Newsletter Feb 2025
Donal Foley • June 12, 2025
WAF England & Wales
February 2025 Newsletter
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HEADER - POPE FRANCIS
WAF England & Wales
February 2025 Newsletter
Dear Friends,
This is the World Apostolate of Fatima (WAF) England & Wales February 2025 newsletter.
2023-2024 Reparatory Intention: Reparation for those who instil in children hatred against the Blessed Virgin Mary
Dear Members,
We continue to prepare for the Cathedral Visitations to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the First Five Saturday Devotion of Reparation throughout England and Wales. The first visit will take place on the 3rd May 2025 when we visit St Joseph’s Cathedral, Swansea, in the Archdiocese of Cardiff-Menevia, Wales.
We will then visit a further 13 Cathedrals in 2025, with the remaining Cathedral visits being concluded by 31 Oct 2026 when we visit the Metropolitan Cathedral of The Most Precious Blood at Westminster. You can see details of these Visitations, here ...
In addition, we will be visiting local parishes and hope that you will be able to join us in our pilgrimage of Hope around England and Wales.
It is also important to remember the calling of the three little shepherds from Fatima, whose lives were transformed by their service, sacrifice and acts of reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. They were chosen to reveal to the world God's message of Hope, heaven's peace plan, to a world that was turning away from God.
This message is still so relevant today and that is why it’s important to recognise the signs of the times in our day and the power of prayer in our lives. Our Lady gave us the Rosary through St Dominic, and in Fatima asked the children to pray the Rosary every day. She also said that Jesus wants her to be known and loved throughout the world and we can help to do this through the First Five Saturday devotion of Reparation.
This month we celebrate the feast day of Saints Francisco and Jacinta on the 20th February. Two of the three shepherd children, Jacinta and Francisco, lived short but heroic lives and dedicated themselves in service to God’s Will and the message of Hope emanating from Fatima.
The purpose of the World Apostolate of Fatima is help spread the message of Fatima and follow in the footsteps of Sister Lucia and her cousins, in helping to restore the centrality of God in our lives.
Please help us in our journey of Faith and join us for the Cathedral and Parish visits. If you would like to arrange a visit to your parish, please see the details below.
Ave Maria!
Patrick Cunningham
We are no longer accepting parish bookings for Pilgrim Virgin Statue visitations for the SOUTHERN dioceses for the foreseeable future, but you can still make PARISH bookings for the NORTHERN dioceses by contacting Patrick Cunningham at the email address below.

NORTHERN DIOCESES (Hexham & Newcastle, Lancaster, Middlesbrough, Leeds, Salford, Liverpool, Hallam, Shrewsbury, Nottingham, and Wrexham) – Patrick Cunningham at safeguarding@waf-ew.org.uk

SOUTHERN DIOCESES (Plymouth, Clifton, Portsmouth, Arundel & Brighton, Southwark, Brentwood, Westminster, Northampton, East Anglia, Birmingham, Cardiff, and Menevia)

OTHER NEWS:

HELP NEEDED FOR WORLD APOSTOLATE OF FATIMA (WAF) ENGLAND & WALES WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA OUTREACH

WAF England & Wales needs help with maintaining our upgraded website, and social media programme, and also with the production of this monthly e-newsletter, as we enter the Centenary Year of the First Five Saturdays devotion.

The upgraded site uses the multi screen site template, and HubSpot contact management software, but anyone familiar with WordPress etc, or willing to learn, can be involved.

This is a good opportunity for a young person who wants to get hands-on experience of web site maintenance and social media outreach, while at the same time promoting the Message of Fatima. For more details please email: webmaster@waf-ew.org.uk

Also, the WAF E & W National Treasurer, Stephanie, has given notice that she will retire from this position at the end of the financial year April 2025. Therefore we need a new Treasurer to take over this role and work alongside her in the near future. If you know anyone who might be interested in taking on this position please let us know.

For an update on what has been happening recently, please visit:
https://www.facebook.com/fatima.apparitions1917 
and scroll down. 

The WAF England & Wales Prayer intention for February is "That the Feast of the Little shepherds helps to inspire us all to live and celebrate the centenary of the Five First Saturdays Devotion."

The Pope’s Prayer Intentions for February 2025 is: 

For vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Let us pray that the ecclesial community might welcome the desires and doubts of those young people who feel a call to serve Christ’s mission in the priesthood and religious life.
Message from our National Spiritual Director -Fr Jason
Daily Duty and Ordinary time

My Dear WAF family

Although we started Ordinary time – the season of the liturgical calendar which uses green vestments, etc., - many of us may keep the Christmas decorations up until the 40th day of Christmas, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, Candlemas, which takes place tomorrow, 2nd February.

For the whole month of February up until March 5th, Ash Wednesday, we will be living through the “ordinary” time of the liturgy. This ordinary time is a good period to remind ourselves of the Daily Duty that we mention in the WAF pledge.

It is in the ordinary everyday events of life that we sanctify and put into practice the living out the graces we have received in the extraordinary feasts, the most recent being Christmas.

If Christmas is the birth of the Emmanuel, the “God-with-us,” then through our ordinary daily duties, God is with us. And we show our response by doing our daily duty with love and attention, through him with him and in him.

