Pope Benedict XVI Blog

Today marks anniversaries of first Fatima appearance and JPII assassination attempt

Vatican prepares for anniversaries of first Fatima appearance, JPII assassination attempt on Saturday

Vatican City, May. 12, 2006 (CNA) - Officials at the Vatican are preparing to recognize two major anniversaries tomorrow. May 13th marks both the 89th anniversary of the first appearance of the Virgin Mary to 3 children in Fatima, Portugal and the 25th anniversary of the failed assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in St. Peter‘s Square.

For the occasion, a reproduction of the statue which resides at the shrine of Fatima will travel by helicopter to the Vatican before being part of a procession--led by Cardinal Ivan Dias, archbishop of Bombay, India--along the Via della Conciliazione and into St. Peter’s Basilica.
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Sofia News Agency

Vatican Marks 25 Years since Papal Shooting

Politics: 13 May 2006, Saturday.

The statue of Fatima, whose protection is believed to have saved the life of Pope John Paul II after the assassination attempt, will return to the Vatican March 13, 25 years after the fateful attack.

Pope John Paul nurtured a deep devotion to Our Lady of Fatima, frequently saying that it was her protection that saved his life when he was shot by a would-be assassin on May 13, in 1981. In a gesture of gratitude the pope gave one of the bullets that wounded him seriously to the Virgin of Fatima, which is now enshrined in her crown. Experts say it is extraordinary that that bullet perfectly set in the Virgin's crown, as if it had been designed for it.
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posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 9:43 AM