Diocese celebrates 100th anniversary of Fatima apparitions with special Mass

The faithful of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland are invited to join the Most Rev. Nelson J. Perez, Bishop of Cleveland, to celebrate the closing of the anniversary celebration of the apparitions of Mary to the three children at Fatima, Portugal 100 years ago. The special Mass is scheduled for 10 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 7 at St. John Cathedral in downtown Cleveland.

The 100^th anniversary of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima has been celebrated by Catholics across the world. The diocesan celebration falls on the annual feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.

During the monthly apparitions to the three Portuguese children from May through October of 1917, the Blessed Mother asked that the rosary be prayed to obtain peace for the world and to bring an end to World War I. To dispel all doubt of the children’s meetings with the Blessed Mother, she promised a public miracle. The miracle of the sun occurred on Oct. 13, 1917, in which the solar phenomena included the dancing of the sun, its fluctuations in color, swirling and descending toward earth. There also was stillness in the trees despite howling winds and other phenomena.

Catholics have celebrated a special devotion to Our Lady of Fatima. In May, Pope Francis visited the shrine at Fatima and offered this prayer: “Hail Holy Queen, Blessed Virgin of Fatima, Lady of Immaculate Heart, our refuge and our way to God! As a pilgrim of the light that comes to us from your hands, I give thanks to God the Father, who in every time and place is at work in human history. As a pilgrim of the peace that, in this place, you proclaim, I give praise to Christ, our peace, and I implore for the world, concord among all peoples.”

The Catholic Diocese of Cleveland was founded on April 23, 1847. Under the leadership of the Most Rev. Nelson J. Perez, the Diocese of Cleveland is the twenty-third largest diocese in the United States. The diocese encompasses the counties of Cuyahoga, Summit, Lorain, Lake, Geauga, Medina, Wayne and Ashland. There are more than 692,000 Catholics in the diocese, and Catholic Charities-Diocese of Cleveland is one of the largest diocesan systems of social services in the world. There are 185 parishes and 114 Catholic schools.