By Daniel Bastos.

The weekend of May 12th and 13th in Portugal will be indelibly marked by Pope Francis’ visit to Fátima, one of the most important Marian shrines in the world where the leader of the Catholic Church celebrates the centenary of the apparitions in Cova da Iria.

Despite the different points of view on the religious phenomenon of Fátima, some believe that in Cova da Iria there were visions or apparitions of Our Lady to the three little shepherds, and those who argue that such events are nothing more than a set-up by the Church, the Sanctuary of Fátima continues to attract believers from all over the world, and to occupy a special place in the minds and hearts of many Portuguese.

Among the large group of Portuguese people who consider the Sanctuary of Fátima an excellent place of pilgrimage and devotion are emigrants, with the annual Migrant Journey to Fátima in August being a landmark, bringing together tens of thousands of people and which is seen as a celebration of faith that transcends borders.

The presence of Portuguese emigrant communities around the world even led the Pope, on the eve of his visit to Fátima , to ask the Portuguese communities, during a public audience in St. Peter’s Square, to join him in prayer during his visit to Portugal: “I ask everyone to join me as pilgrims of hope and peace: may your hands in prayer continue to support mine.”

Pope Francis’ words addressed to Portuguese emigration express not only the importance of emigrants in building bridges between peoples and cultures, the essence of the Church’s universal message, but also reveal that religion continues to be a structuring factor of cohesion and identification of emigrant communities.

The son of Italian immigrants in Argentina, Pope Francis recognises the phenomenon of migration as a significant experience that has generated social transformation in all regions of the world. This is why he repeatedly calls for ideals such as solidarity, tolerance and peace, which are intertwined with the Message of Fatima, which remains deeply relevant and resonates with a significant portion of the Portuguese population living in Portugal and abroad.

Article by Daniel Bastos