Sick young people and prisoners will pray in Fatima with the Pope on World Youth Day

Pope Francis will ask young people who are sick and inmates to pray with him at the Capelinha das Apariões in Fatima when he visits the site for the second time on August 5, the sanctuary’s rector said.

In a message addressed to pilgrims posted on the website of the Sanctuary of Fatima, Father Carlos Cabesignas invites them “to be in Fatima on Saturday morning, August 5, to pray with the Holy Father.”

The dean adds that “closer to him [Papa]praying in Capelinha will be young sick people and young prisoners.”

According to the scheduled program, Pope Francis will arrive at the Sanctuary of Fatima at 9:00 on August 5 and pray in the Small Chapel of the Apparitions.

“The Supreme Pontiff will cross the Prayer Area in a popemobile and head to the Little Chapel of the Apparitions, where sick young people who will not be able to participate in WYD in Lisbon, and some young prisoners will be waiting for him. After the prayer of the Rosary, the Pope addresses the pilgrims present and proceeds to Lisbon,” the Sanctuary reports.

The Sanctuary also reports that, in order to welcome the Pope and all young people who travel to Lisbon but pass through Fatima either before the WYD or in the days after the WYD, “it is organizing a series of initiatives in order to give young people the opportunity to get to know with this place and the event that made him famous.”

The focus is on “Aldeia Jovem” where young people will be welcomed by providing them with places to stay (in lodging and camping) and food, as well as a set of six trails to reach Fatima on foot, “based on the pilgrimage routes already consecrated and properly marked.”

“Each route is connected to a topic related to the message of Fatima and has the church as a starting point,” adds the sanctuary, which will also promote themed “workshops” “on topics of the Christian faith that are foundational in the message. Fatima: Adoration, Immaculate Heart, Rosary and Sacrifice.