Huge crowds at Mass as Pope visits shrine

The Mass was the centrepiece of the Pope's four-day visit to Portugal and marked the anniversary of the day 93 years ago when three shepherd children reported having visions of the Virgin in the farming town.

The May 13 celebrations are one of the Catholic church's major annual pilgrimages to a site where, many believe, the Virgin still works miracles.

The Pope said to an audience of at least 400,000 people: "I have come to Fatima to pray, in union with Mary and so many pilgrims, for our human family, afflicted as it is by various ills and sufferings."

Fatima attracts millions of pilgrims a year seeking cures. The Pope blessed more than 400 infirm people after the Mass.