Statue of Our Lady of Fatima travels to meet Pope Leo XIV

Statue of Our Lady of Fatima travels to meet Pope Leo XIV

The schedule for the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality, which will take place in Rome on 11 and 12 October, has been announced. The statue of Our Lady of Fatima, which is venerated in the Chapel of the Apparitions, will be present.

Pope Francis expressed his desire to have the statue of Our Lady of Fatima present at the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality in Rome on 11 and 12 October, and this was reaffirmed by Pope Leo XIV.

The sculpture venerated in the Chapel of the Apparitions will leave Cova da Iria on 10 October in order to be present at the schedule now announced by the Dicastery for Evangelization.

There will be two occasions when Pope Leo XIV will be with the statue of the Virgin Mary: on Saturday, 11 October, at 6 p.m., at the prayer vigil in St. Peter’s Square, and at the Mass he will preside over on Sunday, 12 October, at 10:30 a.m., also in St. Peter’s Square.

Throughout the 11th, the faithful will have the opportunity to venerate and be close to the Statue of Our Lady in the Church of Santa Maria in Traspontina. On that day, the schedule includes Mass at 9:00 a.m., presided over by the rector of the Shrine of Fatima, Father Carlos Cabecinhas; at 12:00 p.m., the Rosary presided over by Father Giuseppe Midili; and at 5:00 p.m., a procession from the Church of Santa Maria in Traspontina to St. Peter's Square.

In a statement issued in February confirming the arrival of the statue of Our Lady in Rome, the Dicastery for Evangelization said that the presence of the image of the Virgin Mary at the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality will “further enrich this moment of prayer and reflection”.

Quoted in the statement, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, described the image as “one of the most significant Marian icons for Christians worldwide” and stressed that “the presence of the beloved original statue of Our Lady of Fatima will allow everyone to experience the closeness of the Virgin Mary”.

This will be the fourth time that the sculpture has left Cova da Iria to go to Rome. For the rector of the Shrine of Fatima, Father Carlos Cabecinhas, it is a cause for great joy: “in this jubilee time, the Virgin of Fatima is thus the woman of Easter joy, even during the painful times the world is going through.”

“Once again, the ‘Lady dressed in white’ will become a pilgrim of hope and, in Rome, she will be with the “bishop dressed in white’, as the little shepherds of Fatima affectionately called the Holy Father,” he said.

SCHEDULE [Italy’s time zone]

Saturday, 11 October

9:00 a.m.: Mass presided over by the rector of the Shrine of Fatima, Fr. Carlos Cabecinhas, with the statue of Our Lady of Fatima present – Church of Santa Maria in Traspontina.

The statue will remain in the Church of Santa Maria in Traspontina, available for veneration by the faithful.

12:00 p.m.: Rosary (Church of Santa Maria in Traspontina) – presided over by the parish priest Fr Giuseppe Midili

5:00 p.m.: Procession from the Church of Santa Maria in Traspontina to St Peter’s Square

6:00 p.m.: Prayer vigil presided over by the Holy Father (St Peter’s Square)

Sunday, 12 October

10:30 a.m.: Mass presided over by the Holy Father (St Peter’s Square)