Consider the Estátua de Nossa Senhora de Fátima not just a statue but a symbol of faith. It represents the apparitions reported by three shepherd children in Fátima Portugal. Our Lady of Fátima is a Catholic title of Mary. She is the mother of Jesus.
The story of this devotion began in 1917. Lúcia dos Santos and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto reported seeing the Virgin Mary. These apparitions occurred in Cova da Iria. José Alves Correia da Silva was the Bishop of Leiria. He declared these events worthy of belief in 1930.
The Estátua de Nossa Senhora de Fátima embodies this history. Pope Pius XII recognized its importance. He granted a pontifical decree of canonical coronation to the image in 1946. Cardinal Benedetto Aloisi Masella carried out the coronation. It is now permanently enshrined at the Chapel of the Apparitions of Fátima.
But where did the original statue of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima come from? Gilberto Fernandes dos Santos a devotee from Torres Novas ordered it in 1919. He commissioned Casa Fânzeres of Braga. Pilgrims wished to have a statue to identify as the Lady embraced of light. She appeared to the three Shepherds in 1917.
José Ferreira Thedim a saints carver created the statue. He was inspired by a picture of Our Lady of Lapa. Canon Manuel Formigão transmitted the seer’s account to him. The sculptor did not have direct testimony from Lucia Francisco and Jacinta. The statue stands 1.04 meters high. It is made of cedar wood from Brazil. Casa Fânzeres used polychromy and golden applications.
The statue was blessed in 1920 by Father Manuel Marques Ferreira. It was taken to the Chapel of the Apparitions that June. Maria Carreira known as Maria da Capelinha kept the statue safe at night. This custodian protected it. An explosion occurred in 1922 but the statue escaped without a scratch.
The crown worn by the Estátua de Nossa Senhora de Fátima holds significance. The women of Portugal offered it in 1942. It was made of gold and weighs 1.2 kilos. It contains 313 pearls and 2679 precious stones. Joalharia Leitão Irmão of Lisbon created it. Twelve artists worked on it for three months. In 1989 a bullet extracted from Pope John Paul II was added. He survived an assassination attempt in 1981. The Pope offered the bullet to the Shrine of Fatima in 1984. He believed Our Lady deflected the projectile.
Cardinal Aloisi Masella solemnly crowned the statue in 1946. The statue was restored by its author in 1951. It has been restored many times since then. Since 1982 the Estátua de Nossa Senhora de Fátima has stood on a plinth. The plinth marks where the holmoak tree once stood. Our Lady appeared to the three Shepherds on that tree.
Once protected by bulletproof glass the statue was kept inside the Chapel. This changed in 2009. The Shrine of Fatima began broadcasting the Chapel online 24 hours a day. The sculpture representing Our Lady is now permanently outside. People can see it not only in Cova da Iria but worldwide.
The Estátua de Nossa Senhora de Fátima has left the Chapel of the Apparitions only 12 times. The last time was in 2013. It was at the request of Pope Francis.
The Estátua de Nossa Senhora de Fátima continues to inspire. It reminds us of faith devotion and the messages of the Virgin Mary. It stands as a symbol of hope and peace.