A wooden statue of Our Lady of Fatima, a family heirloom of local Sacred Hearts Sister Mary Dolorine Pires, was recently gifted to Bishop Larry Silva and placed in his downtown Honolulu chancery office. The statue will be placed in the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace for veneration during a special Oct. 13 “holy hour” marking the opening of the 100th anniversary year of the Marian apparitions in Portugal.
Hawaii’s own replica of the world-renowned image of the Marian apparition will be on display
Story and photos by Darlene J.M. Dela Cruz
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Hawaii is joining a nationwide grassroots effort started by devotees of Our Lady of Fatima to bridge the conclusion of the Jubilee Year of Mercy with the opening of the centennial celebration of the famed Marian apparitions in Portugal.
“Solidarity in Prayer,” a website launched at www.solidarityinprayer.com, is calling for U.S. parishes to hold a holy hour of adoration and reflection Oct. 13. The day marks the anniversary of the last of six apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to three shepherd children in the Portuguese town of Fatima in 1917.
The Diocese of Honolulu will be hosting a “Solidarity in Prayer” holy hour at the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, 7-8 p.m. on Oct. 13. All are welcome.
The evening observance will include exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, rosary in honor of Our Lady of Fatima, a homily by Bishop Larry Silva, silent reflection, benediction, songs and prayers. Attendees are invited to bring lei and flowers as offerings to the Blessed Mother.
The Jubilee Year of Mercy ends Nov. 20.
A lady dressed in white
Intricately carved details on the Blessed Mother’s hands.
The story of Our Lady of Fatima has spurred 100 years of deep devotion in Catholics around the world. The apparitions began on May 13, 1917, when siblings Francisco and Jacinta Marto, and their cousin Lucia Santos, were herding sheep near the Fatima village. Francisco was age 8 at the time, Jacinta age 7 and Lucia, 10.
They reportedly saw a bright light flash, followed by the appearance of “a lady dressed in white, shining brighter than the sun, giving out rays of clear and intense light.”
The Lady, whose pristine mantle was trimmed with gold, held in her hands a rosary. She asked the children to pray the rosary daily for world peace and conversion. In particular, she asked for prayers to help bring an end to World War I.
Our Lady of Fatima would appear to Francisco, Jacinta and Lucia every month for the next five months. She continued to emphasize the importance of devotion to the rosary, and shared with the children three “secrets.”
The last apparition occurred Oct. 13, 1917. On this day, thousands of people trekked to Fatima as word of the Blessed Mother’s visits had spread. Our Lady of Fatima promised the children that she would perform a miracle, “so that all may believe.”
The event is now commonly known as the “Miracle of the Sun.” Reports described the sun breaking through the rain and casting a light of various colors on the area. Witnesses said the sun appeared to spin and “dance,” then fall toward the earth before returning to its regular position.
Fatima visionaries Francisco and Jacinta died shortly after the apparitions. They were beatified in 2000.
Lucia would receive another apparition of the Blessed Mother in the years that followed. She became a Carmelite nun and died in 2005 at age 97.
The Pilgrim Virgin Statues
After the apparitions, devotion to Our Lady of Fatima quickly spread internationally. One of the ways in which it has made its way around the world is through the travels of two statues created in 1947 by Portuguese artist Jose Thedim.
These statues are known as the International Pilgrim Virgin Statues of Our Lady of Fatima. According to the diocesan Office of Worship, plans are in the works for one of the statues to visit Hawaii in late January through early February next year.
In the meantime, a special statue of Our Lady of Fatima also created by Thedim will be at the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace for veneration during the upcoming holy hour on Oct. 13.
This statue is a treasured family heirloom of local Sacred Hearts Sister Mary Dolorine Pires. Sixty-six years ago, her father had traveled to Europe and spoken with the artist Thedim himself to obtain the sculpture.
According to a May 25, 1951, Hawaii Catholic Herald article, Thedim had created a replica statue of Our Lady of Fatima three years earlier for St. Patrick Church in Kaimuki. Sacred Hearts Academy had written the sculptor numerous letters requesting a statue for the school, but Thedim never responded.
Frank Pires, Sister Mary Dolorine’s father, went to visit Thedim in Opporto, Portugal. Thedim said he received the letters from Sacred Hearts Academy, but since a statue had already been made for St. Patrick Church nearby, he did not intend to send another.
The Herald article said Pires, “then drew upon the deep love for Mary and for the family, that is innate in the Portuguese.”
“By requesting the statue as a memorial to the departed mother of his daughter, who is a sister in an order very especially devoted to the Immaculate Heart of Mary,” the article notes, “he succeeded in obtaining the nearly impossible — a second Pilgrim Virgin for Hawaii!”
The Herald described the statue as having “lifelike eyes that reflect the deepest sadness and plead for reparation, lips that smile maternally, gracefully folded hands that hold a crystal rosary, flowing robes that are of purest white, a crown that shows expertly delicate workmanship.”
Sister Mary Dolorine Pires told the Hawaii Catholic Herald Sept. 30 that the decades-old statue — carved entirely out of wood, its handcrafted details and vibrant paint remaining much intact — is “a work of art.”
“She’s very simple, but she’s very beautiful,” Sister Mary Dolorine said.
She recently gifted the statue to Bishop Larry Silva, who placed it in his downtown Honolulu chancery office. Sister Mary Dolorine said the statue had long been kept at the Sacred Hearts sisters’ provincial house prior.
The statue “remained there in a corner of a large living room where it was not easily noted,” she said. Sister Mary Dolorine decided not to bring the statue with her when she moved to the Sacred Hearts infirmary, giving it instead to the bishop to be put in a place “where it would really be honored.”
Bishop Silva said the statue “represents our common Portuguese heritage and the pride of place of Our Lady of Fatima in that heritage. I was very honored and humbled that she had chosen to give it to me.”
The bishop and Sister Mary Dolorine hope that the statue one day will be placed in the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace.
“Meanwhile, anyone who comes to my office is able to admire and venerate the statue,” the bishop said. “It reminds me in a special way of Our Lady’s protection and guidance in my ministry as bishop.”
For more information on the “Solidarity in Prayer” holy hour, contact the diocesan Office of Worship at 585-3342.
