Fatima, Portugal, May 11, 2017 / 16:09 pm
While Fatima is famous for the mystifying candlelight procession and vigil that take place annually the night between May 12 and 13, there is an essential element that can easily be overlooked, but which bears special significance: silence.
"Silence is important, because only in silence can we listen to the Word of God, only in silence can we listen to the whispers of God in our hearts," Fr. Francisco Pereira, chaplain of the Fatima Shrine, told CNA in an interview.
It's been this way in Fatima since the very beginning, he said, noting that the bishop who arrived on site after the diocese was established in 1918 immediately wrote a letter to all parish priests in Fatima saying the shrine "is a place of silence, of prayer and of sacrifice."
Because of this, it's forbidden to set off fireworks, play music or sell alcohol on the property, Fr. Pereira said, stressing that that the shrine wants to preserve Fatima as much as possible as a place "of silence to pray and make sacrifices."