The world's largest monument dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima was inaugurated and blessed on November 13 during the closing Mass of the Marian Jubilee in Crato, in the state of Ceará, in the northeast region of Brazil.
The 54-meter-tall statue is located in the Nossa Senhora da Fátima neighborhood. It was created by the artist Ranilson Viana, inspired by the replica of the pilgrim image venerated in the Cathedral of Our Lady of Penha, a work by the Portuguese sculptor Guilherme Ferreira Thedim.
“Our hearts overflow with joy and faith because in this blessed land of Crato this magnificent image of Our Lady of Fatima is erected thanks to the presence of the pilgrim image, coming directly from Fatima, in Portugal, a sign of our spiritual communion with that Marian shrine, a beating heart of prayer, penance and hope for the whole world,” said Monsignor Magnus Henrique Lopes, Bishop of Crato, who presided over the Holy Mass.
The pilgrim image of Our Lady of Fatima arrived in Juazeiro do Norte on November 10, 72 years after its first visit. Its pilgrimage concluded on November 13 during the closing Mass of the Diocesan Marian Day.
In his homily, Bishop Magnus affirmed that “from Fatima to Crato, one travels the same path of faith and tenderness.” He recalled that in Portugal “Mary appeared as a lady brighter than the sun” and that in Crato “she arrives as a loving mother who welcomes her suffering children. Poor, but full of trust.”
The bishop also stated that, by blessing “this image of Our Lady of Fatima”, we can hear “the same maternal invitation” that Mary made at the Wedding at Cana, when she said to the servants: “Do whatever He tells you”.
“In this simple gesture” of Our Lady at Cana “lies the entire theology of Marian intercession,” he explained. “Mary does not take the place of Jesus. She reveals him. She does not create grace. Mary leads us to the One who is grace itself.”
According to Monsignor Magnus Henrique, “Fatima is a school of listening and obedience to the Gospel.”
“Mary called the shepherd children Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta to conversion, to praying the rosary, to penance and to trusting in God’s love,” he added.
“Today, many Franciscos and many Lucias and countless Jacintas no longer hear the call to prayer, to catechesis, to the sacred moment,” but rather “so often hear other voices” that “destroy dreams, families, hope,” the bishop noted.
“We live in times when faith, the sacred, is being torn from the hands of children, from the hearts of our young people, from our children,” he warned. “And this void manifests itself in violence, in self-destruction, in the loss of meaning, and in premature dehumanization.”
“We, lay people, consecrated men and women, and authorities, are witnessing how these dreams are being stolen. We are perceiving with indifference, even contributing out of convenience to the destruction and dismantling of our children’s future,” he emphasized. “That is why the message of Fatima is so urgent here in our land, in our diocese, and in so many other dioceses where the people’s faith is deep and Marian devotion is an integral part of it.”
At the end of the Mass, Monsignor Magnus Henrique imparted the apostolic blessing with plenary indulgence to the faithful present and then went to the new monument in Crato with the image of Our Lady of Fatima, where he blessed the new statue.
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