«We are going to ask Our Lady to teach us to be friends of peace,» Bishop Manuel Madureira Dias said in his homily Sunday. He said the pilgrimage had the Pope´s blessing.
For his part, Bishop Serafim Ferreira e Silva of the Diocese of Fatima-Leiria, appealed to the children to construct «a future of peace» and to be more responsible than their parents.
Police reported that over 300,000 people eventually turned up at the Fatima shrine. «The children arrive first; then thousands of parents come in cars to collect them,» Bishop Ferreira explained.
