We welcome 2025 in a special way. The Holy Father has declared a Holy Jubilee Year dedicated to the virtue and message of hope. At the same time, we also commemorate the 100th anniversary of the apparitions in Pontevedra, Spain where Our Lady gave us the First Saturdays devotion. It is no coincidence that the Holy Year and this great anniversary come together in this special year. The message of Fatima was first presented to us by an angel who laid the foundation of this spirituality by calling for pardon through the adoration of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Eight years later, the last surviving seer, Sr. Lucia, was given the formula for obtaining mercy and hastening the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart promised at Fatima. Eucharistic devotion is at the forefront of this devotion. How appropriate that this unique convergence comes only one year after the great year of the Eucharistic Revival.
The discipline of the First Saturdays asks us to join Our Lady by entering into her Immaculate Heart, so as to make reparation for sin by becoming holy. As members of the World Apostolate of Fatima/Blue Army, we are called to spread this devotion to those who are seeking holiness, and to those who may be missing something in their lives alike. We are all seeking attachment to something greater than ourselves.
We know that we must first come to this understanding ourselves, because we cannot give what we do not have. The path to holiness is a journey that we embark on throughout our lifetime until we reach an end beyond imagination. Leading people in this endeavor is not accomplished simply by providing information: we must lead by example. Together as a people of God under the direction of our Blessed Mother we can help build His kingdom and become worthy of the reward which awaits us, final union with Him, which was meant for us since our creation and was once lost to us through sin.
Our work has not changed in the seventy-eight years since Msgr. Colgan called for a Blue Army of prayer and holiness to counter the Red Army of atheism and secularism. The great sin of our first parents was to seek themselves without God, which was not meant for us. The knowledge attained by the disobedience in the Garden was the first portal towards something that was not God centered, and it opened the gates wider and wider to sin and death. It opened the door to seeking lasting happiness where it cannot be found. St. Augustine was eloquent in stating, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.”
The Fatima Devotion is a Road Map to Holiness
Devotion to Mary, especially as she requested at Fatima, is the road back to the holiness and perfection for which we are destined. Our end is not fulfilled in gaining possessions but in possessing the vision of our true destination. True peace in the world is also found on this path. The road to God that we seek is a bumpy one with many distractions, but with a beatific light at the end toward which we must journey. This pilgrimage is our destiny.
We are excited to announce that Bishop James Checchio, Ordinary of the Diocese of Metuchen, where the National Blue Army Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima is located, has named the shrine a site of pilgrimage for this Holy Year. Those visiting can receive a plenary indulgence by fulfilling the requirements set out by the Church. We expect many visitors during this special time.
The Capelinha at the shrine was built and dedicated forty years ago. The Portuguese community undertook this project, and it was the first replica of the “Little Chapel of the Apparitions” built outside of Fatima. The rector of the shrine in Fatima, Msgr. Luciano Guerra, participated in the dedication ceremonies. In these years many great events have been centered there. We hope to commemorate this anniversary specially with the Portuguese community during the events which they hold each year on Memorial Day.
Worldwide we are promoting the great centennial anniversary of the First Saturdays devotion through our many outlets and with a special First Saturday pilgrimage program that we will announce later this year. Our broadcasts, blogs, and live events from New Jersey bring the work of the apostolate to our membership and beyond. Let the word go out to all the lands, the time to embrace the path to holiness amidst the secular quagmire of confusion and misery has come. Join us as we embark on a renewed effort to fulfill our mission towards holiness.
God bless you and Mary keep you in her Immaculate Heart.
David M. Carollo is the Executive Director of the World Apostolate of Fatima USA/National Blue Army Shrine. He wrote this for his Voice of Fatima column.
If you would like to comment on this post, please contact him at [email protected].
