Among the prominent cardinals of Portuguese origin, António Marto, the emeritus bishop of the Diocese of Leiria-Fátima, Américo Aguiar, the bishop of Setúbal and chief organizer of the 2023 World Youth Day in Lisbon attended by Pope Francis, Tolentino Mendonça, the prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education, and Manuel Clemente, the emeritus patriarch of Lisbon, have all presided over major pilgrimages at the renowned Marian shrine during the period from May to October.
The Sanctuary of Fátima revealed that among the Portuguese-speaking cardinal electors who have participated in the highly attended pilgrimages to Cova da Iria are also Arlindo Gomes Furtado, the Bishop of Santiago in Cape Verde, Leonardo Steiner, the archbishop of Manaus in Brazil, Orani João Tempesta, the archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, Sérgio da Rocha, the archbishop of Salvador da Bahia, and João Braz de Aviz, a Brazilian cardinal who previously served as prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
Prominent church figures such as Jean Claude Hollerich, the archbishop of Luxembourg and president of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union, and Juan Jose Omella, the metropolitan archbishop of Barcelona, Spain, have also led significant pilgrimages to the Sanctuary of Fátima. Notably, Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of the Vatican and considered a leading candidate to succeed Pope Francis, has presided over two pilgrimages at the shrine. Parolin notably visited the temple during Pope Francis’ visit in May 2017, marking the centenary of the events at Cova da Iria and the canonization of the shepherd children Francisco and Jacinta Marto.
From diverse geographical regions, cardinals such as Luis Antonio Tagle from the Philippines, the prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization and a well-regarded papal candidate, Filipe Néri Ferrão, the archbishop of Goa and Daman, India, and Peter Turkson, the emeritus archbishop of Cape Coast, Ghana, and chancellor of the Pontifical Academies of Sciences and Social Sciences, have been present at the Sanctuary of Fátima, presiding over important pilgrimages.
The Sanctuary of Fátima announced that all official masses conducted at the temple are now offered with the intention of electing the Supreme Pontiff. Pilgrims are invited to pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit for the cardinal electors throughout the conclave and until a new Pope is elected, during every mass and prayer moment.
On the day of the papal election, the Sanctuary of Fátima will relay its joy through the festive ringing of the bells at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima, as stated by the sanctuary.
