Pope's Peace Prayer for Ukraine Recalls Ancient Prophesy

Pope Francis presided Friday over a special prayer for Ukraine that harked back to a century-old apocalyptic prophesy about peace and Russia that was sparked by purported visions of the Virgin Mary to three peasant children in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917. Francis invited bishops, priests and ordinary faithful around the world to join him in the consecration prayer, which opened Friday with Francis entering St. Peter’s Basilica before an estimated 3,500 people, including cardinals, ambassadors and pilgrims.