year: “Give Thanks for the Gift of Fatima”, which is included in the three-year period 2017-2020 whose general theme is “Time of Grace and Mercy”.

“One hundred years later and having gone through the period of necessary celebrations meant to evoke this foundational event, it seems utterly relevant that, looking at the human activities and reactions about what that took place in Cova da Iria and once the page of the year 2017 is turned, to question the meaning of Fatima,” wrote Marco Daniel Duarte, President of the commission organizing the symposium, in the brochure that explained his proposal.

The three-day program is focused on the Message of Fatima, with a stimulating roadmap based on verbs of action: “receive and live” on the first day, “live and proclaim” on the second, and “bethink” as a conclusion.  To this purpose, the researchers, coming from various national and international academies, will examine the human existence from the angle of the events and protagonists of Fatima, in order to present “a vision of the complex and manifold contemporary world.”

“The first hundred years of Fatima contributed to enrich the reflection on humanity; the new century, based on what was achieved then, will undoubtedly bring other key perspectives obviously related to the transversal issues inherent to the interrogations of the human being who is living the beginning of this new century of Fatima,” added Marco Daniel Duarte.

The researchers who will participate to the Symposium, through various prisms of approach (theological, philosophical, historical), will scrutinize the current position of the humanity regarding the topic of the presence of God, “theme that underlies the historical context of the beginnings of Fatima and that will continue to be blatantly actual in the context of the first decades of the new century of Fatima,” following a program which, besides the conferences, includes moments of prayer and the celebration of the Eucharist.

The first day will underline the importance of the Message of Fatima for the contemporary world and will culminate with a cultural moment: a concert organised in the Basilica of Our lady of the Rosary of Fatima.

The second day will emphasize the importance of the Shrine of Fatima in modern times, in the perspective of “the Message as well as the Shrine itself, to which those who want to experience the Message turn, are a gift.” Invited to lecture this day, His Excellency Rino Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation—organization that supervises the Shrine—, will contemplate the Shrine as a “field hospital”.

The third day will be dedicated to considerations about Fatima, in an attempt to theorize some of its aspects, contemplating it as a place that “presents a hermeneutical potential in tune with the deepest concerns of the Church, and even of the human thought, about the cosmos in the current times.”

“The expected output of this symposium is to find new ways to talk about Fatima, scrutinize the richness of its themes and outline relevant keys for interpreting the Message of Fatima for the humanity of 21st century, which is, undoubtedly, the humanity of the new century of Fatima,” declared the President of the Commission organizing the symposium.

Previous registration is requested to participate to the Theologico-Pastoral Symposium, which can be done by mailing the registration form to: Shrine of Fatima, Simpósio de 2018, Apartado 31, 2496-908 Fátima, or by filling an online form.

The Theologico-Pastoral Symposium will be broadcasted on line at www.fatima.pt