Fatima statue coming to St. Mary in Wooster
On July 16 area residents can visit and pray with the world-famous International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Fatima when the statue visits St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Parish in Wooster.
On July 16 area residents will be able to visit and pray with the world-famous International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Fatima when the statue visits St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Parish in Wooster on the statue’s world tour.
The statue, sculpted by Jose Tedim in 1920, is a depiction of Mary, mother of Jesus, and is based on the apparitions of Mary three Portuguese children claimed to have seen between May 13 and Oct. 13, 1917, in Fatima, Portugal.
St. Mary has a full day of activities planned for the July 16 visit, and those interested in viewing or praying with the statue can partake of one or more events. The day will begin with a welcome at 6:45 a.m., followed by Mass at 7 a.m. At approximately 7:40 a.m., one of the custodians of the statue from the World Apostolate of Fatima, USA will give a talk about the statue.
Throughout the day there will be periods of adoration and times for praying the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Starting at 5:30 p.m., the church will host confessions for all who wish to participate. There will be a special Mass at 6:30 p.m., an additional talk by the custodian of the statue after Mass and then a farewell procession at the conclusion of those events.
In 1917 and in the midst of World War I and the Russian Revolution, Pope Benedict XV, then the head of the Roman Catholic Church, publicly appealed to Mary, known as the Blessed Mother to Catholics, to pray for peace for the world. A week later the children — Lucia de Santos and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto, all of whom were shepherds watching over their flocks in the tiny village of Fatima — claimed to have seen apparitions of Mary. The children said Mary had asked them to pray the holy Rosary daily, and she also warned them of horrible consequences for humanity if repentance did not occur.
As the story of the apparitions filtered through the community, approximately 70,000 people gathered at Cova de Iria on Oct. 13, 1917. That day there was a unique solar phenomena witnessed by a large group of people that has become known as the Miracle of the Sun. Thirty years later on Oct. 13, 1947, and in front of some 700,000 people, the statue depicting the apparition was blessed by the bishop of Leiria Fatima and was then commissioned to serve as the Pilgrim Virgin. The statue has been on tour ever since that time.
The day also includes being enrolled in the Brown Scapular of Mt. Carmel, with the induction taking place at 1 p.m. The Brown Scapular of Mt. Carmel is a 100% wool patch that is worn without plastic casing and which should not be pinned or affixed to clothing. It is worn over the head, under one’s clothes, with one square of wool hanging on the chest and the other on the back. The scapular is used as a prayer to draw the wearer closer to Jesus.
For more information about the event, visit www.stmarywooster.org or call 330-264-8824. St. Mary is located at 527 Beall Ave. in Wooster.