Recent Popes and Fatima

In his final act with regard to Fatima, on Sunday 8 October 2000, Pope John Paul II entrusted the whole of the third millennium to the Immaculate Heart of Our Lady of Fatima, in the presence of over 1,400 bishops who had come to Rome for the Jubilee Mass of the Bishops and in the presence of Our Lady’s statue which had been specially brought from the Capelinha. It was the largest gathering of bishops since Vatican II.

Pope John Paul II - entrustment of the third Millennium

POPE FRANCIS AND FATIMA

At the pope’s request, all the Portuguese bishops consecrated Francis’ pontificate to Our Lady at Fatima, on 13 May 2013. And again at his direction, the Marian Day in the Year of Faith was celebrated at Rome, in the presence of the original statue of Our Lady from the Capelinha in Fatima, on the twelfth and thirteenth of October—the day of the miracle of the sun and Our Lady’s final apparition at Fatima. The statue was first taken to the residence in the Vatican grounds of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, where he received it with warm personal devotion. Then the statue was solemnly processed up to the altar in front of St Peter’s Basilica, where Pope Francis received it, placed a rosary at the feet of the statue and kissed it. 

The pope began his Marian catechesis on the afternoon of Saturday 12th by stating: “this event of the Year of Faith is devoted to Mary, the Mother of Christ and the Mother of the Church, our Mother. The statue of Our Lady which has come from Fatima helps us to feel her presence in our midst. It is a fact: Mary always brings us to Jesus. She is a woman of faith, a true believer.” At the conclusion of the pope’s catechesis, one of the national leaders of the World Apostolate of Fatima who had come to Rome for the event had been invited to shake hands with Pope Francis, he was warmly received by the Holy Father, and this gesture signified the Pope’s approval of the work of the Apostolate in promoting Our Lady’s message in the Church.

Finally, on Sunday 13th, Pope Francis renewed the consecration of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Hence in the light of all these developments it is apparent that the appeals of Our Lady at Fatima remain just as relevant as ever, and the mission of the WAF is to extend her invitation to comply with her requests to all people of goodwill, trusting in her promise that in the end, “my Immaculate Heart will triumph and a period of peace will be granted to the world”.

POPE BENEDICT XVI'S VISIT TO FATIMA IN MAY 2010

As indicated above, in May 2010, Pope Benedict XVI went to Fatima, and in the course of his visit he said it would be “a mistake to thinkFatima’s prophetic mission is complete”. 

“In the midst of all this there is the key of prayer, penitence and conversion to open up the path to good. This is the prophetic message of Fatima,” Father Lombardi explained. “It helps us to read history, even the history of today and tomorrow, in the light of God.”

When asked about the pope’s comment, Father Federico Lombardi. SJ, director of the Vatican Press Office, explained, “The Pope is telling us that Fatima is a place in which Our Lady and seers, their tradition, help us read the story of our times, the great difficulties of our times, in the light of faith. There is the action of God, there is his Providence, in the goodness of the Virgin Mother but then there is also the responsibility of humanity, which often closes in on itself and because of sin we then have wars, difficulties and suffering.”

CARDINAL MARTINS ON THE POPE’S REFERENCE TO THE “PROPHETIC MISSION OF FATIMA”

After Benedict’s visit to the shrine, the Portuguese Cardinal Martins gave the following clarification to the Pope’s reference to the prophetic mission of Fatima, in an interview with Inside the Vatican (issue of June-July 2010, pp. 11-13). Cardinal Martins, who for many years was prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, was born not far from Fatima, and accompanied Benedict XVI on his pilgrimage to the shrine. 

Cardinal Martins said: “It is important to understand the Pope’s words correctly. It is evident that the prophecy of Fatima is not over.