February 13, 2025, marks the 20th anniversary of Sister Lucia’s death, at the age of 97, in her Carmelite convent.

Venerable Sister Lucia de JesusWe take this date to make it a special day to recall Sister Lucia’s memorable contribution for the spreading of Our Lady’s message and her faithful obedience to God and to the Church.

Besides, we also ask you and your groups to increase your prayers to God for obtaining the needed miracle that is required through the intercession of Venerable Sister Lucia to open the doors for her beatification.

On February 13, the Carmelite convent in Coimbra will have a special program to mark the day. It will include a conference about Sister Lucia at 16h00 and the Holy Mass presided by the bishop of Coimbra at 18h00 (local time)

Anyone wishing to follow this online, please access through YouTube at: https://youtu.be/dNFev9TVrdU

The 20th of February is the liturgical Feast of Saints Francisco and Jacinta Marto, the two shepherd children of Fatima, to whom Our Lady appeared in 1917. The World Apostolate of Fatima is encouraging its members and all Fatima devotees to observe this feast day, thanking God for the life of the two saints, models of sanctity and intercessors in heaven for our intentions.

icones pastorinhos 2 190217051348The international President of the World Apostolate of Fatima, Prof. Michael Ogunu, has written a circular letter to all members of the association, asking to “promote devotion to the canonized little shepherds, Francisco and Jacinta, for their great importance in the history of the Church, to make possible the acceptance of the Message of Fatima around the world.” He added that, “as in past years, this feast must be celebrated as a day of prayer and recollection in every nation where the Apostolate is present”.

The feast day is to be celebrated with the practice of spiritual devotions such as, Holy  Mass, Holy Rosary, meditation on the life of the Saints, vigils of adoration and reparation to the Blessed Sacrament, procession with the images of the Saints, veneration of their relics and, when possible, also by organizing activities for children and youngsters, to honor the little shepherds.

The novena to Saint Francisco and Saint Jacinta leading to the feast begins on February 11. You can access here the novena prayer and the litany of the two Saints.

Historical Note

Francisco Marto was born in Aljustrel, Fatima, on June 11, 1908, and his sister Jacinta Marto was born in the same locality, on March 11, 1910. In their humble family, the children learned to know and to praise God and the Virgin Mary. In 1916, they saw three times an Angel and in 1917, they saw six times the Blessed Virgin Mary, asking them to pray and to make penance for the conversion of sinners and to obtain peace in the world. Both, immediately, wanted to answer with all their strength, to these exhortations. More and more inflamed in the love to God and to the souls, they had only one aspiration: to pray and to suffer according to the requests from the Angel and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Francisco died on April 4, 1919 and Jacinta on February 20, 1920. Pope Saint John Paul II travelled to Fatima on May 13, 2000, in order to beatify the two children. Pope Francis came to Fatima on May 13, 2017, during the Centenary of the Apparitions, and canonized the two first non-martyr children in the history of the Church.

ingles verdeThe Jubilee of 2025 declared by Pope Francis begun on December 24, 2024, with the opening of the Holy Door and will last until January 6, 2026. A Jubilee is a special year of grace to celebrate with joy the gift of redemption that God has offered us through Christ. Centered on the theme “Pilgrims of Hope”, this special year is an invitation to embark on a pilgrimage of hope, so that, "through our witness, may hope spread to all those who anxiously seek it”.

The World Apostolate of Fatima, in the spirit of the Jubilee, encourages its members and the faithful in general, to use this special time to receive the gift of salvation, through a renewed, living and personal encounter with Christ and also by living more authentically the message of Our Lady of Fatima.

The Jubilee Year is marked by pilgrimages, plenary indulgences - meaning the forgiveness of sins - and the passing through the Holy Doors, opened in Rome, for the occasion. The Vatican has set up a webpage with relevant information regarding the Jubilee events in Rome. It can be consulted here.

Among all the major events, the World Apostolate of Fatima wishes to single out the following ones: 7-9 June 2025: Jubilee of Ecclesial Movements, Associations and New Communities and on 11-12 October: Jubilee of Marian Spirituality. Participation in these two events by the Apostolate is important and will also be an opportunity to strengthen ties between the members, while witnessing the love and devotion to Our Lady of Fatima.  

