Fatima 100th anniversary marked by activities in Wellington

A flower is offered to Our Lady at Tawa.

More than 100 people including families and children gathered in Wellington in mid-May to honour our Lady of Fatima during the 100th anniversary of her first apparition.

The event was held at Our Lady of Fatima church in Tawa and was organised by the Centre for Marriage and Family (CMF).

There was a living rosary where each person (or a group of people) stood for a particular bead. A person or representative from the group gave a flower to the pilgrim statue of our Lady of Fatima before going back to their place and saying their assigned prayer.

The centre also launched the Family Rosary Prayer Chain, where the pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima is passed on from one family to another.

“One of the requests of Our Lady to the three children was the daily recitation of the rosary. The Family Rosary Chain is one way we can fulfil our Lady’s request. It is aimed at encouraging families to pray the holy rosary for peace in families and in the world. We hope that  through this prayer chain, many families will continue saying the rosary even after the pilgrim statue leaves their family to go to the home of another family,” said CMF director Patricia Sison.

The centre has also produced seven snippets which can be published in parish or school newsletters during the centenary that tell the story of Fatima in a nutshell, including what is needed to respond to Our Lady’s request to achieve peace in the world.

A modified form of these snippets was sent to parishes by MissioNZ, the Pontifical Mission Societies in New Zealand, to promote the centenary.

For more information about the snippets or how you can get involved in the Family Rosary Prayer Chain, please contact [email protected].

On May 13, St Pius X church in Titahi Bay and St Andrew’s church in Newlands commemorated the event through songs and/or slides.

The parish community of Our Lady of Fatima church in Wellington, together with students from St Francis Xavier School also commemorated the event on May 21 at the 10:30am Mass.

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NZ Catholic Staff

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