Pope Benedict In Fátima May 2010 Editorial Image

Faithful attend the recitation of the Holy Rosary and the candles procession, on the eve of Pope Benedict XVI's visit, at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, in Fatima, Portugal, Tuesday, May 12, 2010. The Pope was welcomed by a large and enthusiastic crowd as he arrived in Fatima by popemobile. The Pope quickly made his way to the Chapel of Apparitions, where he knelt in prayer before the familiar statue of the Virgin. Recalling his predecessor Pope John Paul II, who had a special devotion to Our Lady of Fatima and credited her with saving his life from an assassin's bullet, the Pope said: It is a profound consolation to know that you are crowned not only with the silver and gold of our joys and hopes, but also with the 'bullet' of our anxieties and sufferings. (The bullet that nearly killed John Paul II has been placed in the crown atop the Fatima statue.)