The original statue of Our Lady of Fatima will travel from the Marian shrine in Portugal to Rome in October to mark the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality. The event is scheduled for October 11-12, 2025.
This famous image of the Virgin Mary, known worldwide as a symbol of “Hope that does not disappoint,” will be present during the Holy Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, October 12, at 10:30 a.m. The moment will provide a powerful time of prayer and reflection for those gathered.
According to a statement from the Vatican Dicastery for Evangelization, entry to St. Peter’s Square for the Eucharistic Celebration will be free. Registration to attend the Jubilee event is now open on the event’s website.
Fourth Visit of the Statue Since 1984
This marks the fourth time the statue has left Fatima to visit Rome. The first visit occurred in 1984 during the Extraordinary Jubilee of Redemption, when Pope St. John Paul II consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The second visit was for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, followed by a third visit in October 2013 for the Year of Faith with Pope Francis.
“The presence of this beloved original statue of Our Lady of Fatima will bring the faithful closer to the Virgin Mary,” said Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization. “This iconic Marian image is one of the most significant for Christians worldwide. As Pope Francis highlights in the Jubilee’s Bull of Indiction, she is venerated as the ‘most affectionate of mothers, who never abandons her children.’”
In Fatima, the Virgin appeared to the three shepherd children and shared an enduring message: “I will never leave you. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the path that will lead you to God.”
A Pilgrim of Hope
Fr. Carlos Cabecinhas, Rector of the Sanctuary of Fatima, explained that the statue only leaves the shrine in exceptional circumstances, and always at the request of the Pope. “In this Jubilee year, the Virgin of Fatima symbolizes the joy of Easter, even amid the world’s struggles,” he said. “Once again, the ‘Lady dressed in white’ will journey as a pilgrim of hope, and in Rome, she will join the ‘bishop dressed in white,’ as the Fatima shepherd children affectionately called the Pope.”
The statue, created by Portuguese artist José Ferreira Thedim in 1920, is typically kept in the Chapel of the Apparitions at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima. It was in this chapel that the Virgin Mary appeared six times to the three shepherd children—Lucia dos Santos, Jacinta Marto, and Francisco Marto—between May and October 1917.
The statue stands at 104 cm and is carved from Brazilian cedar based on the children’s descriptions. It was crowned solemnly on May 13, 1946. Later, the crown was embedded with the bullet that struck Pope John Paul II during the 1981 assassination attempt in St. Peter’s Square on May 13.
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