“John Paul II had particular merits in the reading of the message of Fatima”, the Polish Bishops wrote in a special message marking the centenary of the apparitions. Referring to the attempted assassination of Wojtyla on 13 May 1981, the Bishops recall that the pontiff held dear the crumbling of communist structures in Russia, and that only the “act of consecration of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary”, which he made on 15 March 1984, was viewed by Sister Lucia, one of the three seers, “as the fulfilment of Our Lady’s wish” revealed to the three little shepherds, in that it was “a public act made in unity with all the bishops of the world”. The Bishops hope that Poland may “find the courage needed for a great spiritual renewal” and may be of “encouragement and moral support also to other peoples”. They invite the faithful to participate in the Marian celebrations on the first Saturdays of each month, and announce that there will be a solemn renovation of Poland’s Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Zakopane on 6 June 2017. The Act will be repeated on 8 September to mark the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lady.