The event that's twice as big as Web Summit kicks off this weekend

The Pope is coming to celebrate the 100th anniversary oh the apparition of Our Lady  

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On Saturday 13 May 2017 its the centenary of Our Lady’s (aka Virgin Mary) 1st apparition.

Guess many travelers will find the sometimes hysterical activities around this event a bit strange.

But coming from Himalaya where it’s not unusual to see devoted buddhist pilgrims prostrating for days ‘just’ to visit a sacred temple and/or get blessings from an important Rinpoche we really don’t think about it.

[caption id="attachment_27740" align="alignleft" width="176"] A group of Pope Pilgrims re-fueling outside Setubal[/caption]

We notice it of course – and enjoy it. Its part of the traditions that reminds of the culture we have decided to settle in.

So the other day – when I passed by a group os singing Pope pilgrims on my way to my morning swim I couldn’t help thinking about Tings Kathmandu.

Every morning around 5 am we hear the bells from the small street tempel 20 meterts from our door: Our local friends and neighbors getting their tikas and blessings on the way to the market 🙂

Thomas

 

VATICAN CITY — When Pope Francis travels to the Portuguese town of Fatima this weekend, he will be lending his blessing to a religious phenomenon that has captivated Catholics for a century: It involves visions of the Virgin Mary, supernatural meteorological events and apocalyptic prophesies of hell, Soviet communism and the death of a pope. For doubters, the Fatima story is a trumped-up tale built around hallucinations. For believers, Fatima’s message of peace, prayer and conversion from sin is as relevant today as it was 100 years ago, when three illiterate shepherd children first reported seeing visions of the Madonna. The pope will canonize two of those children on Saturday and is likely to make his own Fatima message of peace and conversion as a weapon against secularism and the persecution of Christians today. Read Nicole Winfield and Barry Hatton’s details about the weekend’s events in The Washington Post

 

We know Fatima is 130 km from Lisbon and probably shouldn’t have anything to do with us.

But it has. Because when Pope Francis comes to Portugal Catholic devoted followers from all over Portugal and Europe will come to see him. [caption id="attachment_13528" align="alignleft" width="195"] Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco, three local shepherd children who witnessed the appearance of The Ghost of Virgin Mary[/caption] Many of them will walk – and many of them pass through Lisbon on their way. So the last many days we have seen their yellow vests along the highway, at petrol stations re-fueling with drinks, ice cream and energizers. And for several early mornings we have seen devoted pilgrims gathering outside our church on the Graca Miradouro, singing, praying and enjoying the view. That will happen on 13 May 2017 – the centenary of Our Lady’s (aka Virgin Mary) first apparition to Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco, three local shepherd children who witnessed the appearance of The Ghost of Virgin Mary – or what is today known as “the miracle of the sun”.  ]]>