Our Lady of Fatima Statue to Arrive in St. Peter's Square

Tomorrow, May 13, 89th anniversary of the first appearance of Our Lady of Fatima, and 25th anniversary of the attack against John Paul II in St. Peter's Square, a copy of the statue of the Virgin from that famous Portuguese shrine will return to the Vatican.

For the occasion, more than 20,000 pilgrims will gather in Rome in order to participate in the 2nd World Day of Pilgrims, being promoted by the "Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi."

The statue of the Virgin will arrive by helicopter at Castel Sant'Angelo on Saturday afternoon whence the pilgrims, led by Cardinal Ivan Dias, archbishop of Bombay, India, will accompany it in procession along Via della Conciliazione and into St. Peter's Basilica. In crossing St. Peter's Square, the procession will halt for a moment at the point in which John Paul II was shot.

In the basilica, after praying the rosary, the pilgrims will participate in a Eucharistic celebration presided by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the Pope's vicar general for the diocese of Rome and president of "Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi."

After the Mass a celebration in honor of John Paul II will be held in St. Peter's Square, concluding with a firework display.