The words of the following prayer sum this up:

We are in Ordinary Time, and our house looks "ordinary" again. But Lord, you know and we know that our house has a secret. Deep inside it, all of our Christmas decorations are still there. The blessing of Christmas is always with us, kept in the deep, quiet places of the house. And Lord, our lives will become ordinary again, too, but you know that each of us has the grace of baptism. The grace you gave us is always with us, in the deep, quiet places of our soul. May we live the grace of Christmas every day, only without all the trappings: May we always give generously, receive gifts gratefully, welcome others, and study your life. Make our house a home with Christmas at its core, and our souls a home where Jesus always dwells. Amen.

In living the message of Our Lady of Fatima we follow the request of the Angel of Fatima to offer everything as a sacrifice to the Most High.

February starts with a First Saturday, and the Candlemas prophecy of Simeon that a sword will pierce the Immaculate Heart.

Accepting and living the demands of Daily Duty we offer our reparation to the Immaculate Heart. As we move into February, we will have on the 20th, the Feast day of the little shepherds. May these youngest Saints of the Church assist us and teach us to do all things well, each and everyday in the ordinary daily events ahead.

My parish, as the Diocesan Shrine of Divine Mercy, will be hosting the visitation of the Relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis to the Archdiocese on Sunday 16th March, from 5pm-9pm. Those in the area will be most welcome to visit, or you can follow on livestream.

With my prayers for a Happy Feast of the Presentation, that through the hands of Our Lady she will offer our daily duty to her Son.

