SW News: After a gap of 10 years, the celebrated statue of Our Lady enshrined in the Chapel of the Apparition in Fatima, Portugal, will be taken out of the Sanctuary next month. It will be placed in the sanctuary of the pavilion in Lisbon’s Parque Tejo where the concluding Mass of World Youth Day will be offered in the presence of Pope Francis. The last time it was taken out of the chapel was in October 2013 when it was carried to Rome for the Marian Day hosted as part of the Year of Faith.

Once it is taken to Lisbon for WYD, it will be the 13th time the statue is leaving the Marian Sanctuary. It has visited Rome thrice and the same number of times as the Portuguese capital. On two occasions, it was taken to the sanctuary of Christ the King in Almada. Twice the sacred statue was taken to the Diocese of Leiria Fatima and on one occasion each, it visited Madrid and Vila Vicosa in the Archdiocese of Evora.

The website of the sanctuary mentions that the presence of the Holy Virgin’s statue at the altar of the WYD closing Mass is an acknowledgment of the significance occupied by this image in the religious landscape of Portugal. The WYD Local Organizing Committee will make a solemn invitation to the shrine to send the sacred statue to Lisbon.

As per the shrine’s website, all steps are being taken to ensure the safety and dignity of the image which was sculpted a century ago. On the afternoon of August 6, the statue will be brought back to the Chapel of the Apparition.  Apart from venerating the sacred icon of the Blessed Mother in Lisbon, the Holy Father Pope Francis will also be praying in front of the statue on August 5 when he visits the shrine. At the sanctuary, he will pray with the sick people.