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Our Lady of Fatima Statue Graces Austin
Updated: Friday, 15 Jan 2010, 9:52 PM CSTPublished : Friday, 15 Jan 2010, 12:52 PM CST

Nancy Zambrano FOX 7 Reporter

Austin, TX - It's the 90 year story behind the statue of the Lady of Fatima that draws attention worldwide. As part of its international pilgrimage it's now in Austin at St. Mary's Cathedral thanks to the efforts of Father Albert Laforet.
"I think it's a great message of hope and when we are in the situation when there's a lot of war and tensions lots of despair the message of Fatima is a message of hope for today," says Father Laforet.
The story dates back to 1917 when three children reported apparitions of Virgin Mary in Fatima, Portugal. The apparitions to many worshipers was one of hope. That's when a bishop in Fatima suggested the message needed to be spread.
"Christian people around the world weren't getting it, and so he had the idea of a traveling statue going out on a teaching mission," says Carl Malburg.
He is an expert on the history of the statue and has been traveling with the religious icon for years. He says it was around 1947 when two statues were built. Since then what some call a wooden masterpiece of art has traveled around the world and attracted millions of believers.
"There seems to be something to it, we think it is the lord himself providing a lot of answers to prayers and giving gifts and comforts to people, often called miracles," says Malburg.
Also called a miracle the reports and pictures of tears coming down the cheeks of the image.
"In fact investigated at the hospital to be not water but human tears and so those things do attract the people," says Malburg.
The religious story it even inspired a Hollywood movie. In Austin Friday night those who believe in it's power came to see Lady of Fatima for themselves.
"It's an honor to be here tonight to be in her presence and you know it's something that I'll never get the opportunity to visit Fatima," says parishioner Maryann Schmidt.
Following the Mass, a discussion was held about the history of the statue. Saturday statue will make it's way to San Antonio to continue on it's journey.

Marian Icon offers hope to Faithful

By Abe Levy - Express-News

Members of the Ramirez family (from left) Maria; Victoria, 4; Josefina; Thanairi, 10; Horacio, 12; Oscar; Irelinda, 5; Oscar Jr., 2; and Paloma de Cristal, 6, visit a replica statue of Our Lady of Fatima during a tour stop at San Juan De Los Lagos Catholic Church on Wednesday. The West Side church is one of approximately 25 on the San Antonio area tour where followers of the Marian devotion can pray before the statue.

Lisa Krantz/lkrantz@express-news.net
Brother David Munoz (left) and Father Art Flores hold Communion near the statue during Mass at San Juan De Los Lagos. The statue is on tour in the San Antonio area through Jan. 24

Dozens of people formed a line down the center aisle of a West Side Catholic church this week, each waiting for a turn to pray before a replica statue of Our Lady of Fatima on tour in San Antonio this month.
Moms carrying infants in their arms were eager to ask for safety and health for their children. Business professionals dressed in suits sought spiritual and physical healings for themselves, relatives and friends. Gregory Ronnebaum, an unemployed truck driver and single father of two teens, looked to take the edge off a rough past year.
“It gives you a lot of hope in these tough times,” he said Thursday, after a tear-filled encounter kneeling in front of the statue at San Juan De Los Lagos Catholic Church.
Thousands are expected to visit the statue through Jan. 24 at about 25 churches in the San Antonio area as part of a worldwide tour. Sculpted in 1947, it is the official traveling statue for the Marian devotion, which is experiencing renewed popularity in the United States.
It was in 1917 in Fatima, Portugal that the Virgin Mary is believed to have appeared to three shepherd children and miraculously revealed a message of personal piety, repentance and prayer. A statue and shrine were built at the site and the traveling statue was fashioned according to the account of one of the shepherd children.
This Marian following, like the widely popular Virgin of Guadalupe, is approved and encouraged by Catholic hierarchy as a way to strengthen Catholics in their personal prayer habits and achieve greater closeness to God. Many people credit it with supernatural healings and signs; its promotional material reports the statue has shed actual tears.
To introduce the statue at San Juan De Los Lagos parish, Father Art Flores waived incense around the statue during a morning Mass and later, during Communion, a soloist sang “Ave Maria” while strumming a guitar. The traditional Latin lyrics echoed inside the modest parish sanctuary where the tightknit, Hispanic congregation has a history of devotion to other popular Marian movements.
On one side of the parish sanctuary is a replica of Our Lady of San Juan De Los Lagos in a glass case adorned with bouquets. On the other side in another glass case is a replica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Before dimming the lights and inviting the near-capacity audience to pay homage to the Fatima statue, instruction was given not to cross the line into worship of the statue.
“We do not believe the statue is God,” Norma Saenz Herrera told the gathering, noting that Christ’s presence in a consecrated host on the nearby altar table should be the focus. “There’s a difference.”
White lilies adorned the base of the statue while a floor light illuminated the face. Devotees wrote down prayer requests on slips of yellow paper and dropped them in a nearby box before their turn came. Many stared devoutly at Our Lady of Fatima’s face and then closed their eyes and whispered wishes for divine help. Some laid bouquets of roses at the statue’s feet. Others snapped photos.
“I felt very warm — like I was in her arms,” said Carolyn Kandoff, who credits her Marian devotion for overcoming pancreatic cancer nine years ago.
Neighborhood parishes like this one are sought out for the statue’s visits, said Carlos Malburg, an icon custodian from Munster, Ind., who travels with it on tour
“We feel the place to go is neighborhoods,” he said while passing out pamphlets at an outdoor table. “The people who come around feel it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and we’re happy to project that feeling.”
Our Lady of Fatima visitation schedule
Schedule of the traveling statue in South Texas:
• Today — noon-4:30 p.m., Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 314 Merida
• Sunday — 10 a.m.-7 p.m., St. Cecilia Catholic Church, 125 W. Whittier
• Monday — 10 a.m.-8 p.m., St. Matthew Catholic Church, 10703 Wurzbach Road
• Tuesday — 8 a.m.-9 p.m., St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church, 1314 Fair Ave.
• Wednesday — 8:30 a.m.-3:15 p.m., Antonian College Prep High School, 6425 West Ave.
• Thursday — St. Gerard Catholic Church, 1523 Iowa; schedule undetermined
• Friday — 7-10 p.m., St. Mary Cathedral, 203 E. 10th St., Austin
• Jan. 16 — 5-9 p.m., Holy Vietnamese Martyrs Catholic Church, 1107 E. Yager Lane, Austin
• Jan. 17 — 7 a.m.-1 p.m., St. Jerome Catholic Church, 7955 Real Road
• Jan. 18 — 9 a.m.-7 p.m., Carmelite Sisters, 2006 Martin Luther King Drive
• Jan. 19 — 11:45 a.m.-8 p.m., St. Anthony Catholic Church, 16505 Kilowatt, Elmendorf
• Jan. 20 — 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., St. John Berchmans chapel, 1147 Cupples Road; and 1:30-9 p.m., Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 1009 Trail, Floresville.
• Jan. 21 — 8 a.m.-9 p.m., St. Agnes Catholic Church, 814 Ruiz St.
• Jan. 22 — 9:30 a.m.-7:15 p.m., Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, 618 S. Grimes
• Jan. 23 — 7:55 a.m.-noon, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, 618 S. Grimes
• Jan. 24 — 11 a.m.-7:30 p.m., Basilica of the Little Flower, 824 Kentucky Ave.