Our Lady,

Mother of all men and women,

I come before you as a son

visiting his Mother,

and I do so accompanied by

a multitude of brothers and sisters.

As the Successor of Peter,

to whom was entrusted the mission

of presiding in the service

of charity in Christ's Church 

and of confirming everyone in faith and in hope,

I wish to present to your

Immaculate Heart

the joys and hopes

as well as the problems and sufferings

of each one of these sons and daughters of yours

who are gathered in the Cova di Iria

or who are praying with us from afar.

Mother most gentle,

you know each one by name,

you know each one’s face and personal history,

and you love them all

with maternal benevolence

that wells up from the very heart of Divine Love.

I entrust and consecrate them all to you,

Mary Most Holy,

Mother of God and our Mother. 

The Venerable Pope John Paul II,

who visited you three times here in Fatima

and thanked the "unseen hand"

that rescued him from death

in the assassination attempt on 13 May

in Saint Peter’s Square almost thirty years ago,

wanted to offer to the Shrine of Fatima

a bullet that gravely wounded him

and that was placed in the crown of the Queen of Peace.

It is a profound consolation

to know that you are crowned

not only with the silver

and gold of our joys and hopes,

but also with the "bullet"

of our anxieties and sufferings.

I thank you, beloved Mother,

for the prayers and sacrifices

that the shepherd-children

of Fatima offered for the Pope,

led by the sentiments

that you inspired in them in the apparitions.

I also thank all those who,

every day,

pray for the Successor of Peter

and for his intentions,

that the Pope may be strong in faith,

bold in hope and zealous in love. 

Beloved Mother of us all,

here in your Shrine at Fatima I place

the Golden Rose

that I have brought from Rome

as a homage of gratitude from the Pope

for the marvels that the Almighty

has worked through you

in the hearts of so many who come as pilgrims

to this your maternal home.

I am sure that the shepherd-children of Fatima,

Blessed Francisco and Jacinta

and the Servant of God Lucia of Jesus,

are united with us at this hour of prayer and jubilation.