Year 2025 also marks the Centenary of Our Lady’s apparition to Sister Lucia, in Pontevedra, Spain, on December 10, 1925, where She asked for the First Saturdays devotion. Therefore, the World Apostolate of Fatima is organizing an International Congress and Pilgrimage, in Fatima and Pontevedra, from December 5 to 12, 2025 to mark this ephemerid.

The Shrine of Fatima in Portugal, in tune with the Jubilee, has prepared several initiatives to offer the pilgrims a unique experience of faith, namely through catechesis, the prayer of consecration to Our Lady at the end of each celebration, the temporary exhibition “To Serve, the Only Preaching” and the display at the precinct of the shrine of the festive portico, which was used during the year of the Centenary of the Apparitions.

Let us live this Jubilee as true children of Mary, full of Christian hope, entrusting to God who we are and what we do to, assured that our hopes will not be dashed.  

The International Board of Trustees of the World Apostolate of Fatima (WAF) met in Domus Pacis, Fatima, from November 5 to 8, 2024 for its annual meeting, with the purpose to evaluate the ongoing mission of the Apostolate and to plan new pastoral initiatives, based on the main areas of the WAF Strategic Plan.

IMG 20241106 WA0006Prof. Michael Ogunu, the President, with the other members (Reynald Andales, Vice-President; David Kelly, Treasurer and the councillors Deacon Walter Karger, Oksana Bodak, Father Damian Maria, Father MV Sunni and JR Pereira), travelled to attend the meeting. Only Edith Koch, Secretary, could not make it this time.

The program of this year’s meeting included many hours sitting around the table to report on the WAF activities and discuss the other topics in the Agenda. Among these we highlight the evaluation of the execution of the WAF Strategic Plan, the WAF Finances, the Jubilee 2025, the Centennial of the Apparitions in Pontevedra, the First Saturdays worldwide campaign, the edition of Fatima materials and also the expansion of the Apostolate worldwide.    

Apart from this, we also met the WAF Episcopal Moderator, Msgr. José Ornelas, bishop of Leiria-Fátima and the Rector of the Shrine of Fatima, Father Carlos Cabecinhas. Both offered messages of encouragement to our Board and shared with us some important ideas that can enhance the mission of the World Apostolate of Fatima.

Also, we had the joy to welcome in the Byzantine chapel of Domus Pacis, during the Board meeting, a delegation of bishops and priests from Ukraine and present our WAF mission to them.  

The days spent in Fatima were also grace filled with special moments of prayer, including the daily Mass and the Rosary. There was also a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Ortiga, near Fatima, where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a little shepherdess, many years before the apparitions at Cova da Iria.

IMG 20241108 WA0058The highest moment of our celebrations was however the day we had the Holy Mass at the Chapel of the Apparitions, to pray for the Apostolate and particularly for those who have taken the WAF Pledge recently. Their names were placed at the feet of Our Lady together with our prayer intentions.  At the end of Mass, a new beautiful statue of Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart with the Child Jesus (Apparition of Pontevedra, Spain) was blessed for the WAF Philippines. The Statue will initiate a two-year visitation around the dioceses of the country as part of the centennial celebrations of the First Five Saturdays request.

Although the Board of Trustees holds regular online meetings throughout the year, a physical meeting is always a unique occasion, because it strengthens the bonds among all and permits to combine effective work with moments of prayer and fellowship.

On June 13, 2024, the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life held in Vatican the annual meeting with the Moderators of associations of the faithful, ecclesial movements and new communities. The World Apostolate of Fatima was represented by its international Secretary, Mrs. Edith Koch and by the Director of the Secretariat, Nuno Prazeres.  

The meeting revolved around the theme “The Challenge of Synodality for Mission”, bringing together more than 200 people from 95 international associations of the faithful out of the 117 recognized by the Dicastery. The day began with the celebration of Holy Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, presided over by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, followed by an audience with the Holy Father in the New Hall of the Synod.

Photo @Vatican Media

Pope Francis in his address to the participants made important remarks on synodality for the ecclesial movements. He began by saying that the “synodal journey requires a spiritual conversion” and added that his “hope is that synodality may endure as a permanent mode of working within the Church, at all levels, permeating the hearts of all, pastors and faithful alike, until it becomes a shared ‘ecclesial style’”.

He then highlighted some attitudes, some “synodal virtues,” in the light of this spiritual conversion: thinking as God thinks, overcoming exclusiveness, and cultivating humility.