Scottish Catholic Observer

Pope Francis will consecrate the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in October, it has been announced.

The consecration will take place on October 13, as part of the Marian Day celebration that will involve the statue of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima.

“The Holy Father strongly desires that the Marian Day may have present, as a special sign, one of the most significant Marian icons for Christians throughout the world and, for that reason, we thought of the beloved original statue of Our Lady of Fatima,” Cardinal Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation, said.

The statue of Our Lady of Fatima is expected to leave for Rome on the morning of October 12 and return on the afternoon of October 13. The statue normally resides in the shrine’s Little Chapel of Apparitions.

Cardinal Fisichella highlighted that ‘all ecclesial entities of Marian spirituality’ are invited to take part in the two-day celebration, with groups expected to attend from the UK.

The two-day observance includes an October 12 pilgrimage to the tomb of St Peter and moments of prayer and meditation. The following day, Pope Francis will celebrate Mass in St Peter’s Square.

Our Lady of Fatima appeared to three shepherd children in the village of Fatima in Portugal in 1917. She warned of violent trials in the 20th century if the world did not make reparation for sins. She urged prayer and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

At the request of Pope Francis, Cardinal Jose Polycarp, the Patriarch of Lisbon, consecrated the Pope’s pontificate to Our Lady of Fatima on May 13, her feast day.

Today’s news arrives as Catholics in Ireland prepare for their country to be consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary tomorrow, the solemnity of the Assumption.

Bishops, priests and Faithful from across the country will be in attendance when Cardinal Seán Brady, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, leads the Act of Consecration during the annual Novena to Our Lady of Knock on the Assumption.

—For more on Irish consecration, click here.