Today the Holy See officially announced that Pope Francis will visit Portugal this summer on the occasion of the WYDW and has announced the dates of his stay in the Portuguese country.
The Pope will be in Lisbon from August 2 to 6, after which he will return to Rome. The Pope has personally expressed his desire to visit the shrine of Fatima, so the official program includes a trip to the shrine on August 5.
This is Pope Francisco's second visit to Portugal, as in 2017 he also visited the shrine of Fatima to canonize the little shepherds Jacinta and Francisco Marto.
Visits of Popes to Portugal
The shrine has already been visited by Popes Paul VI, who made a pilgrimage in 1967; John Paul II, who traveled three times to Fatima: in 1982, to thank Our Lady for having survived the attack on St. Peter's Square in 1981, in 1991 and in 2000, to beatify the little shepherds Jacinta and Francisco; Francisco's predecessor, Benedict XVI, also traveled to Fatima in 2010, for the tenth anniversary of the beatification of Francisco and Jacinta.
However, this summer's visit will be the longest ever made by a pontiff to Portugal, since Paul VI's visit lasted twelve hours, and those of John Paul II and Benedict XVI never lasted more than three days.
WYD registration
The final WYD program is still under development, but registrations are open and can be done through the official website.
