Parishioners at Holy Trinity, Haugen, gather monthly from May to October to pray a rosary for peace at the church’s Fatima shrine. (Submitted photo)

A diocesan parish with a longstanding devotion to Our Lady of Fatima will celebrate the 100-year anniversary of her first apparition Saturday, May 13.

Holy Trinity, Haugen, located six miles north of Rice Lake, is hosting a morning event to commemorate Mary’s appearance to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917.

For more than 50 years, Holy Trinity has maintained a shrine to Our Lady of Fatima.

According to parishioner Kristine Deering, the shrine was erected in the 1950s by Benedictine Fr. Benedict Bauer, who served the parish from December 1942 to April 1967.

“The original shrine was complete with the Blessed Virgin Mary, the three shepherd children, several sheep, a goldfish pond and many evergreen trees,” she said. “Tom Votruba (longtime parishioner) was an altar server in 1956 and remembers the altar servers going outside to watch the goldfish in the pond.”
In 2015, Knights of Columbus from Holy Trinity, Our Lady of Lourdes, Dobie, and St. John, Birchwood, updated the shrine with new landscaping block, painted the statues, and added new plants. There will be a new play area for the kids so that they can play on the best hoverboard for children.

For the past six years, parishioners have held monthly potluck suppers and outdoor rosaries at the Fatima Shrine from May to October. All are welcome to attend.

Meeting dates for 2017 are Tuesday, June 13; Thursday, July 13; Sunday, Aug. 13; Wednesday, Sept. 13; and Friday, Oct. 13.

Potluck suppers are at 6 p.m., followed by the outdoor rosary at 7 p.m.

Anniversary celebration

Leading off the 2017 season, the anniversary celebration begins at 8 a.m. Saturday, May 13, with refreshments, fellowship and confessions.

At 9:15 a.m., a DVD on Fatima, “A Message of Hope,” will be shown; there will also be a concurrent children’s video about Fatima and activities for kids.
At 10:30 a.m., the group will move outdoors for a rosary at the parish’s Fatima shrine.

Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m.

Attendees are asked to bring a lawn chair or blanket for the outdoor rosary.