|
Ten years after its last visit
to Brisbane, the International Pilgrim Statue
of Our Lady of Fatima drew huge crowds when
it returned to the arch-diocese on August 14.
During the one-metre tall statue's visit to south-east Queensland,
thousands of people gathered for Masses and
other devotions at several churches.
Our Lady of Graces Church, Carina, was the first stop.
On August 15, it visited Marian Valley, Canungra, for the Feast of the
Assumption, with a Mass celebrated by Brisbane
Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Oudeman at 11am.
Pauline Father Gabriel Taylor said more than 1500 people attended the
Mass at Marian Valley.
He said busloads of people came from Ipswich, Brisbane, |
Holy presence: The International Pilgrim
Statue of Our Lady of Fatima at Marian Valley,
Canungra |
the Gold Coast and northern NSW
for the day.
"It was a wonderful, blessed day," he said.
Similar crowds attended when the statue visited Sacred Heart Church,
Clear Waters and Little Flower Church, Kedron.
Physical cures have been attributed to the presence of the statue.
Three custodians accompanied the statue to south-east Queensland, talked
about it and spread the message of Fatima.
The statue of Our Lady of Fatima was sculpted in 1947 by Jose Thedim,
based on the description of Sr Lucia, one of
three young seers who saw Our Lady
from May to October 1917 in Fatima,
Portugal.
The statue last visited the archdiocese in 1996.
It left Brisbane for Adelaide and Perth.
The statue's Australian tour also included Sydney, Goulburn and
Melbourne. |
