Preparation for a year of archdiocesan celebrations commemorating the centennial of the apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima begins this Sunday, March 25, the Solemnity of the Annunciation. A Marian Day retreat will be held May 6 at St. Mary’s Cathedral, with Cardinal William J. Levada as main Mass celebrant. Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone will culminate the year Oct. 7 by consecrating the archdiocese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The archbishop announced the centennial year and the consecration in a March 15 letter to pastors. He urged pastors to preach and educate about the ancient meaning of such consecrations.
“For this act of consecration to bear fruit, I am convinced that we must prepare ourselves spiritually and with catechesis for this significant day,” the archbishop wrote, noting that a committee made up of various priests, women religious and laity has been meeting in recent months to help prepare for the event. The committee is spearheaded by Father Charles Puthota, archdiocesan director of pastoral ministry.
“I feel it is very important that our parishioners be aware of the history of the Fatima apparitions and in particular the role these apparitions have played in the life of the church over the past 100 years,” the archbishop wrote.
The Marian apparitions began May 13, 1917, when three shepherd children, Lúcia Santos and her cousins Blessed Jacinta and Blessed Francisco Marto, reported seeing the Virgin Mary. They continued once a month until Oct. 13, 1917, and later were declared worthy of belief by the Catholic Church.
Full story at Catholic San Francisco.
Wow, so where was the Archbishop when the rest of us celebrated the semi-centennial of Vatican II? It resulted in a set of documents binding on the faithful, Surely more important than Fatima which is not binding on the catholic faithful, even if worthy of our veneration? There is actually a hierarchy of faith. Vatican II, believe it or not, is higher on that hierarchy than Fatima. Just saying.
You are talking apples and oranges.
I have never heard of consecrating an archdiocese to “Vatican II”.
Thanks for the bit of levity in an otherwise drab day!
You are not “just saying,” Your Fellow Catholic,” you are advocating. Few in the Zombie-Liberal (including the homosexual sexualists) have much need of Mary. Your simplistic attack on our Holy Mother is reflective of those positions. Of course you are incorrect, as well. To begin, the Council was self-described as “pastoral,” not dogmatic. Its documents are not “binding,” in large part, on Catholics. This can be seen by the grudging position of the Vatican finally taken in response to the likely incorporation of the SSPX into the institutional Church. It is agreed, for example, that “many” of the “fruits” of VII are not “binding” on the SSPX, which remains free to comment on, and oppose, the essential elements of the…
I;m not attacking anyone and certainly not our Lady. I am simply saying that belief in Fatima is not required of the faithful. It is not a part of magisterial teaching. Vatican II is. Just because the council was called “pastoral” does not mean that it is not binding. To way that it is not binding is itself heresy. And this has nothing to do with homosexuality
“I;m not attacking anyone and certainly not our Lady.” Uh yes you are …..
(Part Deux( ” . . . Council.
But you knew this anyway. The Z-L love to splash mud on Our Lady, and avoid her loving warnings about the realities of Hell (Oh, yes, Bishop Barron likes what you say about the “lower level” of importance of Fatima). These warnings were based largely on sexual sins, so Mary is not held in much esteem by homosexuals, either.
St. Christopher,
Vatican II is part of the Magisterial teaching of the Church. It doesn’t matter whether a council was called to address dogmatic or pastoral concerns.
If the non-dogmatic parts of the Lateran councils had been obeyed, much wind would have been removed from the Protestant revolt.
I hope they follow the Holy Father’s suggestion….that all parishes have a statue of Our Lady of Fatima in the Church from May 13 through October 13th!!! Glad to hear some good news about educating the people in the pews regarding Our Lady of Fatima….but, also pray that they will continue to educate the congregation on other important Catholic teachings!!!
Our parish has a statue of Our Lady of Fatima in the church all year. Except when she goes out in processions, of which there are several. The most notable, of course, is in honor of Our Lady of Fatima. Our Portuguese parishioners are particularly devoted to her.
In this the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima mankind needs the Blessed Virgin Mary more than ever before. Remember what Our Lady of Fatima told Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta at Fatima that in the end her Immaculate Heart would triumph. What a great victory mankind has to look forward to. Brothers and sisters in Christ pray the rosary every day for the conversion of sinners and salvation of great sinners. Our Lady of Fatima pray for mankind. Pray America Pray!
i recently read that a reporter was making a pilgrimage to fatima and was surprised that his wearing of a scapular (recommnded by OLF in one vision) caused many to ask what it was. its use has declined even in the land of Mary. st john paul ii followed the fatima spirituality and even asked the surgeon to not remove his scapular during surgery( i never saw that anywhere in reports at the time about the assassination attempt. for a terrific article on fatima spirituality, read fr cyprian osb in thefatimacrusader.com summer 2012 issue, entitled ‘fatima and religious. very moving ferverino given in rome.
Hard to believe. Sacramentals sell like hotcakes at apparition sites. Maybe it was the Walter Cronkite image or the NBC logo on the scapular that threw them. Perhaps it was surprise at a reporter on pilgrimage. Or suspicion.
Before I forget, was the reporter topless? I always wear my scapular under my clothing — and never on my sleeve, even when shirtless.
the italian press reported not long back that sister Lucia called pope JPII right after 911. it has been speculated that she might have wanted to let him know that the fall of the twin towers was in some way a ‘mile marker’ for a certain phase of the fatima vision’sunfolding. it was also reported more widely that , in the period after 911, pope john paul ii requested help with translators over some idiomatic phrases in the fatima prophecy to get a more precise translation.