Candles and Banner delivered to Fatima

A beautiful sight

It was a beautiful sight, seeing thousands of pilgrims flood the grand patio, searching for divine help and looking to honor our Heavenly Mother exactly 97 years after She first appeared at Fatima. We easily found a few devotees eager to help deliver the great candles and banner to the feet of Our Lady.

The candles were specially made to mark this great feast. America Needs Fatima members responded to a campaign by mailing back to us thousands of smaller candles, which we had blessed and melted down, to form the 12 large candles.

The banner we presented was another act of great homage: 8,696 “prayer squares,” with personally written names and intentions of ANF friends, were sewn into a large banner and offered to Our Lady at the capelinha, the exact spot where Our Lady appeared.

The prayer squares and candles act as a pledge of devotion to the Blessed Mother’s immaculate heart, and it was my privilege to be a custodian of such beautiful manifestations of devotion.

As we lit the candles, we prayed a rosary for the intentions featured on the banner. Pilgrims from all over the world would stop and ask us where we were from and what our offerings represented. The answer would always bring a smile and a word of encouragement knowing that there is such a strong Fatima movement in America.