The Greek Catholic Church of Lviv, Ukraine, is studying the realization of a pilgrimage of the statue of the Virgin of Fatima through security areas of that country, the Sanctuary of Fatima has said.
The announcement was made after the return to the Shrine of the Pilgrim Virgin No. 13 on Wednesday afternoon, after visiting 15 places in Ukraine in the past seven months. For Ukraine, now follows the statue of Our Lady of Fatima that was blessed on May 13, at the end of the Jubilee pilgrimage to the shrine.
On this occasion, the Rector of the Sanctuary of Fatima, Father Carlos Cabecinhas, explained that after the transfer of the effigy of Our Lady of Fatima to Ukraine, where it has been since March 17, the Archbishop of the Greek Catholic Church found, from Lviv requested the extension of the pilgrimage through Ukrainian countries, “or the transfer of the image” on a permanent basis.
The Shrine of Fatima reacted negatively to the request for final transfer of the image, “on principle, but immediately decided to offer an identical image to the Diocese of Lviv”, which has now happened.
According to information from the shrine, the pilgrimage is being studied with the support of the Fatima Ukraine Mission.
“Now that the statue of Our Lady of Fatima is Ukrainian, let’s try to make it travel across the country,” Father Vasyl Bilash, one of those in charge of the pilgrimage in Lviv, told the shrine’s press service.
The priest recalled the pilgrimage of the statue of Fatima over the past seven months, as “it was a sign of hope that arrived in Ukraine”.
“Thousands of people prayed for this image and many, who were afraid and had already given up life in the face of the war and the losses they had suffered, returned in the belief that it will be possible to win the war and Ukraine from Russian occupation,” said the priest. .
Image n. 13 of the Pilgrim Virgin of Fatima arrived on March 17 at the Church of Our Lady of the Nativity, in Lviv, after being received by thousands of faithful who managed to promote a novena for nine days that culminated in the consecration of Ukraine and Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, in a church “closely associated with Fatima”.
The shrine’s rector, who received the Ukrainian delegation on Wednesday, recalled the “permanent and daily” prayer held at the shrine since the start of the war and promised “communion and union” with Ukraine.
“We will continue to pray for you. I want you to know you’re not alone!’ said the priest.
The image No. 13 of the Pilgrim Virgin of Fatima was sent to Ukraine on March 12 by the Shrine of Fatima, in response to a request from the Greek Catholic Metropolitan Archbishop of Lviv, taking into account the conflict with Russia.
“United in the same spirit of prayer, the Sanctuary of Fatima is pleased to respond positively to the request to send a statue of the Pilgrim Virgin of Fatima,” according to the letter sent by the Sanctuary to the Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Greek- Catholic Church of Lviv, Ihor Vozniak.
That letter explained that the transfer of this statue to Ukrainian territory, which is happening for the first time, “is due to this pastoral effort of prayer for peace in the world, especially in Ukraine”.
The shrine’s response followed a formal request from Ihor Vozniak, made on March 10.
“We ask you to send us the statue of the Pilgrim Virgin of Fatima to Ukraine so that we can pray for her protection so that peace can return to the country,” the metropolitan of the Greek Catholic Church of Lviv issued an appeal.
Image #13 is a replica of Image #1.
Created according to the instructions of Sister Lucia, “the first pilgrim image of Our Lady of Fátima was presented by the Bishop of Leiria and solemnly crowned by the Archbishop of Évora, on May 13, 1947. , the whole world, with a message of peace and love,” according to information from the shrine.
According to a note from the institution, “the origins of this route go back to 1945, shortly after the end of the 2nd World War, when a parish priest in Berlin suggested that a depiction of Our Lady of Fátima be used by all capitals and episcopal cities of Europe, to the borders of Russia”.
“The idea was taken up in April 1946 by a representative of Luxembourg in the International Council of Women’s Catholic Youth, and the following year, on the day of her coronation, the maiden voyage began. After more than half a century of pilgrimage, in which Imagem 64 Having visited countries on different continents, some of them several times, the Rectory of the Sanctuary of Fátima understood that it was no longer allowed to go outside, except by an extraordinary circumstance, as was the case on the World Youth Day in Panama in January 2019”.
To respond to requests from around the world, 13 replicas of the first Pilgrim Image were created.
Source: DN
