Charlie Carpio Bardaje

470, 000 devotees and pilgrims of Our Lady of Fatima consecrated Pope Leo XIV on May 13, 2025, days after his election as the new pope. The celebration of the 108th anniversary of the first apparition of our Lady of Fatima has been an occasion to remember the late Pope Francis and to consecrate Pope Leo XIV as the next successor of St. Peter. Now, the Portuguese Marian pilgrim site awaits the visit of Pope Leo XIV in the future.

Most Reverend José Ornelas de Carvalho, the Bishop of the Leiria-Fatima and the president of the Portuguese Bishops’ Conference led the consecration of the new pope in front of the image of the Blessed Virgin. “(Our Lady of Fatima) we are at your feet, the Bishops of Portugal and this multitude of pilgrims, on the 108th anniversary of your Apparition to the Little Shepherds, here in Cova da Iria, to consecrate to you the Ministry of the current successor of Peter and Bishop of Rome, the Holy Father Leo XIV.”

Since the Apparitions of Our lady of Fatima to the three little shepherds in Cova da Iria, Fatima, in Portugal, devotees and pilgrims keeps on growing in number. Her messages calling for prayer, penance and devotion to her Immaculate heart have been widespread around the world. The popes have been very instrumental in making her message be heard far and wide and led the consecration of the world under the care of the Queen of Peace, especially in the times of wars and crises.

Though Pope Pius XII was not able to set foot in the Shrine of Fatima, he was the first pope who has shown devotion to Our Lady of Fatima. In 1942, he broadcasted a radio address entitled Benedicite Deum to thousands of pilgrims during the Silver Jubilee celebration of the last apparition of Fatima. During that time the world was under the terrors of the on going World War II. Pope Pius XII addressed, in Portuguese, the pilgrims of Fatima and called for a prayer crusade to Mary, Queen of Peace which he concluded by consecrating the world to her Immaculate Heart. Later that same year, Pope Pius XII, repeated the same consecration of the world to the Blessed Mother in St. Peter’s Basilica on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

Pope Paul VI, is the first pontiff to visit the Shrine of Fatima in 1967, where he led the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first apparition and the 25th year anniversary of the consecration of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul I, both visited Fatima as pilgrims before becoming popes. Pope John the XXIII, then Cardinal Giuseppe Roncalli, visited Fatima on May 13, 1956 when he was still a Patriarch of Venice. Likewise, Pope John Paul I visited Fatima on June 10, 1977, then as Cardinal Albino Luciani, Patriarch of Venice.

The Pope who has developed a personal and deeper devotion to Our Lady of Fatima is Pope John Paul II. On May 13, 1981, on the occasion of the 64th anniversary of the first apparition, Pope John Paul II survived an attempted assassination at St. Peter’s Square. A year later, he visited the Shrine of Fatima to thank personally Our Lady who according to him, saved him from death. He said: “One pulled the trigger, another guided the bullet.” The bullet is now enshrined in the Crown of Our Lady of Fatima, after John Paul II offered it to Our Lady as a token of gratitude in 1984. He visited again the Shrine of Fatima in 1991 and 2000 during the Great Jubilee where he beatified the two children visionaries of Fatima: Jacinta and Francisco.

Pope Benedict XVI continued this growing tradition and devotion. He also visited the Shrine of Fatima on May 13, 2010 and led the celebration of the 93rd anniversary of the first apparition, as part of his General Apostolic Visit to Portugal. In his visit to Fatima, Pope Benedict XVI consecrated all priests to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Pope Francis visited the shrine twice. His first visit was in 2017, when he led celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady of Fatima. On this occasion, he also canonized Saints Jacinta and Francisco Marto. Pope Francis also had a chance to visit the shrine during the World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon. In his two visits, Pope Francis reminded the pilgrims that Mary is the Mother of all invited everyone to look at her as a mother. “We have a Mother! Cling to her as children!”

Now, the new pope has shown devotion to the Blessed Virgin. Pope Leo XIV, when he was still a Bishop in Chiclayo, Peru, personally requested the visit of the pilgrim image of Our Lady of Fatima in his Diocese. On May 13, 2019, he lead the consecration of the whole Peru on the foot of the pilgrim image of Our Lady of Fatima and started with the words “I, Robert Francis Prevost Martínez, make this day an act of consecration, repentance, (asking) forgiveness, and reparation to God for all the transgression that have occurred in Peru.” Now, six years after, 470, 000 devotees and pilgrims of Fatima consecrated him as the new pope and prayed for his ministry and mission, especially his call for peace, which is the central message of Our Lady of Fatima.