As a procession brought the statue of Mary into the church Monday, Rosemary Minni, 78, wept.
"It was hard to stop the tears," said the Northville resident. "She means everything ... she's what I live for."
"It was hard to stop the tears," said the Northville resident. "She means everything ... she's what I live for."
The scene inside St. Clement Parish in Dearborn is to play out in Catholic churches across metro Detroit in coming weeks as the statue of Our Lady of Fatima visits more than a dozen parishes. The statue of Jesus' mother was based on apparitions seen by three children in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917.
The statue is about 3 feet fall and made of mahogany. A gold-plated crown rests on her head. Mary's glass eyes appear light brown or blue depending on the angle.
"Do not touch her," reads a sign below her. "She will touch you."
Completed in 1947, the statue was proclaimed as "Queen of the world" by Pope Pius XII, who said she performs miracles. Since then, Our Lady of Fatima has been seen by millions of people in churches around the world, said her custodians.
Completed in 1947, the statue was proclaimed as "Queen of the world" by Pope Pius XII, who said she performs miracles. Since then, Our Lady of Fatima has been seen by millions of people in churches around the world, said her custodians.
"Just look into her eyes and listen to what your mother is telling you," Patrick Sabat, one of the caretakers, told worshippers at St. Clement during an afternoon mass. "She asks of us, stop offending God. If we will do what she asks us, peace will reign. ... The problem is not the economy. The root of the problem is evil."
Some of the worshippers who visited St. Clement on Monday were there to seek solace in dealing with personal challenges.
Dearborn resident Giorgina Cascardo said she lost her son to heart failure in 1991 when he was 25. It was Mary, she said, who gave her comfort.
