Anthony and Carmen Rivera describe the hours of unbroken prayer and soaring Marian hymns they experienced honoring the Blessed Mother as “the closest thing to being in Fatima.”

“The world today is so difficult for families. There are so many broken families. Our Lady is always there for them,” said Carmen Rivera, a parishioner in St. Mary of the Lake Parish. “The Church is the first home. We know Our Lady is here with us.”

Photo Gallery: Centennial Pilgrim Image visits Lakewood

The Riveras were among more than 700 faithful who spent hours of devotion in the Lakewood church as the International Centennial Pilgrim Image of Our Lady of Fatima visited the area Oct. 14-15. The visit included Holy Hours, the crowning of the image, Masses in English and Polish and Eucharistic Adoration well into the night before the next day’s Mass, Rosary prayer and farewell.

The Centennial Pilgrim Image is one of six statues blessed by Pope Francis in 2017 and sent on a mission to each continent with an appeal to pray and offer reparation for world peace and the sanctity of family life. Since then, the images of the Blessed Mother under her title Our Lady of Fatima have logged countless hours in that quest coordinated by the Alliance of Holy Family International, a global Catholic family movement.

The Masses were celebrated by Father Marian Kokorzycki, parish parochial vicar. “It was very important to bring Our Lady of Fatima here,” he said, explaining how a devotion to Mary has been growing in the parish.

“There are always about 100 people at the vigils, and there is a lot of [cooperative] work with the Legion of Mary. Many young people are involved,” he said.

Legacy of Prayer

In his homily at the Mass welcoming the statue, Deacon Jack Cullinane related the story of Fatima and how the Virgin Mary appeared to three young cousins in Portugal. Lucia dos Santos, Jacinta and Francisco Marto were herding sheep near the village of Fatima on May 13, 1917, when they saw an apparition of the Virgin Mary. She would appear to them six times from May 13 to Oct. 13, calling for prayer and penance in reparation for sin and the importance of praying the Rosary.

Deacon Cullinane spoke how, in her memoirs, Lucia wrote that “no matter how difficult, no matter how hard, there is nothing that cannot be solved” by praying the Rosary.

That sentiment was taken to heart by parishioner Denys Rivera, 25, who attended both days of the statue visit and proclaimed a Reading at the evening Mass. Rivera says he prays the Rosary as often as possible, whether silently at his job or at home with his mother, Rosa.

“I turn to her like she is my mother,” he said of the Blessed Virgin. “At every moment of my life – I go to Jesus through her.”

Parishioner Mira Welnowska also said she follows Our Lady of Fatima’s exhortation to pray the Rosary every day. Evangelizing about the visit of the pilgrim image is something she is considering, as she finds Our Lady of Fatima’s gift of communication especially moving.

“She is trying to help us, to protect us,” she said. “What will happen if we don’t follow her and pray for changing the world?”

Tom Tully, a parishioner and Legion of Mary member in St. Rose of Lima Parish, Freehold, offered the First Reading at the first Mass Oct. 14. He said he believes Our Lady’s message of bringing peace to the world “sets the tone for all that has happened” since her appearance 102 years ago.

“Even as children, we learned a lot about Fatima and came to see the importance of the message over time,” he said. “It has caused me to be more religious and more involved.”

Joann Salvatore of Brick’s Visitation Parish brought her mother, Terri, to the Lakewood church on both days. Salvatore traveled to Fatima 23 years ago and said visiting the statue “brought the experience back to life for me.”

“Mary’s message that with prayer and reparation, good can triumph over evil, came through loud and clear,” she said. “It brought Fatima home.”