Parishes celebrate Our Lady of Fatima

Hundreds of faithful gathered in locations across the Diocese of Trenton this past week to honor and celebrate Our Lady of Fatima and the 100th anniversary of Mary’s apparition to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal. Two of the three children, Jacinta and Francisco Martos, were declared saints on May 13 by Pope Francis.

Their cousin, Lucia Santos, died in 2005 at the age of 97. The diocesan phase of her sainthood cause concluded in February and now is under study at the Vatican.

On May 7, the launch of the centennial celebration of the Miracle of Fatima by Mary’s Pro-Life Ministry, a network of six parishes along Monmouth County’s southern shore, drew more than 100 believers of all ages to the shrine of Our Lady of Fatima which graces the approach to Spring Lake’s St. Catharine Church. You can read more about the celebrations around the Diocese of Trenton in this story from The Monitor.

Members of the parishes of St. Catharine-St. Margaret Parish, Spring Lake; St. Denis, Manasquan; St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Avon; Holy Innocents, Neptune; St. Mark, Sea Girt, St. Rose of Lima, Belmar, and their guests gathered for an hour-long ceremony. The event included Fatima-themed songs and Marian hymns, as well as a reflection on the meaning of Fatima and a homily by Father Martin O’Reilly, parochial vicar of St. Catharine-St. Margaret Parish.

Another celebration in October will draw the Spring Lake commemoration to a close.
On May 12, hundreds of members of the Portuguese community of greater Long Branch gathered behind Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, part of Christ the King Parish, to assemble for the annual candlelight procession in remembrance of the miracle of Fatima.

As the procession wound through the surrounding neighborhood, members of the Chop Riderz motorcycle club, who devote themselves to charitable causes, were among those carrying religious statues of the Infant of Prague, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, St. Anthony of Padua and Our Lady of Fatima on flower bedecked platforms. The procession also included children from the parish who dressed as angels, as well as Lucia Santos and her cousins, Jacinta and Francisco Martos.

On May 13, the community of St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, and others gathered for Mass and to pray the Rosary in front of the statue of the Our Lady of Fatima inside the Cathedral. 

The event also included a special presentation for Mothers, as well as a Marian concert performed by a music ministry group visiting from Colombia.

Following are photo galleries from observances marking the 100th anniversary of the Our Lady of Fatima apparition:

• Christ the King Parish, Long Branch
• St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton  
• St. Catharine-St. Margaret Parish, Spring Lake

Also of interest

• Bishop O'Connell issues advisory on Plenary Indulgence for Fatima Centennial
• A brief history of Our Lady of Fatima
• Fatima seers become church's youngest non-martyred saints
• Mary's message at Fatima still timely, urgent 100 years later, says panel
• Pilgrimage to Fatima a time of prayer, encounter, pope says