Pope Francis is set to visit Portugal for World Youth Day, including a visit to the Marian shrine in Fatima, from August 2 to August 6. This marks the fourth World Youth Day attended by Pope Francis, who previously visited Panama, Poland, and Brazil. The event was inaugurated by St John Paul II to help engage young people with their faith. The theme of this year’s event is “Mary arose and went with haste.” The Vatican announced that World Youth Day would be postponed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lisbon is approximately 75 miles from Fatima, one of the world’s most visited Marian pilgrimage sites where the Virgin Mary reportedly appeared to three shepherd children in 1917. Pope Francis will spend the entire trip in Lisbon, making a day trip to the shrine. The visit coincides with the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and abuse scandals within the Portuguese Church. In an independent report earlier this year, it was found that over 4,800 people may have been victims of abuse from senior clergy since 1950. There is no word on whether the Pope will meet with victims.
The visit will include a day trip to Fatima on August 5 to mark the 100th anniversary of the visions of the Virgin Mary reported by three shepherd children and the “secrets” she told them.
The Portuguese Catholic Church is currently reckoning with its legacy of clerical abuse. The Vatican has not confirmed whether Francis will meet with victims during his visit. The Pope may also possibly make a trip to Marseille, France in September, and one to Mongolia starting in late August.
The upcoming trip to Portugal comes after Pope Francis became the first person to register for World Youth Day Lisbon 2023 in October 2022. More than 500,000 young people have begun the registration process for the event, which will take place in Lisbon’s Parque Tejo. Pope Francis will visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima during his trip to Portugal for World Youth Day 2023. The Marian shrine at Fatima is connected to Pope Francis’ public prayer appeals for an end to the war in Ukraine.
Before her death, Sister Lúcia dos Santos, one of the three Portuguese children who claimed to see apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima in 1917, had said Mary requested that Russia be consecrated to her immaculate heart by a reigning pope to bring peace to the world. Previous popes had consecrated Russia to Mary’s immaculate heart in various forms but had never mentioned the country by name as Pope Francis did in 2022. In 2017, Pope Francis celebrated Mass at the shrine to mark 100 years since the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima. He canonized Francisco Marto and Jacinta Marto, the cousins of Sister dos Santos, who also saw Mary at Fatima.
Overall, Pope Francis’ visit to Portugal for World Youth Day holds significant importance for both the Catholic Church and the nation’s people amidst ongoing abuse scandals and conflict in Ukraine. It remains to be seen whether the Pope will address these issues during his visit, but his previous actions suggest that he will continue to prioritize promoting peace and justice.
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