New Cross Inaugurated in the Chapel of the Apparitions

New Cross Inaugurated in the Chapel of the Apparitions

The blessing of the new bronze sculpture took place at the beginning of the celebrations on 12 May.

On the evening of 12 May, at the beginning of the celebrations of the International Anniversary Pilgrimage, the new cross of the presbytery of the Chapel of the Apparitions was inaugurated.

“We have long felt the need to provide the Chapel with a more visible and expressive representation of the cross with Christ crucified, with an artistic treatment more in keeping with the importance of the place,” explained the Rector of the Shrine of Fatima, Father Carlos Cabecinhas, to journalists.

The new representation, cast in bronze, is also a way of marking the current Jubilee Year dedicated to Hope, the image of which is a cross.

The Shrine invited sculptor Rogério Timóteo to create the work, which he developed “in a sound balance between creative freedom and deep respect for all the faithful for whom this sculpture was created.”

Standing 2.60 metres high, the cross, located behind the altar and to the left of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima, was designed so that the figure of Christ rises above the priest presiding over the liturgy, giving him centrality and transcendence, safeguarding the harmony of that celebratory space.

“Christ twists his body on the cross to look at the statue of Our Lady of Fatima in a clear gesture of dialogue and communion. His right hand is open and outstretched towards the Virgin, expressing surrender and protection, while his left hand is clenched in an expression of pain, revealing the weight of his suffering,” reads the descriptive text accompanying the piece, which continues with a more detailed description.

“Both hands are nailed directly onto a circle overlapping the cross, symbolising the holiness of God, who gave himself up for humanity on Calvary. This circle also symbolises the consecrated host that renews Christ's sacrifice on the cross. However, Christ's feet are nailed outside this luminous circle, symbolising his earthly nature as the Son of God and emphasising the vertical axis of the cross, the tree of life.”

The sculptor Rogério Timóteo, the author of the piece, was born in 1967 in Sintra. His work focuses on the human body, using mainly marble, bronze, and resin. With a career spanning more than thirty years, he has an extensive curriculum of exhibitions and public sculptures, with works in international collections in more than 30 countries.