250k Fatima pilgrims commemorate anniversary of Our Lady’s appearances, JPII’s 1981 shooting

(LifeSiteNews) — The Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal drew an estimated 250,000 pilgrims to the Cova da Iria for a candlelight procession on the eve of the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima.

Also taking part in the major liturgies on Wednesday, the multitude of pilgrims from five continents marked the 109th anniversary of the first apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to the three shepherd children — Venerable Sr. Lúcia, St. Francisco, and St. Jacinta — in 1917.

Hundreds of thousands descended on Fatima, Portugal last night and today for the anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady to three shepherd children in 1917.

Today also marks the 45th anniversary of Pope St. John Paul II being shot in St. Peter’s Square. pic.twitter.com/Fy4PGAB3N3

— Sign of the Cross (@CatholicSOTC) May 13, 2026

The International Anniversary Pilgrimage, which began May 12 with a Rosary, candlelight procession, and Celebration of the Word, continued throughout the day with a Rosary at the Chapel of Apparitions, an international Mass, the blessing of the sick, and a farewell procession.

More than 170 registered groups from 30 countries participated alongside many thousands of individual and family pilgrims who traveled on foot to the shrine. The shrine of Fatima has already recorded more than 1.1 million pilgrims in 2026, a slight increase over the previous year, highlighting the enduring relevance of the Blessed Virgin’s call last century.

Presiding over the Tuesday night candlelight events was Archbishop Dom Rui Valério, the Patriarch of Lisbon. In his homily to the 250,000 pilgrims, he urged them to become light to a world that is wounded by war, violence, division and loneliness, a world in need of the light of Jesus Christ.

“It is not enough to light a candle. It is not enough to receive light. We must become light,” the Patriarch said, encouraging the faithful to be instruments of concrete charity, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

45^th anniversary of attempt on the life of St. John Paul II

This year’s anniversary coincided with another significant milestone: the 45th anniversary of the assassination attempt on Pope St. John Paul II.

On May 13, 1981, the Polish pontiff was shot in St. Peter’s Square during a General Audience. He credited the Blessed Virgin of Fatima with saving his life, believing her maternal hand had guided the bullet.

In Fatima today, the international Mass was celebrated with the chalice St. John Paul II used during his 1982 thanksgiving pilgrimage to the shrine. The bullet from the attack remains encased in the golden crown of the statue of Our Lady at the Chapel of Apparitions.

Pope Leo XIV marked the dual anniversaries in Rome during his weekly Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square.

Before delivering his catechesis, he knelt in prayer at the exact spot — marked by a white marble plaque bearing John Paul II’s coat of arms — where the shooting occurred 45 years earlier.

The American pope explicitly linked the date to Fatima, stating, “Today we remember the memorial of Our Lady of Fatima. On this day, 45 years ago, an attempt was made on Pope John Paul II’s life, and for these reasons, I dedicated my catechesis today to the Blessed Virgin Mary.”

Pope Leo XIV’s prayer for peace and harmony

In those remarks, Pope Leo presented the Holy Virgin as the perfect model of the Church. He declared, “In the Mother of the Lord, the Church contemplates her own mystery,” she is the “perfect model of what the Church is called to be: a creature of the Word of the Lord and mother of the children of God, begotten in docility to the action of the Holy Spirit.”

The Pope then highlighted that Mary is “the mother of the whole Church” as she “brings forth children” in Christ and all the faithful can “turn to her with filial confidence, in the certainty of being heard, protected and loved.”

Addressing the Portuguese-speaking pilgrims present in St. Peter’s Square today, Pope Leo made a cry for peace and harmony in the world, stating:

On this day, the liturgical feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Fátima, we turn our gaze to the Shrine, where Our Lady entrusted a message of peace to the three little shepherds. In that place, so dear to all Christians, numerous pilgrims from the five continents have gathered today: their presence is a sign of the need for consolation, unity, and hope among the people of our time.

Let us entrust to the Immaculate Heart of Mary the cry for peace and harmony that rises from every part of the world, especially from peoples afflicted by war. To all of you, my blessing!