Sunday October 13, 2013 is a day that will see Pope Francis consecrate the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary as part of the Marian Day celebrations. The original statue of Our Lady of Fatima left Fatima, Portugal on the morning of October 12th and is now in Rome. Various churches were open this morning for Confession and Adoration. At noon Saint Peter’s Square was cleared of people prior to the arrival of the statue. At 15:00 the entrance gates will be opened for those who have tickets and then at 17:00 there will be a reception of the original statue of Our Lady of Fatima and a Marian catechesis will be given by Pope Francis.
After that the statue will be transferred to the Sanctuary of Divino Amore for all-night veneration. We expect there to be fairly large crowds here throughout the night.
There will be many Marian groups in attendance on Sunday, including representatives from the following shrines:
Aparecida, Brazil; Lujan, Argentina; Lourdes, France; Czestochowa, Poland; Banneux, Belgium; Nazareth, Israel; Nairobi, Kenya; Akita, Japan; Vailankanny, India; and Washington, D.C.
Also in attendance will be a delegation from Medjugorje, including the pastor and other villagers, who were invited to participate. Medjugorje has not been given shrine status, but is currently under investigation and a ruling is expected fairly soon.
Then on Sunday at 10:30 Pope Francis will preside at Mass and make the Act of Entrustment to Mary. This is when he will consecrate the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It was the request of Our Lady of Fatima that Russia be consecrated to her immaculate heart.
There has been some heated debate as to whether this was ever done, although Sister Lucia supposedly said that the consecration was accepted.
The events will be televised on EWTN; Salt+Light TV; Vatican TV and others. They will also be time-delayed so that you can watch them during the daytime wherever you live.
