Fatima, Portugal, May 13, 2010 / 20:06 pm
During the Pope's visit to Portugal, Bishop Antonio Marto of Leiria-Fatima presented him with the first official Rosary of Our Lady of Fatima. The Holy Father thanked him for the gift and led the thousands gathered at the Shrine of Fatima in the recitation of the Rosary.
Kneeling and praying the Rosary, the Holy Father recited the first half of the Our Fathers and the Hail Marys in Latin while the faithful responded in their own languages.
In a press release regarding the gift, the Shrine of Fatima explained that the Rosary is “made of gold, a noble metal … whose color evokes the sun, the symbol the Church associates with Jesus Christ.”
The beads for the Our Father are also made of gold, while those of the Hail Marys are made of topaz, which “allow the blue light of the heavens,” to pass through them.
The medal on the Rosary features an image of the three shepherd children before Our Lady of Fatima, explained the statement from the shrine.