Fr Jason

Canon Jason Jones
National Spiritual Director
Feast of Saints Jacinta and FranciscoThe Feast Day of Saints Jacinta and Francisco falls on the 20th of this month, and a good way of celebrating this is to revisit the spiritual lives of the two seers to see what lessons we can learn from them.
According to Sr Lucia’s memoirs, Francisco was quieter than the more vivacious Jacinta, and more willing to let others be in charge.
Amongst other things, during the first apparition at Fatima, the Blessed Virgin told the children that they would all go to heaven but that Francisco would need to say many rosaries first. When he was told what she had said, his joyous response was: “Oh, my dear Our Lady! I’ll say as many rosaries as you want!”
And Lucia tells us that from that point he often went apart to say the rosary himself. The first lesson, then, which Saint Francisco can teach us, is the importance of prayer and particularly the prayer of the Rosary, which Our Lady specifically asked for during all six of her apparitions at Fatima.
The Blessed Virgin also communicated an intense light from her hands to the children during this first apparition, a light which penetrated their hearts and souls, making them see themselves in God.
Francisco later commented about this experience as follows: “I loved seeing the Angel, but I loved still more seeing Our Lady. What I loved most of all was to see Our Lord in that light from Our Lady which penetrated our hearts. I love God so much! But he is very sad because of so many sins! We must never commit any sins again.”
On one occasion, Jacinta remarked to Lucia: “Look, do you know this? Our Lord is sad, because Our Lady told us not to offend Him any more, for He is already very much offended; yet nobody takes any notice, and they continue to commit the same sins!”
So this is the second important lesson we can learn from both Francisco and Jacinta—the need to avoid further sin and make reparation both for our own sins and those of the world.
Francisco became a real contemplative, and, as Lucia tells us, like Jacinta he advanced prodigiously in spiritual terms in a very short time, displaying a wisdom well beyond his years.
His whole focus was on how he could console Our Lord and he had to remind the two girls on occasion that childish games and pastimes were inappropriate for them, especially as he and Jacinta were destined to go to heaven shortly, although, as Our Lady told Lucia, her part was to remain on earth and spread devotion to her Immaculate Heart.
Once, when the children were on their way to school, Francisco said: “Listen, you go to school, and I’ll stay here in the church, close to the Hidden Jesus. It’s not worth my while learning to read, as I’ll be going to heaven very soon. On your way home, come here and call me.”
Here there is a lesson not just for children, but for all of us, on the importance of Eucharistic prayer and adoration.
Two priests, who had come to question the children, recommended that they pray for the Holy Father. Jacinta asked who the Holy Father was. The good priests explained who he was and how much he needed prayers.
This gave Jacinta such love for the Holy Father that, every time she offered her sacrifices to Jesus, she added: “and for the Holy Father.”
At the end of the Rosary, she always said three Hail Marys for the Holy Father, and sometimes she would remark: “How I’d love to see the Holy Father! So many people come here, but the Holy Father never does!”
In her childish simplicity, she supposed that the Holy Father could make this journey just like anybody else!
So the first lesson Jacinta can teach us is to have a great love for the Papacy.
A little while before going to hospital, Jacinta said to Lucia:
“It will not be long now before I go to heaven. You will remain here to make known that God wishes to establish in the world devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. When you are to say this, don’t go and hide.
“Tell everybody that God grants us graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary; that people are to ask her for them; and that the Heart of Jesus wants the Immaculate Heart of Mary to be venerated at His side.
“Tell them also to pray to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for peace, since God has entrusted it to her. If I could only put into the hearts of all, the fire that is burning within my own heart, and that makes me love the Hearts of Jesus and Mary so very much!”
One day, Lucia was given a holy picture of the Heart of Jesus, quite a nice one, as man-made pictures go. She asked Jacinta: “Do you want this holy picture?” She took it, looked at it attentively, and remarked: “It’s so ugly! It doesn’t look like Our Lord at all. He is so beautiful! But I want it; it is He just the same.”
She always carried it with her. At night and during her illness, she kept it under her pillow, until it fell apart. She kissed it frequently, saying: “I kiss the Heart, because I love it most! How I would love to have a Heart of Mary! Don’t you have one? I’d love to have the two together.”
So another lesson for us from Jacinta is to have a great love and devotion for the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
On another occasion, Lucia brought her a picture of a chalice with a host. She took it, kissed it, and radiant with joy she exclaimed: “It is the Hidden Jesus! I love Him so much! If only I could receive Him in church! Don’t they receive Holy Communion in heaven? If they do, then I will go to Holy Communion every day. If only the Angel would go to the hospital to bring me Holy Communion again, how happy I would be!”
Sometimes, on returning from church, Lucia went in to see her, and she asked her: “Did you receive Holy Communion?” And if Lucia answered “yes,” she said: “Come over here close to me, for you have the Hidden Jesus in your heart.”
At other times, she told Lucia: “I don’t know how it is! But I feel Our Lord within me. I understand what He says to me, although I neither see Him nor hear Him, but it is so good to be with Him!”
And so we have another lesson from Jacinta on the importance of Holy Communion.
These three characteristics of her spirituality – love for the Pope, for Our Lady, and for the Eucharist, are hallmarks of authentic Catholicism.
An influenza epidemic swept Europe in the autumn of 1918, just as World War I was finishing, and both Jacinta and Francisco fell ill. Francisco recovered somewhat and there were hopes that he might become well, but his condition worsened again. He offered up all his sufferings as a way of consoling God for the sinfulness and ingratitude of mankind, becoming so weak that eventually he could not even pray, dying on 4 April 1919.
Jacinta, after a long and painful illness, died in a Lisbon hospital on 20 February 1920. Later on, both her body and Francisco’s remains were interred at the basilica built at the Cova da Iria, near the site of Our lady’s apparitions.
