A statue of Our Lady of Fatima, which has been traveling around the world since 1947, commemorating the apparitions of the Blessed Mother in Portugal, will be at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Rice Lake, Tuesday, Oct. 18, through Wednesday, Oct. 19.
The parish’s celebration begins with an anticipation Mass at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 18.
Rosary, music and prayer will follow throughout the night; the statue is scheduled to arrive at St. Joseph at 8 p.m. Tuesday and depart at noon Wednesday.
The Fatima Centennial U.S. Tour for Peace, which is taking place March 2016 through December 2017, commemorates the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of the Angel of Peace (1916) and the Blessed Mother (1917) at Fatima, Portugal.
The tour, which aims to visit 100 dioceses, will launch from the National Blue Army Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, in the Diocese of Metuchen, NJ, March 20-21, to coincide with the start of the centenary celebrations at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, where Pope Francis is expected to visit in May 2017.
The statue will travel to parishes, schools, military chapels, and other venues along the tour, with programming to include Masses, confession, talks on Fatima, Holy Hours of Adoration, rosaries and private veneration.
Our Lady of Fatima appeared to three children, Lucia dos Santos (age 10), and Francisco (age 9) and Jacinta Marto (age 7), on the 13th day of the months of May – October, 1917, exhorting them to be fervent in working for the salvation of souls and conversion of sinners through prayer, especially the daily Rosary, and daily penance in reparation for sins. She identified the conversion of sinners as key to peace in the world.
