The statues of Our Lady of Fatima, Saints Francisco and Jacinta Marto, and their cousin, Servant of God Sister Lucia of Jesus were brought to Lincoln Street from Belmont Street after the closing of Our Lady of Fatima Church in 2008. The Belmont Street shrine was supposed to be dedicated on July 26, 1957, the Feast of Saint Anne, mother of Mary, but the base for the statue of Our Lady was not yet delivered because of a strike at the cement plant. The statues were then dedicated by Father Joseph P. O’Connell after the 8:15 a.m. low Mass on August 3, 1957. The most recent improvement to the shrine is the pedestal on which Our Lady stands, with the supplies being donated by Comosse Masonry.

Our Lady’s messages to the three saintly peasant children in 1917 continue to offer timely lessons to us. Consider that in all of Portugal, the only town with an Islamic name is Fatima, as it was named for the daughter of Muhammed. Consider also that these days, Muslim families can be seen walking up and down Lincoln Street and waiting for the bus right on the bench in front of Saint Bernard’s. As we think of Our Lady’s admonition to pray the rosary daily for peace in the world, we ought to entrust our prayers for persecuted Christians in the Middle East and our petitions for an end to violence in our own streets to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Perhaps the perfect prayer for these intentions and for our Muslim neighbors is this one, which an angel instructed the children to pray in the spring of 1916:

My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love You!

I beg pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love You. Amen.