Pope visited Fatima, Portugal and prayed for peace in Ukraine

RELIGIOUS NEWS AGENCY (REDNA) – Pope Frances, the world catholic leader, in his five days’ trip to Portugal visited the Portuguese town of Fatima on Saturday.

Pope prayed at a shrine known for apocalyptic prophesies of hell, peace and Soviet communism that have found new relevance with Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Francis spent the morning in Fatima, praying with sick people and prisoners, alongside pilgrims who began filling the shrine’s central esplanade long before sunrise.

Vatican Media had said Francis prayed for peace in Ukraine and the world while in Fatima.

The Fatima story dates back to 1917, when according to tradition, Portuguese siblings Francisco and Jacinta Marto and their cousin Lucia said the Virgin Mary appeared to them six times and confided to them three secrets.

Francis has made repeated appeals for an end to Russia’s war, frequently expressing solidarity with the “martyred” Ukrainian people while refraining from criticizing Russia by name.

Recently, he sent an envoy to Kyiv, Moscow and Washington on a mission to try to facilitate the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia.