Sacred statue of Our Lady of Fatima arrives in New Jersey on worldwide pilgrimage
OLD TAPPAN, N.J. -- A sacred statue within the Catholic Church is on a worldwide pilgrimage and has just arrived in New Jersey.
She comes in peace. Greeted with cheers, Our Lady of Fatima was carefully wheeled into St. Pius X Catholic Church in Old Tappan before the lady in white was adorned with her golden crown and rosary beads.
"So we thought why not bring the statue of Fatima here to give some hope to the youth, especially after all this pandemic and some dark nights and suffering," said Ricardo Casimiro, campus minister of Newman Catholic at Montclair State University.
Our Lady of Fatima represents Mary, the mother of Jesus. An apparition of her was reported to be seen by three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal, in may of 1917.
Clergy members from St. Pius X in Old Tappan organized the statue's arrival from Portugal and her tour across over a dozen Catholic churches within the Archdiocese of Newark.
"This is just a microcosm of what God is doing for our parish," said Fr. Kevin Kilgore.
A procession will take place on May 13 before the statue's arrival to Newark's Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart. It'll mark the 106th anniversary of the apparition's first sighting by the children in Fatima, Portugal. Thousands are expected to attend.
"With the statue of Our Lady to my knowledge, yes, it's been a very long time since she's been in the U.S., if ever, so we were really honored to receive her," Kilgore said.
The statue of Our Lady has made her pilgrimage across the world since 1947. Rosemarie Lofreddo, from Old Tappan, joined the statue on her journey to her hometown.
"It is an experience, it's the first of its kind for me, and it was heartwarming and inspiring and made us all feel closer to each other," she said.
The statue will be at St. Pius X Catholic Church through Monday, May 1, before making her next stop at Bloomfield's St. Thomas Catholic Church.
