Our Pilgrimage Journey Continues: Mary’s Great Promise is Not Yet Over
Last December for the centennial anniversary of Our Lady’s request for the First Saturday devotion in reparation to her Immaculate Heart, we launched an extremely successful First Saturday Pilgrimage Program. Filmed on-location in Fatima, throughout Portugal, and Spain, with stunning cinematography and gentle voice-over meditations from our chaplain Fr. Luke Mary Fletcher CFR, this unique virtual experience has brought Fatima to the homes of thousands across our country and globally. And while the first five Saturdays of this 12-month pilgrimage have already passed, we are not stopping there. This devotion is so important that we encourage you to keep going and finish the year with us.
This Year of Extraordinary Grace is Our Invitation to Do More
Halfway through this Extraordinary Marian Jubilee Year and the 2026 shrine season I am overwhelmed when I think of the incredible gift that we have received in the Church overall and especially at this sanctuary. Being designated as a place of pilgrimage during this special time we take seriously the trust that the Church has placed in us. The World Apostolate of Fatima Our Lady’s Blue Army is a Public Association of the Faithful, entrusted with being the official voice for the Church on the message of Fatima.
The Third Part of the Secret of Fatima
Over the years, much has been made over the third part of the Secret of Fátima. It was expected to be released in the year 1960, but it was not and people wondered why. Thankfully, we now stand in a place historically to look at the matter with a better mind owing to disclosures that have come to light in the past twenty-five or so years. Let’s take a dive into things.
The Lady Made of Light
The Blessed Mother at Fatima appeared dressed all in white and as if she was “made of light,” according to the shepherd children. The light that radiated from her opened their eyes to the vast and unexplainable nature of God and manifested His presence in the depth of their hearts. What a phenomenal gift for these young seers, who could never put into words what they experienced, because, as St. Paul states, “Who can comprehend …the love of God that surpasses all knowledge?”
“Where the World’s Headed Nobody Knows…”
Wars and rumors of war. Politics as a blood sport. The deterioration of society and the dismantlement of a culture.
The 1971 song Ball of Confusion by the Temptations summarizes it best. “Round and around and around we go, where the world’s headed nobody knows!” We do know, and we have the power to change the world and bring it back into proper orbit. We must first realize that we have taken it astray.
The Truth Will Set Us Free
The readings during Passiontide are accusatory of those who held positions of authority in the time of Christ. Over the years there have been allegations that these were attacks against the Jewish people. More accurately these statements are aimed at those who held positions of religious authority in that time. The Gospel’s words are not anti-anyone nor is it about stigmatizing any group. Instead, it interrogates our human nature and how we respond when we fear that we will lose our special position. It calls out the denial of truth and the reality. Even though we follow the ultimate Truth, we must also be vigilant about assuming that only we are the chosen ones in this day. Christ said that He would be with us until the end of time, specifically in the Eucharist, but the question to ask is this: will we remain with Him? Assuming that we are superior because we have been given the gift of Faith is taking a detour from the path Christ sent the disciples on, the same path that as baptized Catholics all of us are commanded to follow. Each of the apostles faced persecution and violence for his beliefs. Indeed, most of the first popes died as martyrs, happy to give their lives for the Faith.
Lucia Gives Us a Pathway for Lent
Lent is a time for us to reflect on our relationship with God, repair those things that keep us from Him and turn back to Him if we have been away. Faith is the gift that allows us to trust in God and to follow His commandments as a sign of our love for Him. In her book, “Calls” from the Message of Fatima, which has been described as a “catechism of Fatima,” Sister Lucia gives us a pathway to meet God every day, but especially during penitential seasons.
Members of the World Apostolate of Fatima from many countries gathered for an International Congress
The World Apostolate of Fatima held an international theological-pastoral congress on “The Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary”, Dec. 5 – 7, 2025, along with a pilgrimage to Pontevedra, Spain for the Dec. 10 opening celebrations of the centennial of the First Saturday Devotion. Members and friends of the WAF from 26 nations […]
Establish the First Saturday Devotion in Your heart
Centenary anniversaries offer the Catholic faithful a chance to seek spiritual renewal, revitalize devotion, review historic moments, make a pilgrimage and connect with the saints who made the same journey. Today we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the request for the First Saturday devotion. What should we be seeking today? At Fatima, Mary revealed her […]
The Promise of Devotions: Not Just Checking a Box
There are many devotions that have promises connected with them. One popular example is the recitation of the prayer of St. Gertrude for the deceased, especially during the month of November. It is said that 1,000 souls are released from purgatory each time it is prayed. Likewise, whenever we pass a cemetery, we offer this prayer for the holy souls: “Eternal Father, I offer thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son Jesus in union with all the Masses said throughout the world today for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church for those in my home and within my family, Amen”. While we cannot guarantee the release of these suffering souls or the conversion of sinners, we nevertheless continue to pray and to hope.
