Founded 75 years ago, the mission of the World Apostolate of Fatima is to “spread the authentic message of Fatima as it came to us from Sister Lucia,” said Barb Ernster, its communications manager. One way it does so is coordinating tours of the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima that is shared around the globe for the faithful to venerate.
Lucia was one of three children to whom the Blessed Mother appeared in 1917 outside the village of Fatima, Portugal. After she became a religious sister, the statue was designed with her input by a sculptor known as the Michaelangelo of Portugal, Ernster said.
Barb Ernster
When Sister Lucia first saw the statue, she said, “Well, she’s beautiful, but that’s not what she looked like,” Ernster said. So, she described to the sculptor what the Virgin Mary was wearing, including the colors, and her face, Ernster said. When the sculptor was finished, Lucia said it was a close rendition of what Our Lady looked like, “although you could never capture her beauty.”
Ernster recently spoke with “Practicing Catholic” radio show host Patrick Conley about the statue of Our Lady of Fatima and its Oct. 18-24 tour to locations in Minnesota.
“That’s how the message of Fatima was able to be spread throughout the world through this statue, visiting … parishes after parishes,” Ernster said. “We work under the Church with the bishops. We have permission to come into the diocese and … to parishes where we can actually give a talk and spread the message,” she said. “We give talks on Fatima; people have a chance to privately venerate the statue.”
The statue has been known to emit tears, Ernster said, including during a visit to New Orleans in 1972, where images were captured by international media. “But if we promote that, then people come looking for a crying statue, rather than the message of Fatima, which is what our Lady wants us to do,” she said.
During its seven-day tour, the statue will be presented at St. Timothy in Maple Lake, St. Vincent de Paul in Brooklyn Park, St. Pius X in White Bear Lake, Our Lady of Guadalupe in St. Paul, the Carmelite Sisters in DeMontreville, St. Peter in North St. Paul, St. Albert in Albertville and St. Ambrose in Woodbury.
Custodians transport and protect the statue in a recreational vehicle. For overseas trips, it has its own seat on airplanes instead of in the luggage section. Its primary custodian typically unzips the statue container during flights so passengers can see it. Sometimes the pilot announces that a special passenger is on board, Ernster said. “It’s another way to help evangelize the message in our secular world,” she said.
To review the complete schedule of the statue’s tour, visit fatimatourforpeace.com/tours. The website for Ernster’s organization, World Apostolate of Fatima, USA, is bluearmy.com. It also includes tour information for the statue.
To hear the full interview, listen to this episode of the “Practicing Catholic” show at 9 p.m. Oct. 14, which repeats 1 p.m. Oct. 15 and 2 p.m. Oct. 16 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM.
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