The Pope prays for peace from Fatima and calls for a Church "with open doors" to "everyone, without exclusion"

Pope Francis has advocated, from the chapel of apparitions in the Sanctuary of Fatima, for a Church with "open doors" where "everyone can enter" because "a mother has an open heart for all her children, all, all, all, without exclusion".

This was expressed by the Pope after the recitation of the Rosary, in which the prayer was dedicated to "granting the world a lasting time of peace." The prayer has been led by several young people, including a young woman with a disability.

The Pope landed this Saturday morning in Fatima, where he has flown by helicopter from Lisbon, where he is participating in World Youth Day (WYD).

This is the second visit that Francis has made to the Sanctuary, where he already made an express trip of just over 24 hours, on May 12 and 13, 2017, on the occasion of the centenary of the apparitions of the Virgin to the little shepherds.

During his words, improvised and pronounced in Spanish, Francisco focused on the figure of María, the "lady in a hurry" or "apressada" (as it would be said in Portuguese) and extolled that she "is never the protagonist, she welcomes everyone and points to Jesus."

For this reason, he invited the faithful present to keep a brief moment of prayer and reflection, to ask her in silence: "Mother, what are you pointing out to me? What is there in my life that worries you, that moves you, that are you interested?"

The Bishop of Leiria-Fátima, José Ornelas, has expressed his "profound joy" for the presence of the Pontiff, for the second time, in Fatima and has joined his prayer "for peace" with which, as he explained, "this Sanctuary is deeply identified, particularly in the face of the war in Ukraine", and "in so many other sources of conflict in the world that dramatically affect the lives and futures, especially of children and young people".

He also prayed for children and young people who are victims of "disease, poverty, hunger, conflicts, abuse, injustice and exclusion."

The Pope has arrived at the Sanctuary of Fátima after traveling a stretch of road in the popemobile from where he has been able to greet the thousands of faithful who were waiting for him and has given his blessing to several babies who have brought him closer to the car. Subsequently, the Pope prayed before the image of the Virgin of Fatima and presented her with some flowers and a rosary.