Fátima, Portugal, May 12, 2025 (Lusa) - The international pilgrimage to the Shrine of Fatima in May, the first since Pope Francis's death and Pope Leo XIV's election, events that will mark the celebrations, begins on Monday, presided over by Brazilian Cardinal Jaime Spengler.
Jaime Spengler, Metropolitan Archbishop of Porto Alegre, President of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil and President of the Latin American Episcopal Council, was created cardinal by Francis in December 2024, having participated in the conclave that elected American Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as leader of the Catholic Church on Thursday.
The celebrations of the pilgrimage on 12 and 13 May, 108 years after the events in Cova da Iria, in which thousands of faithful are expected to attend, will begin at 9.30 p.m. with the recitation of the rosary in the Chapel of the Apparitions, followed by the candlelight procession and the Celebration of the Word in the sanctuary grounds.
On Tuesday, after the rosary recitation at 9 a.m. in the Chapel of the Apparitions, Mass will begin an hour later, with the blessing of the sick and the farewell procession in the sanctuary.
Francis, elected Pope in 2013, died on 21 April at 88. He visited the Shrine of Fatima twice: in May 2017, on the centenary of the events at Cova da Iria and to canonise Blessed Francisco and Jacinta Marto, and in August 2023, on World Youth Day in Lisbon.
American Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, 69, was elected Pope on Thursday after two days of conclave and took the name Leo XIV.
Born in Chicago, United States, he is of Spanish descent and Peruvian nationality, and belongs to the Order of Saint Augustine.
The National Republican Guard announced that around 240 military personnel will provide security for this pilgrimage, the first major pilgrimage of the year to the country's largest Marian shrine.
The National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority is launching a two-day operation today to ensure the safety of pilgrims, with more than 300 personnel, including 170 from various fire departments in the region.
SR/ADB // ADB.
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