The apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima call us to embrace the power of the Holy Rosary. Through her messages to three shepherd children in 1917, Mary invited the world to pray the Rosary daily for peace, conversion, and hope amidst turmoil. In Macau, the faithful honor this message with processions and reflection, especially during the Feast Day on October 13.
In 1946, during Portugal’s 300th anniversary of consecration to the Immaculate Conception, three white doves stayed with the statue of Our Lady of Fatima throughout a grand procession from Fatima to Lisbon. They performed symbolic acts of adoration during Mass, representing faith, hope, and charity.
The annual procession honoring Our Lady of Fátima in Macau on May 13 featured a bilingual Mass by Bishop Stephen Lee and a candle-lit procession. This event commemorates Mary’s apparitions at Fátima, stressing the importance of sincere conversion and gratitude for God’s messages.
The Portuguese Parliament’s decision to legalize euthanasia is not just a complete mockery of the dignity of life, it reflects the extent of immorality in a society that needs Our Lady more than ever before.
The relics of the seers of Fatima that were donated, in October last year, to the Our Lady of Fatima parish are currently on display at Saint Dominic’s Church. Located right in the heart of Macau, not far from Senado Square, the church will host until next Friday the traditional novena of Our Lady of Fatima, leading up to the solemnity first celebrated in 1929.
First, it was the Church of Our Lady of Fátima, then the Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady. The Bishop of Macau, D. Stephen Lee Bun-sang, presided over the installation ceremony of a set of relics of Saint Jacinta and Saint Francisco Marto on October 13th. The sacred objects – fragments of the coffins in which the seers of Fátima were buried – were brought to Macau by Carlos Anok Cabral. A member of the Brotherhood of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Fátima, Mr. Cabral visited Cova da Iria with the purpose of collecting a set of relics, returning to Macau with the same. A renowned Macanese chef, Carlos Cabral spoke with O Clarim about the way the process unfolded.
This year the feast of Our Lady of Fátima, celebrated this Sunday in Macau’s northernmost parish, had a special flair to it. Located at a short distance away from Mainland China, the Church of Our Lady of Fátima became the first in the Diocese of Macau to display relics of Saint Jacinta and Saint Francisco Marto, two of the little shepherds who witnessed the Cova da Iria apparitions.
From honouring St Joseph the Worker on his feast day at the church named for him and celebrating the sacramental progression of young Catholics; the recognition that sainthood can be achieved through any myriad of vocations on the World Day of Prayer for Vocations; remembering the admonishing yet hope-filled message of Fatima on Our Lady’s feast; to the Confirmation students of St Francis Xavier parish receiving appropriate guidance to grow in faith, the month of May was an eventful one, yielding spiritual blooms and representing a Catholic time of spring. O Clarim recalls…
Despite the resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic in the People’s Republic of China and the replacement of the traditional procession of Our Lady of Fatima with a motorcade bound for Our Lady of Penha chapel in Macau, faith abounds among the Catholic congregation. The nine-day novena to Our Lady of Fatima being celebrated in Saint Dominic’s Church since last Wednesday continues to be a sign that although times have changed, the devotion that the Blessed Virgin of Fatima inspires remains the same.
The idea is not exactly new but should gain institutional recognition in the near future.