The Timor-Leste pilgrims pose for a group photo before leaving for Portugal (Photo by Thomas Ora)
More than 40 Catholics from Timor-Leste have set off to join thousands of Catholics from all over the world to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Marian apparition in Fatima, Portugal.
Pope Francis is scheduled to celebrate an outdoor Mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Fatima on May 13 to mark 100 years since the Virgin Mary appeared before nine-year-old Lucia dos Santos and her cousins Francisco Marto and Jacinta Marto, on May 13, 1917.
Bishop Virgilio do Carmo da Silva of Dili told participants before they left for Portugal that devotion to the Virgin Mary — including the Fatima apparition — has been central to the life of Timor-Leste Catholics, before, during and after independence.
"[Hence] their participation in the 100th anniversary celebrations shows a close connection between Timor-Leste and Portugal," Bishop Da Silva said.
Timor-Leste was a Portuguese colony until 1975.
"Marian devotions in the country are a legacy of Portuguese missionaries, and we should not forget that," he said.
Tomas Goncalves, 73, a former teacher and soldier during Portuguese rule said he was joining the pilgrimage to thank God "because he protected my family during troubled times, and for granting us independence," he said.
"It's also to thank [the Blessed Virgin] for my 47 years of marriage," he said.