Fátima (Portugal). On 31 October 2025, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and the Educating Communities of Our Lady of Fatima Province (POR) experienced the Jubilee pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of Fatima, with the motto “Wake up! Mary walks with you!”
In the early hours of the morning, the FMA with educators, students, and collaborators from various communities throughout the Province reached the Sanctuary in an atmosphere of celebration, sharing, and prayer. Late in the morning, the Basilica of the Holy Trinity welcomed them for the Eucharistic Celebration, an expression of gratitude, communion, and sharing of a living faith, animated by the certainty that Mary continues to inspire the educational and spiritual path of the Province.
Immediately after the Eucharist, the groups went to the top of the enclosure, where the Portico of Hope is located, for one of the most significant moments of the day. The day, until then characterized by constant rain, offered a sign of grace at that moment. The rain stopped, allowing everyone to cross the porch in prayer and silence.
More than a simple sign, the passage was experienced as a true experience of faith and trust, in which everyone discovered themselves as a pilgrim of hope, called to cross the threshold of their life to welcome the salvation of Jesus, allowing themselves to be guided by the maternal presence of Mary. A presence shared by all, and which expressed the spiritual path traveled by the entire Province in the Jubilee year, an experience of renewal, confidence, and entrustment.
This was followed by a lunch lived in joy, simplicity, and fraternity, a time in which many took the opportunity to go to the Pastorelli tombs and pray in silence, in a journey of gratitude and contemplation.
In the afternoon, the children and young people of the Salesian Schools, accompanied by educators and the FMA, led the prayer of the rosary, with the Sorrowful Mysteries, in the Chapel of the Apparitions. The songs and prayers created a profoundly Marian atmosphere, where the echo of Mary’s love was felt present in every gesture, in the emotion of the moment.
The Jubilee Pilgrimage was therefore a moment of communion and grace, lived in the shadow of the Mother who gives her name to the Province. Between the joy of meeting and the recollection of prayer, the day in Fatima expressed the path of every home and every consecrated life, a path of hope, driven by the faithful presence of Mary who leads us to her Son Jesus.
Returning home, each group brought with them more than just memories. They brought the desire to remain attentive to God and others. The experience lived was an appeal to renew everyone’s educational and spiritual commitment, in light of the timeless invitation that continues to inspire, “Wake up! Mary walks with you!”.
