The feast of the Virgin of Fatima was celebrated with a solemn mass in the Reventino sanctuary
With the solemn evening Mass celebrated in the sanctuary of Soveria Mannelli by the episcopal vicar of the Diocese of Lamezia Terme, Don Leonardo Diaco, the novenary of the Madonna of Fatima ended yesterday, 13 May, which saw the center of the Reventino become a destination for nine days of continuous pilgrimage from a large part of Calabria.
A very heartfelt and well-attended Mass last night, in a liturgical hall packed beyond belief which ended with the now traditional Marian torchlight procession and the procession in the square in front of the sacred building of the simulacrum of the Virgin, a true copy of the statue preserved in Fatima and arrived as a gift to Soveria by the Bishop of Fatima Don Antonio Marto and crowned by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square on 25 April 2018. The procession wound up to the city hospital for the blessing of all the sick.
During the homily, Don Diaco focused at length on the meaning of the message of Fatima, explaining to the faithful how the Virgin, appearing in the Cova da Iria, in the freguesia of Fátima, in the municipality of Ourém, in Portugal to the three shepherd children Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco, wanted to entrust humanity with a message that can be summarized in three key elements: prayer, penance and constancy. In fact, it is perseverance that helps to form the Christian’s habitus and which helps the ability to pray even when minds are distracted by the whirlwind of the world around us.
In front of the image of the Madonna, we wanted to pray for a long time, together with all the faithful, for the peace of the world. In a moment of great international tensions like the one we are experiencing, faced with the increasingly pressing nightmare of an atomic threat, Don Roberto wanted to remember how Mary wanted to bring a message of reconciliation and peace to Fatima in a world that was experiencing the first major world conflict.
The apparitions of the Virgin to the three shepherd children were in fact preceded and prepared by those of an angel who presented himself to them as “The Angel of Peace” inviting them not to be afraid but to pray a lot. Subsequently, the Virgin spoke of Russia’s conversion, announcing that, despite everything, in the end her Immaculate Heart would prevail over the evil of the world.
The celebrations in honor of Our Lady of Fatima which took place in Soveria Mannelli, despite the jubilation of the anniversary, were therefore veiled in sadness due to the memory of the many deaths of the ongoing wars for the end of which, on 13 May in Soveria Mannelli a day of fasting and prayer was observed.
