Catholics Worldwide Mark May with Marian Pilgrimages

Catholics worldwide honor the Virgin Mary in May, often making pilgrimages to shrines such as the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima in Portugal, where Mary appeared to three young shepherds in 1917, urging prayers for peace and conversion. The Vatican maintains unique traditions, including the privilege for queens of Catholic countries to wear white before the pope, a practice rooted in historical alliances with the Church, exemplified recently by Spain’s Queen Letizia and other European royals. During solemn Vatican events, order and decorum are strictly enforced, as recounted in a story where a priest firmly reminded attendees that St. Peter’s Basilica is not a place for political boisterousness, contrasting with a more relaxed encounter between Nigerian dignitaries and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at a papal installation mass. These narratives highlight the interplay of faith, tradition, and protocol within Catholicism and its global cultural influence.