During this afternoon’s papal flight to Fátima, Portugal, for the Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Fátima, on the occasion of the centenary of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Cova da Iria, Pope Francis gave his customary greetings to the media workers accompanying him.

Introduced by the director of the Holy See Press Office, Greg Burke, the Pope then addressed some words to the journalists, the full text of which is given below:

Words of the Holy Father

Greg Burke:

Thank you, Holy Father. Just two weeks after the last trip: a very different trip. Normally people when they make a trip with the Pope, say: “Let us pray for you”. This time, since it is to Fátima, everyone has said to us, “Pray for us”, because it is Fátima. There are several new journalists, as there is a good Portuguese group, and so I would like to take the opportunity to say that this is a moment of greetings, not the time to recount life, death and miracles. We must respect the Holy Father’s time: a little time to eat, a little to rest, and I imagine also to pray. Thank you.

Holy Father

Good afternoon, and thank you for this company and for the work you will do during this trip which, as Greg said, is a bit special: it is a trip of prayer, of encounter with the Lord and with the Holy Mother of God.

Thank you for your company, and let us go ahead.