Francisco and Jacinta were canonized in 2017 by Pope Francis, becoming the youngest non-Martyr saints in Church history. Their wonderful example of loving devotion to God and Our Lady will no doubt exert a far wider influence in the future, and help to create the new Civilization of Love which the Church and the world so desperately needs.
There is as a NOVENA to Saints Jacinta and Francisco Marto, here, which can be prayed from Sunday 11 February.
Papal approval of the Message of Fatima
This is the sixth of a series of brief articles which summarise the principal points in Tim Tindal-Robertson's MESSAGE OF FATIMA in the Life of the Church and the Teaching of the Popes, which was published by the Catholic Truth Society, London, in 1998, together with his FATIMA IN THE THIRD MILLENNIUM, CTS London, 2001.
The continuing papal approval of Fatima was summarised by Cardinal Ratzinger in an interview at Fatima on 13th October 1996:
“In the most solemn way possible Popes Pius XII, Paul VI and John Paul II have already recognised Fatima and were totally committed to this devotion” (Seers of Fatima, Oct-Dec 1996, pp. 6, 7).
This sixth article continues with Pope John Paul II, who reigned from 16 October 1978 to 2 April 2005
On 13th May 1982, the Pope went to Fatima to thank Our Lady for saving his life, and delivered a homily at Mass, which is printed in full in Appendix III of my book Fatima, Russia and Pope John Paul II, published in 1992 (a 3rd revised and enlarged edition that is still in print was issued by Gracewing in 1998).
In the Pope’s homily he taught “if the Church has accepted the message of Fatima, it is above all because that message contains a truth and a call whose basic content is the truth and call of the Gospel itself, ‘Repent and believe in the Gospel’. These are the first words that the Messiah addressed to humanity. The message of Fatima, in its basic nucleus, is a call to conversion and repentance, as in the Gospel … Can the Mother, who, with all the force of the love that she fosters in the Holy Spirit, desires everyone’s salvation, keep silence on what undermines the very bases of their salvation ? No, she cannot … the message is addressed to every human being, to all the societies, nations and peoples: societies menaced by apostasy, threatened by moral degradation ...
“Consecrating the world to the Immaculate Heart of the Mother means returning beneath the Cross of the Son. It means consecrating this world to the pierced heart of the Saviour, bringing it back to the very source of its redemption.
“The successor of Peter presents himself here as a witness to the immensity of human suffering, the almost apocalyptic menaces looming over the nations and mankind as a whole … Mary’s appeal is not just for once. Her appeal must be taken up by generation after generation, in accordance with the ever news ‘signs of the times’. It must be unceasingly returned to.”
The consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, that had been requested by Our Lady on 13th June 1929, was carried out by Pope John Paul II in St Peter’s Square on 25th March 1984, in front of Our Lady’s statue brought from Fatima (the full text of this act is printed in Appendix IV of my book Fatima, Russia and Pope John Paul II).
The book documents the steps which led to the dissolution of the Marxist Soviet Union, and the resignation in Moscow of President Gorbachev, on 25th December 1991. The Polish translation of this work was published by the Marians of the Immaculate Conception in Warsaw, it sold some 50,000 copies, and during a private audience at which a copy was presented to the Pope, he commented: “Good, let the people read it and learn who brought them their freedom”.
On 8 November 1989, Sr Lucia sent a letter to Pope John Paul II in which she said that his consecration of 25 March 1984 “was done as Our Lady requested, since 25 March 1984” — quoted in Fatima in Lucia’s Own Words, 16th edition, July 2007, page 124, note 11.
To be continued next monthResources for February and beyond
Here are some books for February and beyond - they can be downloaded from the Internet Archive as PDFs at no cost, and are well worth reading.
Daily reflections for Christians by Fr Charles Cox, O.M.I
https://archive.org/details/dailyreflections01coxcuoft
The Mother of the King: Mary during the life of Our Lord, by Henry James Coleridge, SJ
https://archive.org/details/themotheroftheki00coleuoft
Five First Saturdays devotion
Tomorrow, Saturday 1st February 2025, is the First Saturday of the month, so we hope you will be able to participate in the Fatima Five First Saturdays devotion in some way. There are details about this below.
If you aren't sure about how to participate in the First Saturdays, you can download a leaflet with instructions of how to do this here:
https://worldfatima-englandwales.org.uk/leaflets-information/
And an explanation of the First Saturdays devotion is given here:
https://worldfatima-englandwales.org.uk/the-five-first-saturdays-devotion-explained/
First Saturday devotions has started in St. John's Cathedral, Portsmouth and will continue monthly. The Rosary begins at 10.45 am and includes a 15-minute Scriptural Meditation. The Sacrament of Confession will be available, and Holy Mass will be at 12.15 pm.
Also, Antonia Moffat has provided a Meditation for the First Saturday Devotions for this month.
Donations to WAF England and Wales
We appreciate any donation you can make. You can also leave a bequest in your will for WAF England and Wales - please contact us for more details via: info@worldfatima-englandwales.org.uk
If anyone wishes to donate towards the ongoing costs of promoting Fatima in England and Wales, they can do so by visiting the donations page of our website at: https://worldfatima-englandwales.org.uk/donate/
This is important, because even if you can't help in a practical way, your financial assistance will be very helpful in expanding WAF England and Wales.
HOW TO DONATE
You can donate by visiting:
https://worldfatima-englandwales.org.uk/donate/
and pay either via a credit card or your Paypal account.
(There is no need to include a £ sign. Also, please ensure you enter a whole amount of pounds, i.e. 10 for a donation of ten pounds, not 10.00 - so no need for a decimal point or extra zeros!
If you would like to donate via bank transfer please direct your donation via:
Nat West Bank
Account name: World Apostolate of Fatima EW
Sort code: 54 41 51
Account: 57901228
Reference: Your Name
If you would like to donate by cheque, please email: finance@waf-ew.org.uk for details of how to do this
Or equally, if you would like to make a regular monthly donation to WAF, then we can let you have the details of how to do this.
Candlemas or The Feast of the Presentation
The Feast of the Presentation takes place tomorrow, 2nd February. This is an important feast in the Church's calendar and is a remembrance of the visit of the Holy Family to the Temple in Jerusalem which took place forty days after the birth of the Christ Child.

The presentation of the first-born was a requirement of the Jewish Law in commemoration of the deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt – the Egyptians, though, for their ill-treatment of the Jewish people were punished through the death of their first born, (Exodus 12: 29-30).

This ceremony was really an offering of the Christ Child to God in the Temple, but St Luke focuses on the meeting of the Holy Family with the elderly Simeon, (Luke 2: 25-26). Simeon spoke prophetic and foreboding words to Our Lady, telling her that her Child would be a sign that would be spoken against, and that a sorrowful sword would pierce her soul, so that “thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed,” (Luke 2: 27-35).

Simeon, then, was able to prophetically foresee that Our Lady would endure much suffering during her life – which was, of course, particularly the case at the time of the Crucifixion.

If we move forward in time nineteen centuries, to May 1917, we find the same Virgin Mary, now assumed into heaven, appearing to the children at Fatima. Sr Lucia tells us in her memoirs that during the first apparition, after having promised to take the three seers to heaven, Our Lady said, “Are you willing to offer yourselves to God to bear all the sufferings He wills to send you, as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and of supplication for the conversion of sinners?”

In response, Lucia, on behalf of all three said, “Yes, we are willing,” to which the Blessed Virgin replied, “Then, you are going to have much to suffer, but the grace of God will be your comfort.”

Here we can see how just as Our Lady was told by Simeon that she would have to suffer, so in turn she told the Fatima children that if they were willing to offer themselves to God – just as Jesus had been offered in the Temple – then they too would have to bear with many sufferings, but that they would be comforted by the love and grace of the Holy Trinity.

Another name for the feast of the Presentation is Candlemas. This is due to the fact that at Mass on this feast day candles are blessed and distributed, and there is also a procession, a procession of "light."

This theme of “light” is also found in the words of Simeon to Mary and Joseph. He told them that the Child Jesus would be a “light for revelation to the Gentiles” and for the glory of Israel, (Luke 2: 28-32). This took place particularly when Christianity spread to the Gentile nations, but was also true during the lifetime of Jesus, who publicly proclaimed that he was the “Light of the world,” (John 8:12).

At Fatima, too, we find the theme of light is very prominent. When Our Lady appeared for the first time, Lucia described her as being “more brilliant than the sun.” The same was true of the visions of the Angel of Portugal to the children the previous year – and one of the features of some of the apparitions of Our Lady was the way the “light from her hands” penetrated their hearts and the innermost depths of their souls, making them see themselves in God. 

When Pope St John Paul II beatified Jacinta and Francisco in May 2000, during his homily he said that through this rite, “the Church wishes to put on the candelabrum these two candles which God lit to illumine humanity in its dark and anxious hours.” He thus described Jacinta and Francisco as shining lights for our times. 

In this, he was echoing what Jesus said to his followers in describing them as the “light of the world” – that is, believers who should let their light shine before mankind through good works which in turn give glory to the Father in heaven. (Matthew 5: 14-16)

So we can follow the footsteps of Saints Jacinta and Francisco, safe in the knowledge that they were indeed shining lights for us. We should not be content, though, just to admire the illumination they gave through their beautiful self-sacrificing lives, but also seek to emulate them in our own lesser way, and thus become ourselves little lights in an increasingly dark world.

But despite this darkness, the world has been redeemed by Jesus – and Our Lady’s apparitions at Fatima are a striking proof of that fact and also a pledge that even in our times, the darkness cannot ultimately overcome the light of Christ and that in the end her Immaculate Heart will triumph.

God Bless
Donal
on behalf of WAF England and Wales Committee

You can sign up for this newsletter here:
https://worldfatima-englandwales.org.uk/newsletter/

And please feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone you think might be
interested.

info@worldfatima-englandwales.org.uk
www.worldfatima-englandwales.org.uk/
SPRIRITUAL DIRECTOR - FR Jason
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World Apostolate of Fatima England and Wales
Vatican grants a Jubilee Year to the Shrine of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Pontevedra for the centenary of Our Lady’s Apparition to Sister Lucia. The Vatican has granted the Convent-Shrine of Pontevedra, in Spain, the privilege of celebrating a Marian Jubilee Year from December 10, 2025 to December 10, 2026, on the occasion of the centenary of the apparition of Our Lady and the Child Jesus to Sister Lucia. It was during this apparition, on December 10, 1925, that the devotion of the First Five Saturdays of the month was requested by Our Lady. The devotion consists in going for Confessing, receiving Holy Communion, reciting five decades of the rosary, and keep Our Lady’s company for 15 minutes while meditating on the mysteries of the rosary, with the intention of making reparation to Her Immaculate Heart. The commemoration will begin on December 10, 2025, date of the apparition and will be extended to December 2026. In granting this Jubilee Year, the Holy See is offering a special period of spiritual graces to all those who shall make a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Pontevedra and fulfill the required precepts to obtain the indulgences of the jubilee. The World Apostolate of Fatima has launched an International Congress in Fatima and a pilgrimage to Pontevedra and Santiago of Compostela from December 5 to 12, 2025 , with the purpose to grow in knowledge and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and to join the solemn celebrations of the centenary of the apparitions in Pontevedra, reinforcing the importance of the First Saturdays request. Registrations are still open! If you have not registered yet, please rush to do it and do not miss this unique opportunity. For more information and registration click here: https://congress.worldfatima.com/#info The House of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Pontevedra, is run by the religious congregation “Servants of the Lord”, who are now setting up a network of volunteers to assist in welcoming the pilgrims and visitors during the centenary year. A set of pastoral activities will also mark the occasion. The official program for the celebrations of the centenary will hopefully be soon released. Here is the webpage, in Spanish, with more information: https://www.casadelinmaculadocorazon.es/ Let us start preparing our hearts for this, with our prayers. Kind regards, Nuno Prazeres / Ana Reis World Apostolate of Fatima – Intl. Secretariat
Just over a century ago, between May and October 1917, Our Lady appeared at Fátima in Portugal, at the height of World War I – as Europe was tearing itself apart in a fratricidal struggle – with a message of peace and salvation for all. In our own time, we can see that we live in a world where peace is still at a premium; particularly in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia we have a situation reminiscent of the worst aspects of the terrible trench warfare of the First World War. Eight years after her apparitions to the children of Fátima – Jacinta and Francisco Marto, and Lucia dos Santos – the Blessed Virgin appeared to the eldest of them, Sr Lucia, while she was a postulant in the Dorothean convent at Pontevedra in Spain. 10 December 1925, she fully revealed the Five First Saturdays devotion associated with the Fátima message. The centenary of this apparition is being celebrated this year by the World Apostolate of Fátima (WAF) in England & Wales, which is part of a worldwide organisation which is the officially approved Fátima body in the Church. The Apostolate is arranging for two Fatima statues, and relics of Saints Jacinta and Francisco Marto, to visit all the cathedrals in England and Wales between May of this year and October 2026, in a repeat of what happened in 2017, the Fátima centenary year. The Five First Saturdays is a monthly devotion, to be done over five consecutive months, which involves the recitation the rosary with a 15-minute mediation, plus Confession and Holy Communion, with the intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary afflicted by the sins of mankind. In return, Our Lady promised to those who complete the devotion assistance at the hour of death with all the graces necessary for salvation – that is a promise of heaven. This devotion is a very important part of the Fátima message, not least because it was linked by the Blessed Virgin to the conversion of Russia during her July 1917 apparition, when the children were given the Secret of Fátima in three parts. In this centenary year of the First Saturdays devotion, the current world situation has become increasingly more serious and worrying, and so a renewed promotion of the Fátima Message, with its promise of the conversion of Russia, the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and an era of peace, has become an even more urgent necessity. As regards Russia and its conversion, this is especially so, given the current aggression in Ukraine, which is also a threat to Europe as a whole, but particularly Eastern Europe. The situation is further complicated with what looks like less American involvement in Europe. At the same time, more countries, for example Iran and North Korea, are striving to develop their nuclear-weapons programmes. The Holy Land and the lands around it are seeing renewed bloodshed, and the China/Taiwan stand-off is an ever-present worry – and this is to say nothing of the continuing humanitarian crises, and the increasing persecution of Christians worldwide. If this seems alarmist or exaggerated, then it is sobering to recall that during her July 1917 apparition, Our Lady spoke of the danger of various nations being annihilated. On 13 July 1917, she requested, “the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the Communion of reparation on the First Saturdays.” The first part of her request was fulfilled when Pope St John Paul II consecrated Russia collegially with the bishops of the world on 25 March 1984; thereafter the Soviet Union and its Communist ideology collapsed from within. It now remains for the Church to fulfil the second part of Our Lady’s request – the promotion of the Five First Saturdays devotion. Then she will fulfil her promise, that “Russia will be converted and a period of peace will be granted to the world.” That is why the Five First Saturdays devotion is so important and why the centenary is being celebrated this year. In this centenary year of the First Saturdays devotion, humanity is entering a more precarious, indeed perilous era, and thus the Fátima Message must surely assume a much greater importance for the Church and the world. As individuals we can do very little to ameliorate the global problems we are now facing in a direct way, but at Fátima, Our Lady gave us the means to bring about real and lasting change in the world, and peace, and that is through the power of prayer to change minds and hearts. The Centenary of the Five First Saturdays devotion is an opportunity to present the Fátima message anew, through increased commitment to prayer and devotion. The World Apostolate of Fátima in England and Wales, through its programme of visits of the Fátima statues and relics to all the cathedrals in England and Wales is leading the way. Donal Anthony Foley is a committee member for the World Apostolate of Fátima (WAF) in England & Wales .
Prayer is the mainstay of the Christian and Catholic life and so it isn’t surprising to see how, once the Fatima children had experienced the awesomeness and power of the angel of Fatima and the beauty and goodness of Our Lady, they increasingly devoted their lives to prayer. We can learn some important lessons from this and from the Fatima message, generally, for our own prayer lives. The Angel of Portugal, or Angel of Peace, as he identified himself, appeared to the three seers during the summer of 1916, when they were playing on the stone slabs of the well at the bottom of the garden belonging to Lucia’s parents. “What are you doing?” he asked. “Pray, pray very much! The most holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary have designs of mercy on you. Offer prayers and sacrifices constantly to the Most High.” That the angel should have spoken to the children in this way is highly significant. He had previously appeared to them in the spring and invited them to pray with him as follows: “My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love You! I ask pardon of You for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love You!” – telling them that the Hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to their supplications. He appeared again in the fall and taught them a prayer of adoration of reparation for sins against the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, known as The Angel Prayer. Sister Lucia tells us, “His words engraved themselves so deeply on our minds that we could never forget them. From then on, we used to spend long periods of time, prostrate like the Angel, repeating his words, until sometimes we fell, exhausted.” Later on, during the apparitions of Our Lady, she too, was insistent on the great importance of prayer, calling them to pray the Rosary every day, and relating that Francisco must pray “many Rosaries” before he would be called home to heaven. Following their kidnapping by the local mayor on August 13, 1917, the Blessed Virgin implored, “Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners; for many souls go to hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and pray for them.” From all of this, we can deduce that their vocation was so exalted that a complete dedication to prayer was demanded of them and that this ought to come before everything else. Sister Lucia later wrote that the Blessed Virgin was not just speaking to three little children. Surely, we who seek to follow in the footsteps of the seers, need to make prayer much more the center of our lives. Prayer Makes A Difference When the Blessed Virgin appeared in Belgium in the early 1930s, at Beauraing and Banneux, the message she delivered then also focused on the importance of prayer. During the apparitions, she told the children at Beauraing to “pray, pray very much,” and to “pray always,” while at Banneux, she told the seer to “pray much.” This was in the context of the rise of Nazism in neighboring Germany, with all the terrible evils that it would bring down on the world. It can be difficult to pray, at times, even when we are in a calm and recollected mood – it becomes much more difficult if we are disturbed by a spirit of fear or discontent at what is going on around us or in the news, or on social media. Somehow, we have to be so focused on prayer that it acts as a rock in our lives and prevents the currents of discontent which swirl around us from overwhelming us. The reality is that rather than neglecting prayer we need to realize that, following the teaching of Our Lady, our prayers and sacrifices really do matter and really do make a difference, and also that they enable us to remain steadfast in the Faith, regardless of what is happening in the world. If, as she repeatedly reminded us at Fatima, the Rosary has the power to stop wars and bring about peace, then praying it devoutly can certainly help us to deal with the lesser problems that we have to deal with in everyday life. Sister Lucia is reported to have said, “The Most Holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given new efficacy in the recitation of the Holy Rosary. She has given this efficacy to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families … that cannot be solved by the Rosary.” It’s very easy to get caught up in the idea that the “end times” are upon us, or just around the corner. But Our Lady promised at Fatima that in the end her Immaculate Heart would triumph and that a period of peace would be granted to the world. Therefore, despite the chaos that flares up in our modern world periodically, we are, in a deeper sense, moving onward towards a time of peace, and we ought to concentrate on that rather than on the transitory events of each day. The Fatima seers are our models regarding prayer, and we too must allow ourselves to be led deeper into prayer by the Blessed Virgin, and particularly the prayer of the Rosary. If we do that, we will be truly living the message of Fatima. Donal Anthony Foley
A Novena to Our Lady of Fatima To run from 4th to 13th May or 4th to 13th October A wonderful resource provided by Fr Richard Nesbitt 
Here are some extracts from Fr John de Marchi’s book The True Story of Fatima , describing the penitential aspect of early pilgrimages to Fatima. They show the original spirit animating the early pilgrims to Fatima, many of whom walked to the Cova da Iria, and then spent the night in the open air without any accommodation and so doing an All Night Vigil. This is the spirit that can also be reproduced by a modern walking pilgrimage to the Shrine, or indeed to any recognised Marian shrine. Fr de Marchi writes describing the situation in the 1930’s and 1940’s: “There must be some reason..., why Fatima, which appears as undisturbed a place as any in the western world, has been able to draw to itself on certain days more pilgrims than have ever crowded, as excess population, the city of Rome itself—with Rome's great treasures, glories, and long tradition as the heart and mind of the Church. A million people (a number equal to one-seventh of the total Portuguese population) have assembled within and about the rocky field near Fatima that is known as the Cova da Iria. “There are no hotel accommodations nor any other shelter for those who come to Fatima at these extraordinary times. There is only this open field and the surrounding slopes of the simple countryside to provide a resting place. Customarily, on these few great occasions, the pilgrims arrive the night before the scheduled devotions. Often it has rained the length of the night, as though to test the fibre of the faithful. It seems fair enough, on the evidence, to say that Christian devotion has never in modern times exceeded the fervour of these demonstrations in the Cova da Iria on the thirteenth day of May or October in any of recent years. “The pilgrimages to the Cova da Iria grew to immense proportions, not only from Portugal but from both hemispheres and almost every corner of the earth. Fatima was to call down upon Portugal an immensity of grace, and for Christendom at large has come to symbolise the spiritual war against Communism and to be the focal point of the new crusade. “The apostolic nuncio presided at the first Portuguese national pilgrimage on May 13, 1937, at which it is calculated some half million pilgrims were present. The second national pilgrimage took place on May 13, 1938, and was the fulfilment of a promise made by the Portuguese episcopate if our Lady should deliver Portugal from the Communist menace which caused the terrible civil war in Spain, and which was waged in places only a few yards from her soil. “The 13th of October, 1939, marked one of the most glorious pages in the history of the great new Marian shrine. The cardinal patriarch of Lisbon presided at the pilgrimage to implore peace for Portugal. “From the 8th to the 13th of April, 1942, on the occasion of their second national congress, the Juventude Catolica Feminine (Girls Catholic Youth Movement) organised the triumphal journey of the statue from the Chapel of the Apparitions, to Lisbon and back again to the Cova da Iria by the 13th of May, where another notable national pilgrimage took place to celebrate the silver jubilee of Fatima. In October of the same year, the Holy Father, Pius XII, broadcast in Portuguese his famous consecration of the human race to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Fr de Marchi also gives this testimony from Senhora Maria da Capelinha, who was associated with events at the Cova da Iria right from the beginning. “After that day on which the sun danced (she has told us) there was an endless procession of people to the Cova, especially on Sundays and on the 13th day of each month. The people came from all around—all kinds of people, really. The men came with their sticks and bundles on their shoulders, and the women came carrying children. Even the old and infirm came faithfully, and all of them would kneel near the tree where our Lady had appeared. A remarkable thing, but no one ever seemed weary or tired when he was here. It was, from the beginning, a place that gave strength. “Here,” said Maria da Capelinha, “at this holy place, mark you, nothing was ever sold, not a cup of wine or of water—nothing! And, oh, what good times those were for true prayer and true penance. Often we would weep with emotion.” Telling us of this place where her own heart and hopes had found an enduring home, Maria da Capelinha would sometimes have tears of great and remembered joy running down her cheeks: “Here there were many tears and prayers for our Lady, Father, and when there were plenty of people, we would sing our favourite hymns. All of us, it seems, did so much penance with such joy of heart, that I believe if I had died just then that our Lady would have taken me straight to heaven. Surely those days are long gone, but I cannot help myself from wishing to live them again. “People went home contented from the Cova because our Lady always heard their prayers. Truly, recalling those times I can think of no one saying that our Lady had not responded to prayer. All who came, it seems, came with faith, or else, if they did not have it at first, they found it here. “One day a man who had come a long way was standing there soaked with the rain. I went up to him and asked him if there were any ill effects. ‘No,’ he told me, ‘I am every bit all right and have never passed such a happy night as this. I have come and yet I do not feel at all tired. I am so happy in this place.’ I remember this because, apart from the rain, it was winter, and terribly cold, and this man had passed the whole night in the open air, since there was no shelter for him.”
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales Resolution on the Five First Saturday devotion  The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales met for their Spring Plenary Assembly at Buckfast Abbey in Devon from 5-8 May. During this meeting they passed various resolutions, including the following one which expresses thanks to WAF England and Wales for the World Apostolate of Fatima Centenary Cathedral Tour: "The Bishops of England and Wales are grateful to the World Apostolate of Fatima (WAF) Team for organising the visitation of the two National Pilgrim Statues and the Relics of Saints Jacinta and Francisco to all Cathedrals and Catholic shrines in England and Wales between May 2025 and October 2026. In this Jubilee Year of Hope, the bishops recognise the profound invitations to peace, prayer and penance contained in the apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima. They encourage all Catholics to a renewal of faith, especially in their love for the Eucharist and the sacraments and commend the Five First Saturdays devotion as a fruitful means to enter into this renewal." Our National Spiritual Director, Canon Jason Jones commented about this development as follows: "In this month of May of the centennial year of the Five First Saturday Devotion, the World Apostolate of Fatima England and Wales, rejoices in the official recognition and support it has received from the Conference of Catholic Bishops England and Wales. Our Bishops met recently at Buckfast Abbey and with the support of our Bishop Patron Archbishop Mark of Cardiff-Menevia, the Resolution was passed to support the Cathedral Visitation initiative of WAF during the Centennial Year. "The WAF takes great encouragement in this recognition and thanks the Bishops of our lands for their gracious support to the various projects and initiatives undertaken by WAF as a means of the New Evangelisation within the Church."
Accession of Pope Leo XIV There are definite signs from both the words and actions of Pope Leo XIV so far that his pontificate will have a distinctly Marian aspect:   • First Public Prayer as Pope : Immediately after his election, Pope Leo XIV invited the faithful to pray a Hail Mary with him during his first public appearance, connecting his new ministry to the intercession of Mary and explicitly invoking her protection and guidance for his mission and for the Church. • First Trip Outside the Vatican: Less than 48 hours after his election, Pope Leo XIV’s very first journey was to the Shrine of the Mother of Good Counsel in Genazzano, a Marian sanctuary beloved by the Augustinians and historically significant for papal devotion to Mary. There, he prayed before the ancient image of the Virgin, recited St. John Paul II’s prayer to the Mother of Good Counsel with those present, and concluded with a Hail Mary and the Salve Regina. • Entrusting His Pontificate to Mary: During his address at Genazzano, Pope Leo XIV stated, “I wanted so much to come here in these first days of the new ministry that the Church has entrusted to me,” and reiterated his “trust in the Mother of Good Counsel,” quoting Mary’s words from the Wedding at Cana: “Whatever He tells you, do it.” He encouraged the faithful to be inspired by Mary’s example and to remain faithful to her. • Visit to St. Mary Major: On his way back from Genazzano, Pope Leo XIV stopped at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome, the most important Marian church in the city. There, he prayed before the icon of Mary Salus Populi Romani, "The Salvation of the Roman People," again highlighting his Marian devotion.  • Consistent Marian Devotion as Cardinal : Even before his election, as Cardinal, he celebrated Mass at the Genazzano shrine and used his homily to urge the faithful to look to Mary for inspiration in spreading peace and reconciliation.  In short, Pope Leo XIV’s early actions and words - beginning with his first public prayer, his immediate pilgrimage to Marian shrines, and his explicit entrustment of his mission to Our Lady - demonstrate a clear Marian emphasis that is likely to shape his pontificate.   We all need to pray that Pope Leo will lead the Church under the guidance of Jesus and Mary and that they will protect him from all harm.   Prayer for Pope Leo XIV   O God, who in your providential design willed that your Church be built upon blessed Peter, whom you set over the other Apostles, look with favour, we pray, on Leo our Pope and grant that he, whom you have made Peter’s successor, may be for your people a visible source and foundation of unity in faith and of communion. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen. Pontificate of Pope Leo XIV consecrated to Our Lady The newly elected Pope Leo XIV was evoked on several occasions during this May 12-13 Pilgrimage to Fatima. The most significant reference was the act of Consecration to Our Lady of the Pontificate of Pope Leo XIV that D. José Ornelas made, in the presence of the Portuguese episcopate, before the Image of the Virgin of Fatima, at the end of the Mass of this 13th.    "We are at your feet, the Bishops of Portugal and this multitude of pilgrims, on the 108th anniversary of your Apparition to the Little Shepherds, in this Cova da Iria, to consecrate to you the ministry of the current successor of Peter and Bishop of Rome, the Holy Father Leo XIV", he began by saying, in the introduction to the jubilee prayer of consecration, where he asked the Mother of God for tenderness, discernment, courage and the ability to, inspired by the Message of Fatima, "continue to launch to the world the urgent cry for peace", as he did in the first words he addressed in Rome after his election.  The introduction to prayer also highlighted the importance that the Successor of Peter has in the Message of Fatima and evoked the visit of the last four Popes to Fatima, specifically the last presence of Pope Francis and the appeal he left here for a Church open to all.  The International Anniversary Mass on May 13 was concelebrated by 27 bishops, including two cardinals – Cardinal D. António Marto, bishop emeritus of Leiria-Fatima, and Cardinal D. Fortunato Frezza, canon of St. Peter's Basilica – and 282 priests. Also present at the altar were 14 deacons.
A beautiful insight into the Holy Mass and activities at the Shrine of Our lady in Fatima in Portugal, on this special anniversary. Presented by EWTN. The event celebrates 108 years of Our Lady's message to the children.
Hi Fatima team, I wanted to share that we have been praying at our parish to Our Lady for an increase in parishioners attending our Five First Saturday prayer events. I am delighted to report that we are now seeing around 15-20 participants most months – praise be to God! 
