The visit to Rome of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima on Sunday, October 12 of this year, on the occasion of the Jubilee of Hope, will be the fourth.
The first was in 1984 on the occasion of the Extraordinary Jubilee of the Redemption of 1984, when on March 25 St. John Paul II consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary; the second time took place during the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, and the third, in October 2013, on the occasion of the Year of Faith with Pope Francis.
The entrance of pilgrims to St. Peter's Square on the occasion of the Eucharistic Celebration on October 12 will be free of charge, and no ticket will be required. Registration for participation in the jubilee event is already open on the website and will end on August 10, 2025, according to the Dicastery for Evangelization.
Mother who never abandons her children
"The presence of the beloved original statue of Our Lady of Fatima will allow everyone to experience the closeness of the Virgin Mary," stressed the Proprefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, "one of the most significant Marian icons for Christians all over the world which, as the Holy Father underlines in the Bull of Convocation of the Jubilee. Spes non confunditThey revere her as "the most loving of mothers, who never abandons her children".
At Fatima, in fact, Our Lady said to the three little shepherds what she continues to assure each one of us: "I will never abandon you. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God".
The Lady, pilgrim of hope
"This statue leaves the Shrine of Cova da Iria exceptionally and only at the request of the Popes," commented the rector of the Shrine of Fatima, don Carlos Cabecinhas.
In this Jubilee time, Our Lady of Fatima is the woman of Easter joy, even in the sorrowful times in which the world lives. Once again, the "Lady dressed in white" will be a pilgrim of hope and, in Rome, she will be with the "bishop dressed in white", as the shepherd children of Fatima affectionately called the Holy Father.
Usually: Apparition Chapel
The sculpture, the work of Portuguese artist José Ferreira Thedim in 1920, is usually kept in the chapel of the Apparitions of the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima.
In that place, in fact, from May to October 1917, Our Lady appeared six times to the shepherd children Lucia dos Santos, 10 years old, Jacinta Marto, 7, and Francisco Marto, 9.
The statue, 104 centimeters high, was carved from Brazilian cedar, following the indications of the three shepherd children. It was solemnly crowned on May 13, 1946 and the bullet that hit John Paul II in the 1981 assassination attempt was later embedded in the crown.
