On Friday, May 13th, the pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima visited Saint John Lateran, Rome’s Cathedral, accompanied by the relics of Blesseds Lucia and Francisco, two of the little shepherds to whom the Virgin Mary entrusted her message.
Monsignor Liberio Andreatta, head of the Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi, who presided over the event and the Holy Mass, recalled that the motto of this pilgrimage is “Mary, Testimony of God’s Mercy.” He mentioned that as Pope Francis’ Bull indicates, “a pilgrimage is a peculiar sign of the Holy Year,” because “life is a pilgrimage, and the human being is a pilgrim who follows the path to the established end.”
«Therefore, each one must undertake a pilgrimage in keeping with his strength to arrive at the Holy Door of Rome or of another place, and it must be a symbol of his conversion, entrusting himself to God’s mercy, and the Pontiff hoped that we would be merciful with others as the Father is with us.»
It was a celebration organized in the context of the 12th National Day of the Pilgrim, in this Jubilee of Mercy. Due to poor weather threats, the procession did not take place from the church of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, but was held in Rome’s Cathedral.
The procession with the pilgrim statue, which came from Portugal for the event, toured the square in front of the basilica and entered the latter accompanied in procession by several hundred pilgrims, while Marian prayers were recited.
Thus, the public was able to enter through the Holy Door of the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, which is the See of the Bishop of Rome, while the image entered through the main door. Then, the Holy Mass was celebrated.
