JOHN PAUL II GOES TO FATIMA FOR THIRD TIME

FATIMA, MAY 12 (ZENIT.org).- John Paul II left Rome today to visit the Fatima shrine for the third time in his Pontificate. Each of his visits has been on May 13: in 1982, 1991 and 2000.

May 13 links a number of related events. First, is Mary's apparition to Francisco and Jacinta Martos, and their cousin Lucia dos Santos, in 1917. Lucia, 93, will meet the Pope again tomorrow. Secondly, May 13, 1981, was the fateful day of an assassination attempt against John Paul II in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican. Tomorrow, May 13, for the first time the Pontiff will beatify children who are not martyrs.

The principal reason for this international papal trip, John Paul II's ninety-second, is precisely the beatification of the visionary children, which will take place in front of the Shrine.

John Paul II landed in Lisbon's airport this afternoon. After a brief private meeting with Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio, he went to Fatima by helicopter. This evening the Holy Father prayed in the apparitions chapel, undoubtedly to thank Mary for saving his life 19 years ago. Meanwhile, there is great anticipation over what he might say during tomorrow's Mass.

In many persons' subconscious, the word Fatima is linked to the famous third secret. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, one of the three people known to know its content, referred to this yesterday. Questioned by reporters about its possible disclosure by the Bishop of Rome during his stay in Portugal, the Cardinal replied: "The Pope can always give surprises, but he is going to Fatima to beatify the little shepherds Francisco and Jacinta and not to reveal the secret."

Therefore, it is the children (Francisco was not quite 11 when he died and Jacinta was only 9) who have motivated this pontifical trip. By beatifying them during this Jubilee, John Paul II is proposing them to the world as an example of prayer and sacrifice for the conversion of sinners, of love for Christ and of men's need to change society. In a word, the message of the apparitions.

Nine years ago, the Pope said in Fatima, "I entrust to the Lady and Mother of all generations the good resolutions and the road of our generation in the 20th and 21st centuries." Of course the international climate has changed profoundly since 1991, when the Soviet Union had just disappeared (an event that many believe is the fulfillment of the Virgin's revelations to the three little shepherds).

During his first visit in 1982, the world situation was very worrying. On that occasion, John Paul II said at the Shrine, "Spare us from nuclear war, from incalculable self-destruction, from every kind of war!" In response to Mary's call, he himself would later consecrate the Church to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1984, in union with the Bishops of the world.

The world scene continues to cause fear and disquiet. 83 years later Mary's message of love and conversion at Fatima continues to be of paramount importance. ZE00051211

ZEN - Zenith