Thousands Of Catholics Flock To See Our Lady Of Fatima Statue In Dallas Area

The small sign propped beneath a serene-looking statue of Mary, the mother of Jesus, cautioned visitors: “Do not touch her. She will touch you.” The faithful who flocked to St. Cecilia’s Catholic Church earlier this month were there to view the traveling International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima. And they knew exactly what the sign meant. The wooden statue’s eyes “speak to you,” said Leticia Rodriguez. Our Lady “hears your prayer and speaks to you individually.”

For Irma Hernandez, the statue of Mary “is like a little string. She brings me closer to God.”

The famous statue, dear to Catholics around the world, commemorates the appearance of Mary to three children in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917. It is based in Indiana.

The stop at the north Oak Cliff parish came at the beginning of a three-week tour to about two dozen area churches. When the 42-inch, 40-pound statue was later moved from St. Cecilia to the Mother of Perpetual Help in Garland, four men carried it out of the sanctuary on a wooden pallet, while a group of women sang softly. A white-gloved caretaker, one of two men who travel with the statue, removed the crown and robe from the figure before placing it in a blue-cloth carrying case.

It was then taken by car to the Garland parish, where it was received for another viewing with the same pomp and reverence. “I’m not a very devout Catholic,” said Alfredo Nuñez, who came to see the statue at St. Cecilia. “But it’s kind of like an event. … It was just something I felt I had to do.” Millions of the faithful journey to the shrine in Portugal every year. Those who can’t go that far often are inspired by traveling statues of Our Lady. The mahogany figure that is touring North Texas till the end of the month is one of two based in the U.S. that date back to the middle of the 20th century. The other, called the United Nations International Pilgrim Statue of the World Apostolate of Fatima, is based in Rhode Island.