SW News: A Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima has arrived in the Greek Catholic Church of the Nativity of the Holy Virgin in Lviv, Ukraine, from Portugal. It was sent from the Marian sanctuary following a request made by the Metropolitan of the Greek Catholic Church of Lviv Archbishop Ihor Vozniak. The Pilgrim Image 13, one of the replicas of the original statue of the Blessed Mother who appeared in Fatima, will remain in Ukraine until April 15.

On March 17, the Pilgrim Virgin statue was received by the Metropolitan, priests of the Greek Catholic Church and scores of believers and taken in procession to the church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin. After being enthroned in the church, there was a special prayer service in which hundreds of believers took part.

On May 13, 1917, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children-Lucia dos Santos, Francisco and Jacinta Marto-in the village of Fatima while they were grazing sheep. The children saw “a Lady more brilliant than the sun” who appeared to them on the 13th day of the next six months except in August when She manifested on the 19th. During the apparitions, the Blessed Virgin exhorted them to pray the Rosary to usher in peace in the world.

The last vision took place on October 13 when thousands of people, including non-believers, witnessed a celestial spectacle known as the ‘Miracle of the Sun’ in which the sun turned into an opaque spinning disc, spreading multi-colored rays on the crowd as it seemed to move towards them before retreating to its orbit in a zig-zag manner. The event was reported by the secular media as well.

The world-famous International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima was sculpted in 1947 by Jose Thedim based on the description given by Sr Lucia, one of the three young seers. On May 13, 1947, in the presence of pilgrims, the statue was blessed by the Bishop of Leiria at Fatima. The original Pilgrim Statue traveled extensively worldwide for more than 30 years before being returned to the Sanctuary at Fatima. Inspired by the many wonders accompanying the travels of the statue, 13 more replicas were made so that the Fatima message could become widely known to many.

On Tuesday, March 13, Pope Francis announced his decision to consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. On his official Twitter account, the Holy Father said that the consecration will take place at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.