Patriarcado de Lisboa/ Facebook
CV NEWS FEED // Approximately 180,000 motorcyclists from around the world gathered in Fatima, Portugal, this month to have their helmets blessed at the annual Pilgrimage of the Blessing of Helmets.
A Euro News article stated that this year’s gathering was the largest yet, and that in recent years, the event for bikers has become one of the largest events at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima.
“This place is, without a doubt, a moment of encounter, a moment of conviviality and also a moment of manifestation of faith. Basically, many of these motorcyclists come to ask for God’s protection through our Lady for their trips,” said Fr. Carlos Cabecinhas, the Rector of the Sanctuary of Fatima, according to Euro News.
The pilgrimage began with a procession with a statue of Our Lady of Fatima and culminated in a Mass, which included a blessing for the helmets.
Bishop Rui Manuel Sousa Valério, patriarch of Lisbon, reminded the pilgrims of the journeys undertaken by Our Lady during her lifetime. According to an unofficial translation of the homily, the Bishop said that Our Lady “imprints on the journey of our life the character of a Pilgrimage.”
“This, moreover, was also the hallmark of all the journeys she took throughout her life… She lived everything as a journey of communion with God for a total consecration to Him,” he added.
The patriarch exhorted the faithful: “Therefore, brothers, with Our Lady in our hearts, we are mobilized to make each trip, each outing, an adventure of getting closer to the Lord so that He can mold us with the features of the gospel.”
The Blessing of Helmets Association organizes the annual pilgrimage.
