The Portuguese community celebrate this tradition every year, with between 15,000 and 20,000 people attending the 2019 festival.
The procession left the church in Niederwiltz on Thursday afternoon at 2.30pm. Many people had already made their way to Wiltz on foot, with worshippers attending from surrounding countries as well as Luxembourg in order to participate in the ceremony.
The cortege's destination is the same every year, the church Our Lady of Fatima. This was built in 1951 by Wiltz inhabitants who survived the Ardennes offensive. Portuguese immigrants began the pilgrimage some ten years later. Nowadays, the Portuguese community is the largest immigrant community in Luxembourg at 15.6% of the population. For many of these, the Fatima procession constitutes an important part of their faith.
Luxembourg archbishop Jean-Claude Hollerich presided over the ceremony, alongside the bishop of Coimbra in Portugal, Dom Virgílo do Nascimento Antunes. This year's theme was "Baptised and sent".
As well as a religious festival, the Fatima procession has also developed into festivities for the people, with the church a symbol of their homeland.
