More than 430,000 pilgrims from the five continents participated in the celebrations of the great international May pilgrimage at the Sanctuary of Fátima, marked this year by a strong call to live the message of the Virgin in everyday life and take it to the world as a concrete mission of hope, reconciliation, and peace.
During the international Mass celebrated on May 13 before about 180,000 faithful gathered in the Prayer Enclosure of the Cova da Iria, the Patriarch of Lisbon, Monsignor Rui Valério, insisted that Fátima cannot be reduced to a simple place of devotion or spiritual pilgrimage, but must become a missionary impulse to transform society.
“Fátima is not a point of arrival. Fátima is a point of departure,” affirmed the prelate in the homily, as reported by the Sanctuary of Fátima itself.
A Call to Take the Message of Fátima to the World
The Portuguese patriarch exhorted the pilgrims to translate the spiritual experience lived in the sanctuary into concrete gestures of Christian life. “It is not enough to admire Fátima. It is necessary to live Fátima. It is not enough to light a candle. One must become light,” he affirmed.
Monsignor Rui Valério asked the faithful to bring hope “to the discouraged,” reconciliation “where there is division,” and peace “where violence exists,” insisting that world peace does not depend solely on political agreements, but on an authentic interior conversion of man.
“The Christian does not bring to the world only words. He brings a received light. He brings a transformed heart,” stated the Patriarch of Lisbon, who described Fátima as “a school of interior transformation.”
The president of the pilgrimage also emphasized that everything lived in the Cova da Iria—the prayer, the silence, the conversion, or the reconciliation—must be transferred to daily life, to families, to work, to schools, and to human relationships.
The Example of the Holy Shepherd Children
Coinciding with the ninth anniversary of the canonization of Saint Francisco and Saint Jacinta Marto, the patriarch recalled the example of the little seers of Fátima to show how God can use the simplicity and availability of a soul to transform the world.
“When God finds an available heart, a small flame can illuminate the entire world,” he affirmed.
Before the crowd gathered in the sanctuary, the Patriarch of Lisbon also insisted on fraternity as one of the central messages of Fátima for the present time.
“Humanity will only find peace when it rediscovers that it is a family,” he said. “Here no one is a stranger. Here no one is alone. Here we are all children welcomed by the same Mother.”
Pope Leo XIV Remembers Fátima from Rome
The celebration also had a special echo in Rome. During the general audience this Wednesday, Pope Leo XIV recalled the liturgical feast of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima and addressed words to the pilgrims gathered in the Cova da Iria.
According to the Sanctuary of Fátima, the Pontiff highlighted that the presence of thousands of pilgrims from all over the world constitutes “a sign of the need for consolation, unity, and hope of the men of our time.”
An Anniversary Marked by Saint John Paul II
The Eucharist of May 13 was also marked by the remembrance of the assassination attempt against Saint John Paul II, of which 45 years have passed. During the celebration, the chalice that the Polish pontiff gave to the Sanctuary of Fátima was used.
In one of the most emotional moments of the pilgrimage, during the Eucharistic adoration, a special word was addressed to the sick present in the Cova da Iria and to those following the celebration from their homes.
Sister Inês Vasconcelos, of the Congregation of the Servants of Our Lady of Fátima, encouraged uniting personal suffering with that of Christ “for the peace and salvation of the world,” recalling the words of Sister Lucía about the Immaculate Heart of Mary as “refuge, guide, and strength.”
For his part, the Bishop of Leiria-Fátima, Monsignor José Ornelas, finally asked the pilgrims to take the message of Fátima “to homes, to Christian communities, to the Church, and to the world,” highlighting that Mary “does not distinguish between nationals and foreigners” and calls for building “a more human world, marked by the love of Jesus, justice, fraternity, and peace.”