October 13
We woke up around 8:00 and had just enough time for a quick Continental breakfast before the 9:00 rosary. We found a good spot for our seats near the central parade route. In some ways the daytime procession was more impressive than the night before. The sky was a piercing blue color with a few wisps of cirrus clouds. The colorful banners and uniformed police and scouts were sharp in the morning sun.
The excitement built as the statue of Mary entered the square.
We were much closer than the night before and even took a picture of Fr. Frank
as he processed toward the main altar.
After the rosary and procession, the Mass began. As I was taking pictures I noticed a young adult girl dressed in white holding flowers, beaming with joy, standing closely together with her father. I couldn’t resist the picture, so I turned towards her, smiled, and flashed the picture.
She didn’t seem to mind. When I made eye contact with he again, she smiled then walked towards us. In Portuguese she asked for a copy of the picture by e-mail. We exchanged e-mail addresses, and then she gave Barbara and me the traditional Portuguese kiss on both cheeks. We reciprocated. Then she asked for one more picture with her parents. I obliged and we exchanged Obrigados (thank you).
I took a few more pictures of her as she received what appeared to be her first communion and a final picture of her waving her handkerchief in the traditional parting gesture with 100 thousand others to the statue of Our Lady of Fatima leaving the square after Mass. I could only think to myself how much they love this Lady.
After Mass we took Fr. Frank and Sister Alphonsus to lunch. Sister was delighted to have some mackerel which she said was the best fish she had since her days in Ireland in the fifth grade.
While we were in the lunch line, I spoke some poor Italian to a man just behind me in line. He seemed to be disappointed in the buffet’s selections. So I asked him what he saw, Che cosa qui? And where’s the pasta, Dove la pastachuta? He said, “I don’t know” (No so). He settled for the fish. Later I asked him what he was doing here. He was taking video for Vatican television. We exchanged an arrivederci’s as our group left.
From there Barbara and I found a religious articles store, one of over sixty, nearby where we found rosaries for mom and our family.
At 4:30 we met in the lobby then walked to the Basilica. Mass was in progress so we walked to the Our Lady of Sorrows Chapel then across the square (after taking pictures of the holm oak where Mary appeared) then to the new Church of the Most Holy Trinity half underground and aboveground with beautiful mosaics and an enormous crucifix.
Our final stops were the chapels surrounding the church. I visited the adoration chapel while Barbara went to confession to Fr. Frank who had heard my confession the night before. Then I crossed the square for a short visit to the Chapel of the Apparitions where a group of children from Poland were saying the rosary. It was wonderful hearing the children saying the rosary and seeing them so close to the statue of our Lady of Fatima.
After dinner we went to the world premier showing of the new movie on Fatima, the 13th Day. It was a very moving story of Lucia’s memories of Fatima, how she, Jacinta, and Francisco encountered Our Lady in the apparitions, how they suffered, and how Our Lady affirmed their visions with the miracle of the sun. We hoped the DVD would be available soon.
Sister Alphonsus with statue of John Paul II
and the gigantic cross nearby
Mary meets her Son in the square.