Visit the National Blue Army Shrine, a designated pilgrimage site for the Extraordinary Marian Jubilee.
“A Mile for Mary” is a prayerful procession offered in love and reparation—a way to console the hearts of the Blessed Mother and Her Son, Jesus. In a world that often feels loud, confusing, and indifferent to faith, this procession becomes a peaceful act of unity—bringing hope, prayer, and presence into the streets.
As we approach the 250th anniversary of the founding of our nation, the President has called for a campaign of prayer leading up to this milestone. A call to prayer such as this should be a time of unified vision and good will for the sake of our nation, which has put the need for Divine guidance aside. Let us put our partisan differences aside. Let us put our religious differences aside. Petitioning God to bless our nation should come from all believers.
Saint Bartolo Longo, (1841–1926), the great Rosary advocate, was canonized by Pope Leo XIV today, Sunday, October 19, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.
Our Lady at Fatima described herself as the Lady of the Rosary, and certainly Bartolo can be described as a great 19th century “Herald of the Rosary,” and one who was responsible for the growth and flourishing of the Rosary Shrine at Pompeii, Italy.
The Luminous Mysteries, which are usually associated with the theme of “Light” can also be seen as mysteries of “Change.”
These mysteries were introduced by Pope St. John Paul II on Oct. 16, 2002, and are made up of five meditations on key events during the public ministry of Jesus Christ. The Pope proposed these “Mysteries of Light” as an addition to the traditional Rosary to make it a more complete “compendium of the Gospel.”
In an effort to draw attention to the First Saturday devotion of Fatima and its centennial anniversary on Dec. 10, 2025, the World Apostolate of
At Fatima, Our Lady stated that if her requests were heeded there would be peace in the world. Peace has been illusive in these 108 years
The news has once again been filled with a horrific story of a mass shooting at a school. This time, at a K-8 Catholic parish/school where students, parents, teachers and grandparents had gathered for worship at the opening Mass for the new school year. Because it happened in my city, in my diocese, it hit close to home. That people in my Catholic circles knew some of the parishioners, victims and the perpetrator’s family, made it even more troubling.
I was in Rome several weeks ago. There I felt a sense of optimism and the hope that we Catholics should always feel. I attribute this to several factors: firstly, this is a Holy Year of Hope, which Pope Francis declared this last year. Since it began many have made their way to Rome to enter the Holy Doors at the major Basilicas. Secondly, the Conclave and the election of Pope Leo XIV have added to the enthusiasm as he is bringing a youthful energy to the Papacy bringing even more people to the seat of our Faith. Holy years are always a time of renewal. They provide a unique opportunity to avail ourselves of the spiritual benefits such as the attainment of a plenary indulgence when we visit jubilee churches. These are special and exceptional gifts that the Church grants, but the full intention is for us to embrace full amendment of life, without which there is no long-term benefit. Dioceses all over the world have designated pilgrimage sites: the Blue Army Shrine is a designated place of pilgrimage in the Diocese of Metuchen. A pilgrimage to Rome however is special as it is the seat of the Church and for those able, it is a must do journey.
Blessed Alexandrina da Costa (1904-1955) lived the Fatima Message in a heroic way. She is often referred to as the “fourth seer of Fatima,” embracing suffering and sacrifice for the conversion of sinners, much like the children of Fatima. She lived in the small village in northern Portugal named Balasar, a pilgrim stop during many pilgrimages to Fatima. The Message of Fatima is a call to prayer and penance for the salvation of souls and the conversion of Russia and the world. Alexandrina is one of those unusual persons who we call a “victim soul.” Everything she did and suffered, she did in imitation of Christ in order to be a victim, to cooperate with Christ in saving souls.
I read an article in the National Catholic Register about the increase in vocations to the priesthood in several dioceses in the U.S. It was an uplifting piece which shows that the call is there and many are answering. However, looking at the regions from which they come defies established logic, however. The large population centers with many Catholics and beautiful churches are not on the list of these places. The percentage of young men pursuing priestly vocations in large urban areas of the United States is much lower than it is in smaller regions. In places like New York and Chicago this is apparent. Perhaps the noise of the big city is drowning out the call of God. It is easy to blame bishops and priests in these areas, or to point to difficulties in the seminaries, but perhaps the root cause is deeper than that. These troubling statistics reinforce the concerns of many, including the Holy Father and his recent predecessors, that the distractions of our present world obscure the call of God. He whispers, He does not shout.
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Explore Fatima’s holy sites with monthly meditations from Fr. Luke Mary, CFR.