Feast of Our Lady of Fatima at IC

Ok, I guarantee that this is really, really the last post on Fatima =) Really.

At Casa Andrew, we have a strong devotion to Our Lady of Fatima as you can see in the altar dedicated to her in my home.

And where in many other parishes, there is usually a Grotto dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes, in my parish, our Marian Shrine is dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima, a testament to the Portuguese heritage of many of the Eurasians whose ancestry is Portuguese who live in my parish who brought along their great devotion to her from the homelands.

We have Masses on the outdoor altar at the Shrine every 13th day of the month to commemorate the apparitions at Fatima.

But as this is the month of October it was a little bit grander. Throughout the whole of this month (as well as in May), before every Mass, the Holy Rosary was led by the various ministries and apostolates of the parish and also the cell groups.

On the 13th of October, the Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima, the celebrations culminated in a grand candle lit procession where an old statue of Our Lady of Fatima, shown above decked out with roses on its processional pedestal.

Before Mass, the Holy Rosary was prayed, as we meditated on the Joyful Mysteries. Then, after the anticipated Sunday Mass, the procession began as the altar servers and the flower girls processed before the Statue of Our Lady which was born in procession by members of the Chinese and Tamil Apostolate.

Note the incense rising before the Statue as it passes through the Church portals. As I've told the servers many times before, if I can see my hand in front of my face, they're not using enough incense =)

The procession, followed by the people bearing lighted candles, then made it's way around the Church.

Unfortunately, I was unable to witness all of this personally as I was leading the chanting of the Litany of Loreto during the procession with fellow cantor Mark Yeoh.

In the photos above and below, you can see the little lights of the candles help by the people.

The procession then made it's way back into the Church for the Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament.

After the Mass, the roses and flowers from the Processional Canopy was distributed to the people to bring blessing to their homes. I was fortunate to obtain a white rose which was put in a brass vase in front of the Statue of Our Lady of Grace on the main altar in my home. This is the first thing you see when you come through the door and in fact, can be seen from the street.

I've never posted on this altar before but look for it as it's coming soon in an issue of Sacred Spaces in Casa Andrew =)

Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis.