26 march, 2009
Emotion and joy were written all over the faces of the pilgrims who on the morning of March 25, at Fatima, took part in the renewal of the Consecration of the World to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, precisely 25 years after the Statue of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima traveled to the Vatican, at the request of John Paul II, to be present when the Pope read the Act of Entrustment to Our Lady, in union with all the bishops of the entire world.
To Your protection we fly, O Holy Mother of God!
The renewal of the Act of Consecration took place at the Little Chapel of Apparitions, after Mass in Most Holy Trinity Church.
Bishop António Marto, Ordinary of Leiria-Fatima, who had presided over the Mass, in the company of the Most Reverend Serafim Ferreira da Silva, Bishop Emeritus of Leiria-Fatima, and of twenty priests, turned towards the Statue of Our Lady and, using the same words of John Paul II in 1984, consecrated Mankind to the Virgin Mother.
Priests and pilgrims present in the Little Chapel, at one voice, joined the Bishop of Leiria-Fatima and all, kneeling, prayed to Our Lady by following the text found in a little leaflet distributed early in the morning for this purpose and as a souvenir of this day.
These are the last words found in the Consecration text that were uttered by John Paul II on March 25, 1984, in St. Peter’s Square: “May the infinite saving power of Redemption be revealed once more in the history of the world: the infinite force of Merciful Love! May it stop evil! May consciences be transformed! May the Light of Hope be made manifest for all in Your Immaculate Heart!”
After this moving and solemn moment, the hymn ‘Totus Tuus, Maria’ (All Yours, O Mary), the motto of John Paul II, echoed throughout the entire Prayer Area.
Moments before, during Mass, Bishop António had emphasized the importance of this gesture by declaring: “I am pleased, I would even say, I am overjoyed, by the fact that Our Lady has granted me today the grace of being able to renew the Consecration of the World to Her Immaculate Heart with the same words uttered by our beloved Pope John Paul II”.
And he added: “The reason why we want to renew the Consecration is to give thanks, because, after that Consecration (in 1984), walls and resistance to the announcement of the Christian faith began falling down”.
During the same homily, Bishop António also said that to consecrate “consists not only in our taking the worries of the world to the Heart of Our Mother, but also in placing ourselves in that Heart, in order to get involved and receive from Her the words: “At the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph”.ARCHIVE: 
In Fatima, the Consecration of the World to the Immaculate Heart of Mary will be renewed
The XXV Anniversary of the Consecration of the World to the Immaculate Heart of Mary made by Pope John Paul II, in St. Peter’s Square, before the Statue of Our Lady of Fatima and in union with the bishops of the entire world, comes up on March 25.
At the Shrine of Fatima, this anniversary will be celebrated with pomp and circumstance and with a program identical to that of the pilgrimages of the 13th in the months of Winter:
10h00 – Rosary in Little Chapel of Apparitions, followed by
Procession to Most Holy Trinity Church.
11h00 – Holy Mass in Most Holy Trinity Church, followed by
Procession back to Little Chapel, where the Consecration of the World to the Immaculate Heart of Mary will be renewed.
The Bishop of the Diocese of Leiria-Fatima, Most Rev. António Marto, will preside over the celebrations.
March 25, 1984: #
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