The Catholic Writers Guild

Every night at 9:30 p.m. local time in Fatima, Portugal, pilgrims who have traveled from all over the world gather to pray in the Chapel of the Apparitions, which lies over the site where Mary appeared to three shepherd children for six months in 1917. In this open-air, unassuming chapel, a candlelit international Rosary is prayed.

In early November 2022, I had the privilege of traveling as a pilgrim to Portugal. For the two nights I spent in Fatima, I attended the nightly Rosary. Only the fourth decade was prayed in English. The other decades, along with the opening and closing prayers, were prayed in Portuguese and the languages of other pilgrims.

As the pilgrims gathered, each carried an unlit candle. From the single candle on the altar, the priest lit his own candle and in turn shared the flame with someone nearby. Gradually, the flame spread to every candle, and the faces of the pilgrims glowed in the warm light.

As the prayer commenced, I heard many different languages. Some I recognized, others I didn’t, but all of the voices raised together to ascend to the heavens completely overwhelmed my senses. Though I could not understand the individual words spoken, I knew what they prayed because I prayed along in my own language.

There, at the Shrine of Fatima, I truly experienced the meaning of the word Catholic—universal. I prayed together with some who had traveled more than me and some who had traveled less, but at that moment, our distance and language couldn’t separate us. We stood and prayed together as pilgrims.

Praying that international Rosary opened my eyes to the true universality of the Church. The strength of faith and devotion to the rosary filled me with renewed conviction and affirmation as I traveled back home to continue faithfully on this journey the Lord has set me on.

Anytime you feel a deep desire to gaze on Our Lady of Fatima, you can visit the Shrine of Fatima website to watch the livestream from the Chapel of the Apparitions. www.fatima.pt/en/pages/online-transmissions

Throughout the day, they celebrate Mass and pray the Rosary together. The 9:30 p.m. Rosary is prayed at 2:30 a.m. EST, to accommodate the five-hour time difference to the East Coast.

We don’t all have the privilege of taking a pilgrimage to Fatima, but all are invited to come to Mary and pray together as part of the Universal Church.