Pope Francis to visit Portugal in August for World Youth Day, Fatima Shrine

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis will travel to Portugal from Aug. 2-6 to attend the World Youth Day and visit the Shrine of Fatima, the Vatican said on Monday.

World Youth Day, a global gathering of young Catholics, is being held in Lisbon from Aug. 1 to 6. Popes traditionally attend the event and celebrate the final Mass.

The Vatican said Francis would take advantage of the trip to travel also to the Shrine of Fatima in central Portugal on Aug. 5.

The Catholic Church teaches that the Madonna appeared to three Portuguese children 100 years ago in what was then an impoverished farming village.

The pope last visited the shrine in 2017 when he declared two of the children saints. -- Reuters