Don Bosco’s Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Panjim, Goa, is celebrating the Feast of its patron, Our Lady of Fatima, on Sunday, October 19. The solemn concelebrated Mass will begin at 9 am, with Fr Kenneth Telles, Episcopal Vicar for South Goa, as the main celebrant and homilist. Other Masses will be held at 6 am and 8 am in Konkani, and at 7 am and 6 pm in English.
The highlight of this year’s celebration is the presence of the Pilgrim Virgin of Fatima from Fatima, Portugal. The Statue of the Pilgrim Virgin and the sacred relics of the Fatima Saints, St Francisco Marto and St Jacinta Marto, will arrive at the Panjim Shrine on October 18 at 11 am and will be open to devotees for veneration.
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Lucia dos Santos, Francisco, and Jacinta Marto were 10, 9, and 7 years old respectively at the time of the Apparitions in 1917. Pope Francis canonised St Francisco and St Jacinta on May 13, 2017, marking the centennial of the first apparition. Sr Lucia dos Santos, the lone surviving seer, passed away in her Carmelite Convent in Coimbra on February 13, 2005. All three now lie buried side by side in the Great Basilica of Our Lady in Fatima, Portugal.
The relics and the Statue of the Pilgrim Virgin will remain in the Shrine on Sunday, October 19. The feast will conclude with the 6 pm Mass, followed by the recitation of the Holy Rosary.
“Many cannot go to Fatima, so Our Lady comes to us, inviting us to pray the Rosary and pray for peace in the world and for sinners. Devotees can come and pray for their special intentions, especially for peace in their homes. Bring your children to pray and receive Our Mother’s blessings,” said Fr Loddy Pires, Director of the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Panjim.
Lester Melo, Chairman of the World Apostolate of Fatima in the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, noted that the statue of the Pilgrim Virgin was presented by the Bishop of Fatima to the World Apostolate of Fatima, India, of which the Goa Archdiocesan Division serves as the National Centre. The statue will travel to dioceses that make early requests.
Pope Leo XIV has requested that the original statue of Our Lady of Fatima be brought to Rome to receive his first Golden Rose on October 11, 2025, during the Marian Jubilee. On that occasion, Our Blessed Mother Mary will preside over the Rosary for peace at the Vatican, where Pope Leo will urge the faithful to join.
The Golden Rose, traditionally blessed annually by Popes, is a symbol of reverence and affection, occasionally conferred upon sanctuaries, royalty, or governments. The Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal has so far received four Golden Roses.
The Feast was preceded by a Novena that began on October 10. Celebrated annually on the Sunday following October 13 — the date of the first Apparition of Our Lady at Fatima in 1917 — the Novena was dedicated to deepening the understanding of the Apparitions and Messages of Our Lady of Fatima.
