Over 200,000 people filed by to venerate Our Lady's Sacred Image in Bombay Nov. 16th and 17th, 1991.

The following was printed in the Indian daily newspaper Mid-Day published on Nov. 16, 1991. This article helped to make Our Lady's visit to Bombay known to over 500,000 people there.

She has traversed continents and oceans innumerable times, without a word, but Her very presence evokes devotion and instills peace in every metropolis or hamlet She has set foot in.

The statue of Our Lady of Fatima, a rosewood replica of the divine vision of the Pilgrim Virgin that graced three children in the small town of Fatima in Portugal over seven decades ago, will be in Bombay for two days from tomorrow, on Her passage through the country.

"This is an unofficial visit", reminds Reverend Father Brian Fernandes of the Mount Carmel Church, the host parish for the divine visit to the city. The last 'official visit' to Bombay was in 1971, when the Lady had brief stopovers in all the city's parishes drawing mammoth crowds wherever She went. "We expect more crowds this time, at least 50,000 people," says the Father.

An unscheduled day's visit to Bombay by the Pilgrim Virgin in 1987, en route to Madras had devotees numbering nearly 125,000 flocking to Our Lady of Egypt Church in Kalina where She was kept.

This time, the statue, accompanied as always by a handful of the Canada-based Fatima crusaders, was on Her way out of the country after a week-long tour of Madras, when the Mount Carmel Church persuaded the troupe to make a detour and spend a weekend in Bombay.

Because Russia is not yet consecrated as Our Lady of Fatima requested, the lives and souls of our children are at stake. Pictured here, Our Lady visits the Sacred Heart school chapel in Thanjavur, India.

"People here, as in any other place in the world, are always eager for a glimpse of Our Lady, for there is a saying that She provides succor to all the sick and needy who come to Her in reverence," says Fernandes.

The history about Our Lady of Fatima dates back to World War I, when on May 13, 1917, She appeared in all Her splendor to three small children -- Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco, in Portugal and gave them the message of peace and sacrifice. Thereafter, for six months on the same day of the month, She appeared before the three children, and finally on October 13, She performed the miracle of the spinning sun witnessed by 70,000 people.

In Indian parishes where ever She went, thousands of Pilgrims flocked to see Her, to catch a glimpse of Her, to implore Her Assistance. Here in Our Lady of Remedy Parish in Bassein, the parish priest, along with his packed church, gives the IFRC Pilgrim Virgin a warm welcome.

The beautiful vision of the Lady was then sculpted in special statues for posterity and blessed by Pope Paul VI, of which only the statue of the Lady of Fatima, based in Canada, makes Her regular visits to various countries.

Father Fernandes does envisage accommodation problems as the St. Aloysius high school grounds, where a stage is being put up for the occasion, are likely to prove inadequate for the expected crowd.

The four-feet-high statue will be brought from the airport in an open jeep and kept for veneration at the grounds for two days. People belonging to all faiths, from in and around Bombay are expected to assemble at the church and the traffic police have made arrangements to ensure that the procession has a smooth journey to the Bandra grounds.

Father Fernandes, the main organizer behind the Bombay visit, attributes his success in persuading the Fatima crusaders to visit the city to his regular contact with them. Other parishes too would have liked Our Lady to visit their churches, but Fernandes, who has a special devotion for Fatima and has maintained good relations with the crusaders apart from visiting the statue abroad, finally ensured its visit here.

The church, on its part, has made preparations for Mass. Rosaries, holy pictures and medals, and Scapulars will be distributed to the devotees.

Here's one of the posters in the Tamil language in the city of Tuticorin, that helped draw more than 200,000 persons to pay homage to Our Day at the Cathedral where the bishop consecrated his diocese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on Nov. 14, 1991. Father Gruner says: "The devotion of so many people in that small city is indeed most inspiring." Tuticorin, which almost at the very southern tip of India, along with many other places Father Gruner visited on his trip, was first evangelized by St. Francis Xavier. May he and St. Thomas the apostle who went to India continue to bless our efforts on behalf of their beloved India.

Return to
Table of Contents