FATIMA, Portugal, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Pope Francis visited the revered Catholic shrine of Fatima in Portugal on Saturday, praying the rosary with about 200,000 people at the site where the Church says the Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children in 1917.
The 86-year-old pope skipped reading a key speech that was on the programme of his two-hour visit to the world-famous shrine north of Lisbon.
The omission did not appear to indicate that the pope was experiencing any health issues.
Francis flew in from Lisbon - the venue of a Catholic youth festival - to make his second visit as pope to the shrine that draws millions of pilgrims a year.
[1/6]Pope Francis greets a child as he meets with people at the Chapel of Apparitions of the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, during his apostolic journey to Portugal on the occasion of the XXXVII World Youth Day, in Fatima, Portugal, August 5, 2023.
Persons:
FATIMA, Pope Francis, Virgin Mary, Matteo Bruni, Francis, Bruni, Fatima, FATIMA Fatima, Francisco, Jacinta Marto, Lucia Dos Santos, Madonna, Sister Lucia, Pope John Paul, Catarina Demony, Philip Pullella, Michael Gore, Pedro Nunes, Andrew Cawthorne, Frances Kerry
Organizations:
Catholic, Vatican, Handout, REUTERS, Thomson
Locations:
Portugal, Fatima, Lisbon, Vatican, Castelo Branco, Russia