Di Ionno: Newark worshipers find serenity in eyes of beloved statue
Published: Tuesday, June 19, 2012, 8:00 AM Updated: Tuesday, June 19, 2012, 11:56 AM
EnlargeA close up view of the face of the statue. Our Lady of Fatima, the Virgin Mary statue tied to the appearance in Fatima Portugal will be at the Inmaculado Corazon de Maria church and paraded through the streets of the Ironbound Saturday night. Saturday June 16, 2012. NEWARK, NJ, USA. Photo by (Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-Ledger)Our Lady of Fatima statue visits Newark's Ironbound area. gallery (17 photos)
NEWARK — Words can’t quite capture the magic in the lady’s eyes, or the emotions they inspire.
People can’t even find the right word to describe their color.
"I’ve heard everything," said Carl Malberg, the custodian of the Our Lady of Fatima statue. "I’ve heard blue, brown, amber. Those eyes are a mystery to me. Same with the expression. I ask people what expression they see, and no one answers. They can’t put it into words."
Colors, expressions, words, all have earthly limits.
The impact of the statue does not.
The statue has been displayed around the Newark Archdiocese this month, concluding with the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart this weekend.
Last weekend, it came to the Immaculate Heart of Mary church in Newark’s Ironbound, where it was displayed on a stage of blue silk curtains and surrounded by vases of yellow, white and red roses for a 24-hour prayer vigil. On Saturday evening, the statue was delicately lifted from its base and placed on a wooden sedan, with a man at each of the four handles, and other men surrounding it to keep it from being touched.
"We want that robe to stay as white as it is," Malberg said.
It was carried out of the church and paraded on Lafayette and Ferry streets, led by a group of children holding blue and white balloons and singing "Ave Maria" and other Blessed Virgin worship hymns in Spanish. A group of 300 adults, many with white-ensconced candles, followed, reciting the rosary, singing and exalting the presence of the famed statue. Down Ferry Street, they passed open-air bars and restaurants, and the Portuguese shops, many of which had replica statues in the windows.
Immaculate Heart — also known as Immaculado Corazón de Maria — is a Spanish language church now. The neighborhood is not as largely Portuguese as it once was, and the worshipers come from Puerto Rico, Central and South America. Over the weekend, people from the suburbs, too, came to kneel and pray before the statue, and stare into its eyes.
View full sizeParishioners let go of balloons as they sing "Hail Marry" in Spanish.
The mystique of the eyes are part of the statue’s lure. A sign at the base says, "Do Not Touch Her, She Will Touch You." A booklet about the statue encourages people to "look into her eyes" and tells of "more than 30 times" the statue has shed tears in front of hundreds of witnesses.
"When I look in her eyes, I feel something change in me," said Carmen Figueroa, a parishioner. "The way I feel, I can’t understand myself. It’s like I feel peace, and I love everybody. When I close my eyes, I see her, I see something beautiful."
Martha Mager of Caldwell said, "the closer I got, the more it moved me. I felt peaceful, but I also felt a slight chill when I looked into her eyes. But it was a feeling of comfort."
Her friend, Colleen Spina of Morris Plains, said, "the eyes were very telling. I felt they moved. The more I stared at it, the more emotional I became."
Asked the color of the eyes, Spina paused. "Hmm. I’m not sure. Blue? I think they were blue."
The statue is one of two made by sculptor Jose Thedim, described by Malberg as "the Michelangelo of Portugal." Thedim’s white-cloaked Mary, is based on the description given by three children who were visited by the Blessed Mother during the spring and summer of 1917 in Fatima, Portugal.
Thedim’s first statue was so popular with worshipers, it was decided a second statue should be made to visit churches throughout the world, "and bring the message of Fatima to all people," said Patrick Sabat, who with Malberg, travels with it. "And that is a message of good news; that for people who believe, there is still hope in the world."
After the statue was made in 1947, Malberg said, it was blessed by the Bishop of Fatima.
"People right away saw a change in the eyes," he said. "The eyes were never the same after that. They became alive with the spirit of Mary."
A few years ago, the statue needed restoration work. Behind the eyes of the statue were serial numbers of certain jewel, carried by a German jeweler, that went into the eyes.
"When restoration artist got the new jewels," Malberg said. "I can’t use these. They don’t match.’ It was proof the eyes had changed."
And while the Virgin statue only sheds tears occasionally, it evokes tears constantly, from women and men who knelt before it.
"I remember one big, husky guy — he looked like an ex-Marine — came out and told me, ‘The longer I stared at it, the more emotional I got,’ Malberg said. "He was trying not to cry, but couldn’t help it.
"I told him, ‘Don’t worry about it. This is no ordinary statue.’"
