The Pilgrim Padre

The following is an article published in the Sunday Nov. 24, 1991 edition of Mid Day, the large circulation daily Indian paper published in Bombay.

by Raymond Fernandes

       NINE HOURS old in the city and already over two-hundred-thousand pilgrims had trudged from Bombay’s far corners to attend a service, stand dutifully in a queue and kiss Her feet.

       She stood there below the canopy of blue, slender and serene. Sans comment of any sort, She listened to everything Her devotees had to beseech of Her. They all came to beg forgiveness, implore a cure or just make a general petition.

       Every single person in that huge crowd in the compound of Mount Carmel’s Church, Bandra had heard of Her wondrous ways. She made the blind see and the lame walk. So they all made their way to the statue of Our Lady of Fatima, each with his or her own request.

Above, Father Maschio, who has spent more than 60 years in Bombay, India. He is known throughout India and internationally for the great work he does among Indian poor. At left, Father Brian Fernandes, who invited the Pilgrim Virgin to his parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Bombay, were over 100,000 people came to venerate Our Pilgrim Virgin Statue in November, 1991.

He Traverses the Globe Attracting the Faithful

       But Father Gruner is no ordinary traveler.

       Lost almost in that sea of people, far, far removed from the thronging crowd, was a man fair of face, whose fast-thinning crop of hair had left a crown around his head. Intent of expression, he hovered around the altar, taking care not to stray too far away.

       Father Nicholas Gruner, Our Lady’s escort around the world. And it is his life’s mission to accompany the statue to as many nations as he can and propagate Her Message to the people.

       To talk to, he is mesmerizing; and even though he wends his way through the labyrinths of matters theological, what he says is riveting. His mission, he reveals, is to lay bare the secrets of Our Lady of Fatima. The intricacies of the revelation of May 13, 1917, when Our Lady appeared in the village of Fatima, Portugal, to three little children — Francisco, 9, Jacinta, 7, and Lucy, 10 — and in a vision divulged three secrets concerning the future of the world.

       Now referred to as the three Secrets of Our Lady of Fatima, they showed the children a vision of what hell is like, predicted the rise of an atheistic, anti-spiritual power and the possibility of a takeover of the world unless appropriate measures were taken to counter the spread of evil.

       As Father Gruner revealed, though the world today knows the first two of these secrets, the third — and most important — remains shrouded in mystery. Of the three children who were privy to Our Lady’s Message, two died soon after; but Lucy dos Santos, the eldest, is still alive though living a cloistered life in a Carmelite nunnery at Coimbra, a university town in Portugal.

       Lucy alone knows the whole truth of Our Lady of Fatima. But because of her vows she’s not telling. Even though a German, Cardinal Ratzinger, who is high up in the Church hierarchy, has spoken to her and has revealed all in a book, there’s much controversy that surrounds the vision the children once saw. And much politics too, both inside the Church and in diplomatic ties between the Vatican and Moscow.

       There have been misinformation campaigns and attempts to camouflage the truth. Even hierarchical pressure that has been brought to bear on those who have made it their life’s mission to propagate Our Lady’s Message and get to the bottom of the matter.

Father Gruner investing Our Lady's Faithful in India, in the Brown Scapular.

       Father Gruner is at the helm of one of these organizations, the Canada-based International Fatima Rosary Crusade. Since 1977, he has been the custodian of this particular statue of Our Lady. There are only 75 similar statues in the world which the Pope has consecrated.

       The Ontario-based statue, which has been the focus of attention in Canada and the USA, the Philippines, Rome and now India, was modeled in 1967, not far from the village of Fatima in Portugal.

       After it was consecrated by the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Father Gruner took it on a five-month tour. And wherever it went, miracles were reported.

       Congregations sat transfixed as pleasant aromas wafted from the statue of Our Lady, people testified that the statue has wondrous powers, that the position of the head changed and the face registered different emotions.

       Father Gruner himself has a couple of tales to relate. Once, when he was taking the statue to Norman Welles, a town in the Arctic, he was reluctant to put the wooden box that contained the statue in the hold of the plane. And the pilot, a surly chap if ever there was one, was no help at all.

       Fearing for its safety he kept watch for a while. Then he happened to peer outside and guess what he saw? The shadow of that plane — the only one incidentally that could have taken Father Gruner to Norman Welles in time for him to keep his appointments — hugged the clouds and was girdled by a rainbow that indicated to him in no uncertain terms that the statue was safe.

       As he told this, Father Gruner’s voice became heavy with emotion. Evidently he has been through a lot on his travels with Our Lady.

The people and clergy of Tuticorin led by their bishop, Most Reverend Amalnather, organized a beautiful reception for Our Lady. Here, the procession takes Our Lady to the gate of Sacred Heart Cathedral where Mass was offered outdoors. The bishop estimates that over 200,000 people were present.

       Another time, the Pilgrim Virgin Statue had to spend the night in a house where the man was hostile to the idea of sharing his roof.

       "He walked into the hall intent on damaging the statue," Father Gruner said, his eyes misting and his voice cracking. "But instead of doing anything so silly, he stopped midway in his stride and knelt before Our Lady."

        Father Gruner has several stories to recount, but the point is the same: Our Lady doesn't need him to keep Her safe; instead She protects him. "I don't wear a bullet-proof vest," Father Gruner said. "I wear a scapular instead."

       Come to think of it, what with the conspiracies and plots that the International Fatima Rosary Crusade finds itself tangled in and the rumors flying fast and thick, Father Gruner sure has need for a bullet-proof vest.

       Viewed from the point of the internal strife in the Roman Catholic Church, he is a rebel without a cause. And for his cause he is willing to cross pens with anyone. At his disposal to espouse his case he has his own television program that goes out to 500 cities in North America each week, a radio program that reaches out to 180 countries across the globe and a magazine, The Fatima Crusader, that has a readership in all six continents.

The Whole Truth

       His aim, of course is to unveil the whole truth about Our Lady of Fatima. As he says, "The moment has come"; and any time now the Third Secret will be told.

       Six years is all he asks for. By 1998, he predicts that at least a beginning will be made and the world will be on the path of reparation.

       The missionary who was in Bombay last weekend, is now somewhere down south. From Bombay he took Our Lady to Goa and thence to Trichur. Come Tuesday and he will be back in Bombay. But this time only en route to Canada. He will be back in India though. Hopefully soon. "Because here there is devotion." And where there’s devotion there’s hope.

       Escorting Our Lady is no easy task. Ask any of the five-hundred-thousand-plus pilgrims in Bandara, Bombay alone who came to pay obeisance. They’ll tell you.

Archbishop Arokiaswamy, the Bishop of Thanjavur, stands with the Pilgrim Virgin in his Cathedral on the Feast of Our Lady's Presentation in the Temple November 21, 1991. He walked with many thousands of his people in the procession to the Cathedral where he led them in the Rosary, after which he listened to Father Gruner preach at length on the Message of Fatima and he consecrated his diocese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

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