Pilgrims present at the Shrine of Fatima prayed this morning that nations and their leaders “avoid nationalisms indifferent to the fate of the poorest”.
In the Prayer of the Faithful at the International Mass of the Pilgrimage of Migrants and Refugees, presided over by the Archbishop of Luanda, Filomeno Dias, it was requested, among other things, that governments “apply policies of hospitality that open the societies they govern to migrants and refugees”.
Today’s pilgrimage takes place under the theme “free to choose whether to emigrate or stay”, the title of Pope Francis’ message for the Day of the Migrant and the Refugee, and brings together many immigrants living in Portugal, as well as many members of the Portuguese diaspora.
For these, a message of the Prayer of the Faithful was also left, with the request that the communities of Portuguese and Portuguese descendants scattered around the world “find, in the countries where they live, space for their fulfillment and economic, social and spiritual progress, and remain faithful to the Christian values that characterize Portuguese culture”.
Ukraine was also not forgotten at this moment of the Eucharist presided over by the Angolan Archbishop, praying “for peace in the world, especially for the victims of the conflict in Ukraine”.
“May the Lord open the hearts of political leaders and make them recognize that only in peace can we live as true brothers and sisters,” the intention read in Polish asked.
The pilgrimage that ends today, considered one of the largest of the year to Cova da Iria, is part of the 51st Migration Week, promoted by the Portuguese Catholic Work for Migration, an organization of the Episcopal Commission for Social Pastoral and Human Mobility (CEPSMH).
In a message for this week, the Bishops’ Commission stresses that migration is an “unavoidable phenomenon” that can “serve as an instrument for greater social justice”.