Two
Jesuit priests who had served as chaplains in World War II decided that they would use
their discharge allowance to build a retreat in Beaconsfield, Québec,
after the war. The grassy wooded property acquired by them for this
purpose was the perfect site for Eleanor Milne's monumental group, Our
Lady of Fatima and Three Children. The larger than life sculpture depicted
Our Lady of the Rosary in a vision that appeared to some Portuguese children
in 1917.
Devotion
to Our Lady of Fatima, named after a small
settlement in Portugal, has spread throughout the world. The apparition of the Virgin Mary was reported
by three children playing in Cova de Iria, a pasture near Fátima. The
Virgin was said to have appeared on six occasions between May 13 and October
13, 1917. Repentance for sins with frequent
recitation of the rosary was urged upon the world during these appearances. The Roman Catholic
Church recognized the apparitions as genuine in 1930. A basilica was completed
in 1944, and it is now a popular destination for pilgrimages. In 1958
a statue of Our Lady of Fatima was erected on the site.
Reference:
"Fátima." Collier's Encyclopedia. Toronto: Maxwell MacMillan Canada, 1992.
EXTERNAL LINK:
Our Lady of Fatima Online. History of
Fatima in five languages and much else, including an interactive on-line
perpetual rosary.
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