Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2007 / Rosary rallies mark 90th Fatima anniversary
Rosary rallies mark 90th Fatima anniversary
Joe Kohn of The Michigan Catholic
Published October 19, 2007
|
Photos by Joe Kohn | The Michigan Catholic
Catholics from numerous parishes gathered at the corner of Cherry Hill and Lilly roads in Canton Township to mark the 90th anniversary of the Blessed Mother's appearances in Fatima, Portugal. |
|
A woman holds the beads of her rosary in gloved hands at the Canton Township rosary rally Oct. 13. |
Canton Township — When the Blessed Mother appeared to three poor Portuguese children in a series of apparitions in 1917, she asked them to pray for the conversion of sinners.
Last weekend, 90 years after her final appearance in Fatima, the Blessed Mother's request reverberated throughout the United States, including the Detroit area, as many Catholics took to public squares, parks and roadsides to pray for peace and publicly show their devotion to the Mother of God.
"We're living in very challenging times on many fronts," said Lorraine Zaksek, a parishioner of St. John Neumann Parish, Canton Township, who joined in a rosary rally with about 100 others Oct. 13 at the corners of Lilly and Cherry Hill roads. "I believe in the message of our Blessed Mother, that all things are in God's power if we pray and ask. And when people come together to pray, that's a very powerful thing."
The rosary rally in Canton Township was one of 15 scheduled in various Detroit suburbs. Hundreds of rosary rallies also were organized by Catholics across the country.
In Fatima, Portugal, on Oct. 14, Pope Benedict XVI also marked the 90th anniversary of the apparitions, calling the Blessed Mother "the refuge and the path that leads to God."
|
Catholics gathered with their rosaries and religious images in Canton Township, as they did in 15 locations across the Archdiocese of Detroit, to mark the 90th anniversary of the Fatima apparitions of the Blessed Mother. |
|
"Our Lady did not ask to be admired, invoked or venerated," Pope Benedict said, reported the Catholic News Service. "She asked people to entrust themselves to her. She asked that the hearts of individuals, nations and all humanity would be consecrated to her."
At the rallies, the faithful prayed the rosary and litanies, sung Marian hymns, and some held signs encouraging others to pray for peace and the conversion of sinners.
"We realize where this country is heading, and it's there right now," said Dolores Taylor, a parishioner at St. Thomas a'Becket Parish. "We need to let people know that we need prayers and we need sacrifice and we need things like today to happen. … It's through these kinds of organizations and days that we can help to get the message out."
Taylor said the Blessed Mother has been a personal inspiration in her own life since she was 8 years old. Now a grandmother, Taylor said over time that she's related to Mary in a new way, having been a mother herself.
Taylor's fellow parishioners John and Gloria Miner organized the Canton Township rally, a short walk from the church.
"We're kind of looking at the condition of our country and all the various issues," said John Miner, who led the gathering in saying the rosary. "We're asking for Our Lady's intercession, and to pull off another miracle if need be."
Gary Zmuda, a parishioner at St. Gerald Parish in Farmington and member of the Knights of the Immaculata of St. Maximilian Kolbe, said in a time of war and turbulence especially, the Blessed Mother's intercession is important.
|
Claudia Morris, a parishioner at St. John Neumann Parish in Canton, urges others to pray to the Queen of Peace at the Oct. 13 rosary rally at Lilly and Cherry Hill roads. |
"As the Church has always taught through the popes and even the Vatican councils, we go to Jesus through Mary," Zmuda said, who despite a busy weekend said he wouldn't miss the prayer rally. "She held out the scapular and the rosary with the idea that these are the means of peace."
St. John Neumann parishioner Claudia Morris recalls reading about the Fatima appearances nearly three decades ago — and how a commitment to pray the rosary daily gave her unexpected blessings.
"The Blessed Mother throughout that year introduced me to her Son through the rosary," Morris said.
Standing on the corner of Cherry Hill and Lilly throughout the rally, holding a sign stating "Pray the rosary for peace in the world." Morris added that the rosary is the Catholic means to achieve peace.
"This is our weapon," she said, referring to her rosary with a smile. "We need to share this with other people — and if this is what it takes, I'll freeze out here on this corner."
|
