Pilgrim Blog 33 - Introduction to Fátima

Thankfully we didn’t have to start travelling the same day as the Closing Mass. The next morning (7 Aug) we did a bit of a debrief in our small groups over morning tea, and then waited for our coaches to arrive for a noon departure.

On arrival in Fátima, we settled into our rooms at the Consolata Hotel. This Hotel has two chapels of its own, one for single bus or smaller, and one that fitted our 4-bus group. In that bigger chapel we had our first Mass in Fátima.

The Fatima story – in brief:

On 13 May 1917 as World War I was progressing, to three shepherd children Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta, Mary the mother of Jesus appeared and promised to return on the 13th of each month until 13 October 1917 in Fátima when a great miracle for all to see would happen. As the months progressed Mary taught the children about heaven, hell, and purgatory, about the need for reparation for sin and the need for sacrifices to be offered to obtain the conversion of souls, and her desire for the Rosary to be prayed to end the War. On 13 October a massive crowd gathered in muddy and wet conditions, and they all witnessed the miracle of the sun. Even those from miles around who didn’t go to the apparition site. Newspapers of the time reported on this event. The sun began to spin, give off many colours, and hurtle dangerously close to the earth before resuming its normal position and appearance. In 1930 the Church declared this series of apparitions to be worthy of belief. Jacinta and Francisco have been canonised, and Lucia’s life has passed the test of heroic virtue and may now be called Venerable. Prior to these events in 1917, the same three children received visitations from the Angel of Peace and were taught two prayers, a prayer seeking pardon for others and a prayer of reparation for sin.

Back to our pilgrimage

The first thing we did on Tuesday (8 Aug) was to get back on our buses and visit where the three children of Fátima lived, and the other apparition sites. – But that deserves a write-up all on its own.
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On our return, we went to Mass at the new basilica.

Archbishop Anthony Fisher concelebrating mass in the Basilica of the Holy Trinity ("new Basilica"), Fátima, Portugal ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023

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This photo was taken towards the end of that Mass on a 10 x zoom setting. On the far left you can see Archbishop Fisher. This basilica can hold up to 8000 pilgrims. Because we were in Europe we celebrated the memorial of St Dominic, founder of the Dominican order. Archbishop Fisher being himself a Dominican, is probably why he was a visible concelebrant. If we had been in Australia, we would have celebrated St Mary of the Cross McKillop instead, and St Dominic on 3 August. We had a mix of at least 3 different language groups at this Mass which was presided over by a Portuguese prelate.

After Mass we went in search of lunch, and then had a relatively brief unstructured time until 3.30pm. Then we met in small groups for journaling and collective reflecting upon our experiences since 21 July.

After dinner we prepared to join in the night-time procession.

The concept of a procession like this might be difficult for some people to get their heads around. It’s like this. If God permitted Mary to visit us, and to bring God’s messages to us, then it is only proper to express gratitude. The number of people cured of illness during the apparition timeline reminds us that asking Mary to intercede for us before God is a good idea. It isn’t easy to leave a warm hotel to go to a late-night procession, so that’s a penitential element. In this procession all three things are combined: gratitude, intercession and penance.

It begins at the main site of the apparitions, which is partly undercover and partly open to the very large, concreted precinct.
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Here we began by praying the Rosary at 9.30pm.

Archbishop Fisher presiding over the 9:30pm Rosary, Fátima, Portugal ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023

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But only one half of one decade of that Rosary was in English.

The simplest explanation of the Rosary is that it consists of 5 lots of One Our Father 10 Hail Mary’s and One Glory Be prayers with beginning and ending prayers, and during each decade – or set of 10 Hail Mary’s – you think about an event in the life of Jesus, with either Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful or Glorious themes.
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Then the candlelight procession began.

Candlelight Procession, looking towards the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima ("old basilica") ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023

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The Cross leads the procession, then the priests, then the pilgrims who carry the statue of Our Lady of Fátima, then the pilgrims who prayed the Rosary at the chapel of the apparitions, and everyone else falls in behind. While we walk there is silence interspersed with the Rosary in many languages at once, or with singing the Fatima hymn which everyone can join in the chorus, ‘Ave, Ave, Ave Maria, Ave, Ave, Ave Maria’.

Statue of Our Lady being carried, Fátima, Portugal ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023

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As the procession begins to return to the chapel of apparitions, an honour guard appears, with each selected person holding a flag from a different nation.

All of the various nation flags assembled ~ Vincent Cavanagh ©2023

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When the procession concluded we made our way back to the hotel, in hope of a good night’s sleep prior to our second and last full day in Fátima.


Vincent Cavanagh   #bbwyd
#wydlisbon   #wyd2023   #lisboa2023
8 Aug 2023, 11.12pm Portugal | 9 Aug 2023, 8.12am Sydney

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