2017His Holiness Francis at the Celebration of Fátima - First Day Cover

Many Popes, from an early age, have shown special interest in the Apparitions of Our Lady in Fátima. In 1942, Pius XII – who was consecrated as bishop on the very day of 13 May 1917 – consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, having addressed, in Portuguese, “all those who climbed the holy mountain of Fátima.” St. John XXIII, Cardinal Roncalli, visited Fátima when he was still Patriarch of Venice, always demonstrating great devotion for the Virgin, as proved by what he later wrote, as Pope: “Lady of Fátima, I thank you for having invited me to this celebration of mercy and of love.”