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Our Lady of Fatima celebration is Saturday
By Sean Barron
YOUNGSTOWN
Many of those seeking ways to deal with or temporarily escape from the barrage of daily stress in the community, nation and world can find comfort and solace in the symbolism that a sacred statue espouses.
“The people understand the holiness here,” said Carole Elias, referring to the indoor pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima at the Shrine of Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted Church. “She looks more sorrowful at times than at others; she has a calming presence.”
The statue, along with a large outdoor one on the church’s 30-acre parcel, also will be a main centerpiece for a 100th Anniversary of Fatima celebration Saturday at the church, 517 S. Belle Vista Ave., on the city’s West Side.
The gathering will feature a rosary recitation from 10:30 a.m. to noon, followed by a noon Mass and a luncheon, said Elias, director of the 100th anniversary celebration committee.
The event also will include a lecture by Terry Gallagher, a committee member and former third-grade teacher.
Gallagher’s presentation is to focus on the relationship between Fatima and the shrine, as well as other worldwide celebrations honoring the first of six apparitions said to have occurred beginning May 13, 1917.
In addition, she plans to discuss the history of the shrine, along with having read one in a series of motivational books by Squire Rushnell titled “God Winks,” which portray a variety of real-life stories and messages that claim God cares about and plays a vital role in the details of people’s lives.
On May 13, 1917, the Blessed Virgin, under the title of Our Lady of the Rosary, is said to have made her initial appearance at Cova da Iria in Fatima, Portugal, to three children named Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta, who had said a prayer while playing in a pasture amid a flock of sheep.
The holy event took place during World War I and the same year as the Russian Revolution, which forced the abdication of Nicholas II, Russia’s last czar, and led to the rise of Bolshevik Marxist dictator Vladimir Lenin.
The message of Fatima was sent from heaven to provide “the antidote to the moral and social evils of the world,” which included the atrocities of WWI, according to www.ewtn.com , a Catholic website.
Elias explained the indoor statue, which depicts a barefoot Lady of Fatima standing on a cloud with her heart exposed, was dedicated as a gift in 1964 to the shrine.
After the apparitions in 1917, the Bishop of Fatima commissioned four statues of the Blessed Virgin of Fatima to be sent out to the four winds: one each for the north, south, east and west. The Friars of Fatima donated the statue of the west to the shrine, Elias continued.
The outdoor statue in the church’s Cathedral of the Pines shows Fatima on a platform in a prayer position overlooking smaller statues of Francisco, Jacinta and Lucia and those of several animals. Two of the children died in 1918, but Lucia later told the story of the apparition and lived until 2008 and the age of 95, Elias explained.
“The pope gave her credit for saving his life after he was shot,” she said, referring to the May 13, 1981, assassination attempt of Pope John Paul II, who was shot in the chest while greeting a crowd of thousands at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.
The religious significance the two Our Lady of Fatima statues embody remains tremendously important and relevant today, given the strife and turmoil that continue to envelop the nation and world, explained Marie Cataline, who’s also part of the 100th anniversary committee.
“Prayers are so needed now more than ever for our country,” said Cataline, who also has worked as a teacher and a counselor.
She also noted that people of all faiths and walks of life are welcome to attend the celebration.