December 29, 2010. Pope Benedict XVI's
journey to Portugal marked the month of May. The pope travelled to
the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima to celebrate the ten year
anniversary of the beatification of Jacinta and Francisco, two of the
three shepherds to whom the Virgin Mary appeared.
Benedict XVI
“
The Virgin Mary came
down from heaven to remind us of the Gospel's truths that are a
source of hope for a human race, void of love and without hope of
salvation.”
The Pope said that
he went to Fatima to tell the Blessed
Mother that he loves her and to offer prayers for humanity, which is
afflicted by so much poverty and suffering, and for the priesthood.
In
May, the Pope also took another trip, this time a much shorter one,
to the Italian city of Turin. There he visited Shroud of Turin.
Although he made no
official statement about its authenticity, the Pope made very
powerful statements about the Shroud.
Benedict XVI
“
The
holy shroud of Turin offers us an image of how
the body was set and extended into the grave during that time, which
was brief, chronologically, one day and a half, but infinate in value
and meaning.”
Traditionally,
the Catholic Church dedicates the month of May to the Virgin Mary and
the Pope closes the month by praying the rosary during a torchlit
procession in the Vatican gardens and followed by a few words spoken
at the grotto of Lourdes.
PVB/SC
