With her, says Francis, sorrows and afflictions in life will be more bearable.On this feast of Our Lady of Fatima, Pope Francis asked the faithful to entrust to Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart the intention of the end of the pandemic, as well as peace in the world, the spirit of penance, and our own conversion.
He said this in greetings to Polish-speaking faithful at the end of the general audience. As well, he noted the upcoming birthday of the Polish Pontiff, who had a deep devotion to Our Lady of Fatima. He credited her with saving his life, as the attempt to assassinate him occurred on her feast.
Let us return in our thoughts to her apparitions and the message she conveyed to the world, as well as the attempt on the life of Saint John Paul II, who in the saving of his life saw the intervention of the Holy Virgin.
He thanked God for the life of John Paul.
I thank God for giving us this bishop of Rome, this Holy Bishop, and I ask him to help us: may He help this Church of Rome to convert and to go forward. I bless you all from my heart.
Rosary
Pope Francis reaffirmed his invitation to renew our dedication to the rosary, saying that in Our Lady, “we find an affectionate and tender mother, a sure refuge in adversity.”
To Portuguese-speaking faithful, the pope said he was going in his heart to the Shrine of Fatima.
He urged us to live this Marian month “with more intense and faithful daily prayer, particularly the rosary, as the Church recommends, obeying the desire repeatedly expressed in Fatima by Our Lady. Under her protection, sorrows and afflictions in life will be more bearable.”