Catholic World News News Feature

Fatima statue in Rome on anniversary of papal-assassination attempt May 08, 2006

The statue of Our Lady of Fatima will be brought to Rome on May 13, for the 25th anniversary of the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II.

Under the auspices of L'Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi, the original statue of Our Lady of Fatima will be carried in procession from Castel St. Angelo to St. Peter's basilica. This will be the 3rd time the statue has been brought to Rome. The previous visits were in March 1984, for the consecration of the world to the Virgin Mary; and in October 2000, for the Jubilee.

The appearance of the statue is a part of the 2nd "National Day of Pilgrimage" in Rome. Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the vicar for the Rome diocese, will celebrate Mass in the Vatican basilica for the occasion. It was on May 13, 1981, that Pope John Paul was shot as he circled St. Peter's Square in his "popemobile," greeting the people in the Square, after his regular weekly public audience. The Polish Pope credited Mary's intercession for preserving his life on that day, which cam just 64 years after the Virgin's first appearance to the Portuguese children at Fatima. Pope John Paul later had a bullet removed from his abdomen placed in the crown of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima.

On May 13, 2000, Pope John Paul beatified 2 of the 3 children to whom the Virgin appeared at Fatima. That same day, the Vatican revealed that the surviving seer, Sister Lucia Dos Santos, had confirmed that during the apparitions there, the Virgin had predicted the assassination attempt on the Roman Pontiff. Sister Lucia died on February 13 at the age of 97.