Fatima Shrine resumes celebrations on Saturday

The Sanctuary of Fátima will resume the celebrations with the presence of pilgrims starting on Saturday, guaranteeing safety conditions for the largest number of people.

The Sanctuary of Fátima, in the municipality of Ourém, district of Santarém, announced today that “to guarantee the participation of the largest number of people in safety, in strict compliance with the rules defined by the health authorities”, it will concentrate most masses in the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity.

In this place, the official programme will take place, from Monday to Sunday, with the exception of the 11:00 am mass, which, on the weekend, until October 26, will always be celebrated in the Prayer Area, the Sanctuary also informs.

Also on Sunday, the 15:00 mass will be celebrated in the Prayer Area.

According to the Sanctuary, the transfer of the main celebrations from the official programme to the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity (Monday to Friday) and to the Prayer Area “obeyed a criterion of responsibility, which the Sanctuary has been adopting in this pandemic context” .

The Sanctuary recalls that, before the community celebrations with the presence of pilgrims were suspended, on March 14, a set of preventive measures was adopted to avoid contagion by the covid-19.

"This same concern is present in the choice of spaces where the celebrations will take place from now on, in this phase of initial lack of definition", highlights the Sanctuary.

The celebrations at Capelinha das Aparições will also resume, with the Rosary at 12:00 and 18:30.

The official celebrations will end daily with the Rosary at 21:30.

During the week, the Eucharist at 12:30 will also be celebrated in the Capelinha das Aparições.

The Masses that usually took place during the week in Capelinha das Aparições in Italian, English and Spanish will not be celebrated, nor will the procession of the Most Holy on Sunday.

The museum spaces reopened on Tuesday.

Inside closed spaces, the use of a mask and previous hand hygiene are mandatory.

During the celebrations, the mask should only be removed at the time of communion, which will continue to be given in hand, the Sanctuary also informs.

Pilgrims must respect all the indications of the welcoming, namely in the lines for communion and in the occupation of the seated places, within the spaces of worship and prayer.

The chapels of Reconciliation and Adoration keep their usual schedules, and pilgrims must observe all the rules of distance, respiratory etiquette and hygiene.

The Vehicle Blessing starts to take place weekly, starting on May 31, on Sunday, in Park 12, next to the Pastoral Center of Paul VI, at 12:45 and 17:00.