Fatima, Portugal, May 12, 2010 / 11:17 am
"It is a profound consolation to know that you are crowned not only with the silver and gold of our joys and hopes, but also with the 'bullet' of our anxieties and sufferings," said the Holy Father in Fatima on Wednesday evening. In prayer before Mary in the Chapel of Apparitions at the Our Lady of Fatima Shrine, the Pope entrusted all people to Our Lady and gave thanks for all prayers for him.
Having bid farewell to those at the Apostolic Nunciature in Lisbon on Wednesday afternoon, Pope Benedict boarded a helicopter for Fatima, almost 90 miles to the north. He was welcomed on arrival by Bishop of Leiria-Fatima Antonio Augusto dos Santos Marto, the city's mayor and other government authorities.
From the landing pad he traveled by motorcade to the Chapel of Apparitions at the Our Lady of Fatima Shrine, where he was met by Fr. Virgílio do Nascimento Antunes, rector of the shrine. After praying before the image of Our Lady privately, the Holy Father prayed aloud, accompanied at intervals by cantors and the assembly.
He addressed Our Lady directly, saying that he came before her "as a son visiting his Mother" and "in company with a multitude of brothers and sisters."