Pope visits Portuguese shrine known for apocalyptic prophesy linked to Russia as war rages on
The Vatican says Pope Francis prayed silently for peace in the Portuguese shrine town of Fatima FATIMA, Portugal -- Pope Francis visited the Portuguese town of Fatima on Saturday to pray for peace at a shrine known for apocalyptic prophesies of hell, peace and Soviet communism that have found new relevance with Russia’s war in Ukraine. But for the third time of his trip to Portugal for World Youth Day, Francis ditched his prepared remarks and didn’t even recite a prayer written for the occasion pleading for peace. The prayer had been expected to be a highlight of Francis’ visit to Fatima, given the shrine’s century-old affiliation with exhortations of peace and conversion in Russia. Francis instead “prayed silently for peace, with pain,” while meditating for a long period before a statue of the Virgin Mary, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said. And the Vatican later tweeted the prayer. The unusual morning unfolded at the shrine where, according to legend, three young peasant children in...