By Vatican News
The original statue Our Lady of Fatima is to travel from the Portuguese Marian shrine to Rome in October, on the occasion of the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality, scheduled for Oct 11-12.
The famous image of the Virgin, known worldwide and a symbol of “Hope that does not disappoint”, will be present among the faithful during the Holy Mass in St Peter’s Square on Sunday, Oct 12, 2025, at 10:30am, further enriching this moment of prayer and reflection.
According to a communiqué released on Thursday by the Vatican Dicastery for Evangelization, entry to St Peter’s Square for the Eucharistic Celebration will be free, and registration to participate in the Jubilee event is already open on its website.
Fourth visit of the statue since 1984
This will be the fourth time that the statue leaves Fatima to come to Rome. The first time was in 1984, for the Extraordinary Jubilee of Redemption, when on Mar 25, Pope St John Paul II consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The second time was during the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 and the third was in October 2013, for the Year of Faith with Pope Francis.
“The presence of the beloved original statue of Our Lady of Fatima will allow everyone to experience the closeness of the Virgin Mary,” said Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization. “It is one of the most significant Marian icons for Christians worldwide, who, as the Holy Father highlights in the Bull of Indiction for the Jubilee Spes non confundit, venerate her as the ‘most affectionate of mothers, who never abandons her children.’
In Fatima, the Virgin told the three little shepherds what she continues to assure each of us: ‘I will never leave you. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the path that will lead you to God.’”
A pilgrim of hope
“This statue leaves the Sanctuary of Cova da Iria only in exceptional circumstances and only at the request of the Popes,” explained Fr Carlos Cabecinhas, Rector of the Sanctuary of Fatima.
“In this Jubilee time, the Virgin of Fatima is the woman the joy of Easter, even in the painful times the world is going through,” he said. “Once again, the ‘Lady dressed in white’ will become a pilgrim of hope and, in Rome, she will be with the ‘bishop dressed in white,’ as the shepherd children of Fatima affectionately called the Holy Father.”
The sculpture is the work of Portuguese artist José Ferreira Thedim, who created it in 1920. It is usually kept in the Chapel of the Apparitions at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima.
It was in this location that, between May and October 1917, the Virgin appeared six times to the three shepherd children Lucia dos Santos, Jacinta Marto, and Francisco Marto.
The statue stands 104 cm tall and was carved from Brazilian cedar, based on descriptions given by the three children. It was solemnly crowned on May 13, 1946, and later, the crown was embedded with the bullet that struck John Paul II at his assassination attempt in St Peter’s Square on May 13, 1981. – Vatican News
