VATICAN CITY, MAY 13, 2005 (Zenit.org).-
Benedict XVI unexpectedly greeted more than 2,000 faithful who arrived in Rome to celebrate the first ever «Pilgrim’s Day,» organized by the Roman Society for Pilgrimages.
The Holy Father, returning today from the Basilica of St. John Lateran Basilica, stopped on the Via della Conciliazione to greet and bless the pilgrims.
May 13 was chosen as the date for Pilgrim’s Day, in memory of the first apparition of the Virgin of Fatima, which took place in 1917.
On Friday afternoon, the pilgrims visited John Paul II’s tomb.
The Roman Society of Pilgrimages depends on the Diocese of Rome. Its purpose is to organize pilgrimages, especially to the Holy Land and other shrines.
