- CA ON00389 F26-13
- Series
- 1947-[199-]
This series is comprised of historical overviews, publications, promotional materials, ephemera, newspaper clippings, photographs, and albums related to the Our Lady of Fatima pilgrimage. The collection predominantly concerns Fr. Patrick Moore’s world tours, though it also includes records relating to Msgr. McGrath and Fr. Alphonsus Chafe.
The series is divided into the following subseries:
- Textual records
- Newspaper Clippings
- Photographs
- Albums
- Artifacts
Historical Overview:
The Society’s relationship with the statues of Our Lady of Fatima begins in October 1947, when the Society granted Msgr. William C. McGrath a leave of absence to accompany the second replica statue on a pilgrimage to the United States. The statue was blessed by the Bishop of Leiria in Fatima, Portugal on 13 October 1947. On October 19, the statue was crowned by Archbishop Alexandre Vachon on the grounds of Ottawa University and Msgr. McGrath’s initial two-year Fatima pilgrimage in America began.
In those two years, the Pilgrim Virgin statue visited more than fifty Dioceses in Canada and the United States, spreading the message of Fatima to approximately five million people across 900 churches, stadiums, and amphitheatres. Afterwards, Msgr. McGrath was to continue his pilgrimage for another 19 years.
In April 1948, Fr. Patrick Moore, SFM, travelled to Fatima to obtain the third replica statue of Our Lady of Fatima. Fr. Moore had previously been associated with Msgr. McGrath’s pilgrimage in the United States. After obtaining the third replica statue Fr. Moore then travelled to Rome, where Pope Pius XII gave his Papal blessing to the statue on May 22. From here, the statue was transported by Fr. Moore to the Dominican Republic, where she was enshrined in Ciudad Trujillo (now Santo Domingo) for the first time on 6 June 1948.
Fr. Moore’s pilgrimage would continue for 36 years, until 1984, covering nearly 300,000 miles by land, sea and air.