Benedict XVI visited Portugal in May 2010 – Society
Benedict XVI arrived in Portugal on May 11, 2010 for a four-day visit to Lisbon, Fátima and Porto, with the theme “With you, we walk in hope”.
The visit of Benedict XVI, in 2010, was an “unforgettable event of ingestion” and recalls above all the “message of courage” that helps to face more troubled times, said Father Manuel Morujão.
In statements to the ECCLESIA agency, Father Manuel Jordão recorded the visit of the former Holy Father as an “unforgettable” event, as well as his attitude, being a being “of kindness”. , for having been Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, they painted a portrait of an inquisitor, but he is a person full of appetite, “he said.
Benedict XVI’s visit to Portugal, between the 11th and 14th of May 2010, had the purpose of celebrating the 10th anniversary of the beatification of the shepherd children of Fatima – Francisco and Jacinta Marto.
Pope Benedict XVI arrived at Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon on the morning of May 11. After a meeting with the diplomatic corps and representatives of the State, he visited the Jerónimos Monastery and was received by the President of the Republic Aníbal Cavaco Silva at the Palace of Belém. At the end of the afternoon, a mass was celebrated at Terreiro do Paço.
On May 12, Benedict XVI met with José Sócrates, Prime Minister at the time, at the Apostolic Nunciature and later visited the Belém Cultural Center, where he spoke to personalities about Portuguese culture.
In his speech, Benedict XVI stressed that “culture today reflects a ‘tension’, which sometimes takes the form of a ‘conflict’, between the present and tradition. The dynamics of society absolutizes the present, isolating it from the cultural heritage of the past and without the intention of outlining a future. But such an appreciation of the ‘present’ as an inspiring source of the meaning of life, individually and in society, is confronted with the strong cultural tradition of the Portuguese people, very marked by the millennial influence of Christianity, with a sense of global responsibility, affirmed in the adventure of the Discoveries and in the missionary enthusiasm, sharing the gift of faith with other peoples”.
During the afternoon accompanied to Cova da Iria, in Fátima, upon arrival, she went to the Little Chapel of Apparitions and later celebrated the Vespers prayer with the priests in the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity.
On May 13, Benedict XVI was at the Sanctuary of Fatima where he celebrated a mass for the 93rd anniversary of the Marian Apparitions. In the afternoon, I met with the organizations of the Pastoral Social, in the Basílica da Santíssima Trindade, and with the Portuguese bishops in the Salon of the Casa de Nossa Senhora do Carmo, in Fátima.
Porto received the Holy Father, on the fourth and last day of the visit. He presided over a mass on Avenida dos Aliados and then went to Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport where he started for the Vatican.