This Saturday marked the 100th anniversary of the first apparition of Our Blessed Mother at Fatima. Pope Francis commemorated the event with a papal visit to the holy site.
On Saturday, Pope Francis told those gathered at Fatima, in particular the sick and suffering, to follow the example of the newly canonized Sts. Francisco and Jacinta, offering their lives — both the joy and suffering — as a gift for God.
“Today the Virgin Mary asks all of us the same question that, 100 years ago, she asked the shepherd children: ‘Do you want to offer yourselves to God?’ Their answer — ‘Yes, we do!’ — makes us able to understand and imitate their lives.”
“They lived life, with its share of joy and suffering, as an offering to the Lord. I invite those of you who are sick to live your lives as a gift. Like the shepherd children, tell Our Lady that you want to offer yourselves to God with all your heart,” Pope Francis said May 13.
The Pope’s words were said during a special greeting to the sick during Eucharistic adoration immediately following the canonization Mass of Sts. Francisco and Jacinta Marto at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal.