May 13: during the recitation of the Regina Cæli, Benedict XVI recalled Fatima
The pope invited parents to pray “with” and “for” their children, during the Regina Cæli recited on the square in front of the Basilica of Our Lady of Aparecida on May 13. After the Mass celebrated before 300,000 faithful for the opening of the 5th General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean, the pope also recalled the 90th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima. His words, as was the case throughout the Mass, were greeted by the crowd’s shouts of “Bento” (Benedict).
“Families stand at the heart of the Church’s mission of evangelization, for it is in the home that our life of faith is first expressed and nurtured,” emphasized the pope. Speaking to the English-speaking faithful, he told them: “Parents, you are the primary witnesses to your children of the truths and values of our faith: pray with and for your children, teach them by your example of fidelity and joy.”
The pope recalled the coincidence of the 90th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal. “With their powerful call to conversion and penance, they are without doubt the most prophetic of all modern apparitions,” he explained. On the previous day, during a meeting with the press in Fatima, Cardinal Angelo Sodano had revealed that Benedict XVI wished to visit the Portuguese shrine. “I am sure that you will see him here one day,” thus affirmed the dean of the College of Cardinals.
In Aparecida, Benedict XVI entrusted “in a special way” to Our Lady of Fatima “those peoples and nations that are in particular need,” confident that she will not fail to heed the prayers we make to her, he said, adding that he was especially thinking of “those brothers and sisters who suffer from hunger.” And he gave his support to the “March against Hunger”, an initiative promoted by the World Food Program, a United Nations agency responsible for food assistance.
Benedict XVI also desired to pray for the Afro-Brazilian community who were commemorating the abolition of slavery in Brazil on May 13. In French, he greeted the faithful living in Haiti, in French Guyana and in the Antilles. He expressed the wish for them to build a more generous and fraternal society, taking care to help young people discover the greatness of family values.” After having invited the faithful to pray for the fruits of the 5th General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean, Benedict XVI assured that it was “opening up a future of hope for the Latin American family.”
