Be Missionaries of God’s Love and Tenderness

The Jubilee of Confraternities took place from 16 to 18 May, bringing together members of various confraternities from around the world in a spirit of unity and devotion, to experience a moment of spiritual renewal, deepen their faith and strengthen the bonds within their communities.

“Today we feel embraced by the Church, to experience an extraordinary moment with a multitude of people who came here in the name of Christ”, said Tiago Pereira, Prior of the Portuguese Confraternity of Nossa Senhora do Castelo. The Prior comes from Aljustrel, the birthplace of Francisco Marto, one of the three shepherd children who witnessed the apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Cova da Iria, near Fatima, on 13 May 1917. Francisco was proclaimed a saint by Pope Francis, along with his sister Jacinta, exactly 100 years later, on the occasion of the Pope’s pilgrimage to the Marian shrine.

“On the Solemnity of Our Lady of Fatima, last [13 May], we were in our hermitage to pay homage to the Virgin, Patron of Aljustrel”, Pereira told Vatican Media. They then walked through the Holy Door and concluded the “great experience of faith by participating in the Mass for the beginning of Leo XIV’s Petrine Ministry”, an experience of faith that was shared with 100,000 other members of Confraternities, who came to Rome from all over the world.

On Saturday afternoon, 17 May, along with other Confraternities, members of Nossa Senhora do Castelo took part in a procession from the Baths of Caracalla to Circus Maximus, where they joined another group of eight Confraternities from Italy, France and Spain. “The journey we took under the banners and flags, amidst the songs and prayers is a life journey led by the Lord Jesus, who takes us by the hand, inviting us not to lose the journey founded on hope”.