13 november, 2012
The Shrine of Fatima celebrated on November 13, for the first time, the Solemnity of the Dedication of the Basilica of Most Holy Trinity.In the main Mass of the day, celebrated at 11h00, in the Basilica of Most Holy Trinity, the Rector of the Shrine of Fatima highlighted the fact that the granting of the title of basilica stresses the “bond of special communion with the Church of Rome and the Pope” and the “love the Pope has for Fatima”, something – he said – that characterizes “the attitude of several Roman Pontiffs (towards Fatima) since the time of the apparitions”. He went on to say that “the title granted to the Church of Most Holy Trinity, together with the same title already previously granted to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima, highlights an aspect of the Message of Fatima: union with the Holy Father:” On that day, Nov. 13, during which the Shrine of Fatima commemorates, as usual, the apparitions of Our Lady at Cova da Iria, the Rector remembered the seers, the Little Shepherds, (to say) that, after the apparitions, they always showed that union with the Holy father, specially through prayer. And he said: “Since then, to pray for the Holy Father and his intentions became an integral part of the message itself and also of the daily practice of the Shrine.” In his words to the pilgrims, in a Mass attended by more than three thousand people, Fr. Carlos Cabecinhas stressed the spiritual meaning of the dedication of the temple to Most Holy Trinity: “in fact – he said – at the core of the Message of Fatima is the revelation of the centrality of God, Most Holy Trinity. (…) The Message of Fatima doesn’t intend to innovate or satisfy our curiosity about God, but to lead us to a strong experience of God, Most Holy Trinity.” “In gestures and words, both of the Angel and of Our Lady, God reveals Himself in His Trinitarian mystery, thus stirring up in us a generous response of adoration, of giving ourselves to Him, of reparation. It is God, Most Holy Trinity, that is the focus of the whole message of Our Lady, in this place.” The Rector concluded by saying that the “most relevant” moments of this Trinitarian revelation were “the apparitions of the Angel of Peace, in 1916, the apparitions of Our Lady, specially those of May and June 1917, and the grandiose vision Lucia had in 1929, in Tuy”. Let us remind you that, by decree of June 19, 2012, signed by the Prefect for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, António Canizares Cardinal Llovera, the Church of Most Holy Trinity received the title of Minor Basilica. The decree indicated November 13 as the date for the annual Liturgical Celebration of the Dedication of the Basilica of Most Holy Trinity. LeopolDina Simões |
