Angelus / Foto: Francesco Sforza

Angelus / Foto: Francesco Sforza

“May the Immaculate Heart of Mary always Be Our Refuge, Our Consolation and the Way that leads Us to Christ”

Here is a ZENIT translation of the address Pope Francis gave today before and after praying the midday Regina Coeli with those gathered in St. Peter’s Square.

Before the Angelus:

Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning!

Yesterday evening I returned from the pilgrimage to Fatima — we greeted Our Lady of Fatima! — and our Marian prayer today assumes a particular significance, charged with memory and prophecy for those who look at history with the eyes of faith. At Fatima I immersed myself in the prayer of the faithful holy People, prayer that has flowed there as a river for one hundred years, to implore Mary’s maternal protection over the whole world. I thank the Lord who granted me to go to the feet of the Virgin Mother as pilgrim of hope and peace. And from my heart I thank the Bishops, the Bishop of Leiria-Fatima, the State Authorities, the President of the Republic and all those who offered their collaboration.

From the beginning, when I remained a long time in silence in the Chapel of the Apparitions, accompanied by the prayerful silence of all the pilgrims, an atmosphere of recollection and contemplation was created in which several moments of prayer were held. And at the center of everything was the Risen Lord, present in the midst of His People in the Word and in the Eucharist, present in the midst of so many sick, who are protagonists of the liturgical and pastoral life of Fatima, as of every Marian Shrine.

Read the full article:  https://zenit.org/articles/regina-coeli-address-on-the-holy-fathers-pilgrimage-to-fatima/