Pope's peace prayer to Ukraine recalls Fatima prophecy

It was inspired by three children from Fatima (Portugal) who were allegedly enlightened by visions of Mary to them.

Francis invited priests, bishops, and ordinary faithful from all over the world to participate in the consecration prayer. It began with Francis entering St. Peter's Basilica, before approximately 3,500 people, and ended with Francis alone facing a Madonna statue. He asked for forgiveness, saying that humanity had forgotten the lessons from the tragedies of the past century and the sacrifices of millions of people who died in the two World Wars.

He prayed, "Free us from war and protect our world against the threat of nuclear weapons,"

This service was Francis' latest attempt to gather prayers for an end of the war, while still allowing for options for dialogue with both the Russian Orthodox Church (Patriarch Kirill) and the influential leader. Francis has not yet publicly condemned Russia for its invasion. However, his outraged denunciations about the war in Ukraine are growing.

Many Catholics found the prayer ritual fascinating and of great spiritual significance. It addresses some of the most controversial aspects of Catholic faith, including purported visions from the Madonna, revelations about hell, Soviet communism, the death of a Pope, and questions as to whether or not the prophecies contained within the "secrets" of Fatima have been fulfilled.

The Vatican translated the text in three dozen languages to emphasize the universality of the event. Retired Pope Benedict XVI attended the service from his Vatican garden home. A simultaneous service was held at Fatima by a papal envoy.

Fatima is a tale that dates back to 1917 . According to tradition the Portuguese siblings Francisco and Jacinta Marto and their cousin Lucia claimed that six times, the Virgin Mary appeared to them and revealed to them three secrets. The first two depicted an apocalyptic vision of hell and foretold the end and beginning of World War I. They also predicted the rise and fall Soviet communism. They were aged between 7 and 10.

The Vatican revealed the long-awaited third secret in 2000. It described it as foretelling St. John Paul II's assassination attempt on May 13, 1981.

Lucia, who died in 2005 after becoming a nun, wrote that Russia would convert and peace would reign if all the bishops of the globe consecrated Russia to "Immaculate Heart of Mary." Lucia claimed later that John Paul fulfilled the prophecy at Mass on March 25, 1984. This was exactly 38 years ago Friday.

This 1984 error was corrected by the text of Francis' prayer. It says: "Therefore Mother of God, our Mother, we solemnly consecrate ourselves to your Immaculate heart, the Church, and all humanity, particularly Russia and Ukraine."

Francis stated Friday in his homily that the consecration of Russia to Mary's immaculate Heart was not a magical formula but a spiritual act. He said it "even as bombs are destroying many of our defenseless Ukrainian sisters and brothers."

Andrii Yurash (the Ukrainian ambassador to Holy See), tweeted his appreciation for the service from within the basilica. He said it was "another attempt at defending (Ukraine), from the devil's battle."

Sergey Razov (Russia's ambassador in Italy), earlier in the day said Russia's "special Military Action" in Ukraine. He also stated that Moscow's recent references to its nuke arsenal in the last month was not a threat, but "only a reflection of potential scenarios if Russian National Security was at Risk."

Traditionalist Catholics believe that Francis's pronunciation of Russia in the prayer and his invitation to all the world's Bishops to join him fulfills the original Fatima prophecy. While some were unsure about his inclusion of Ukraine in the prayer, others suggested that the original call for Russia to "convert" to Catholicism might have been a priority for Catholic Church in 1917, but not the focus of the Vatican's current evangelization project.

Soon after Francis had announced his intention to hold the consecration prayers, Kirill, the Patriarch, said that he was inviting Russian Orthodox to also direct prayers towards the Mother of God. Kirill has called to peace but also referred to the invasion as a "metaphysical battle" and invoking Russia as "one nation".

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Caprio, however, made this observation to reporters this week. He noted that Friday's Orthodox and Catholic prayers have some significant ambiguities.

He said, "The problem with these two interpretations is that the Madonna favors peace and the Madonna supports war."