The four waiting to carry the statue from the school to the church were all former St. Ann students, parents of current students, chosen by Principal Donna Weber because of their devotion to the school and the church.
At 9 a.m. sharp, the litter carriers led the procession to the sanctuary of St. Ann Church, joining several dozen people already waiting for morning Mass. The children followed, singing a hymn to “Immaculate Mary,” then placing the carnations at the feet of the statue, now dramatically lit from below, while the visibly moved litter carriers composed themselves behind the back row.
“I just kept thinking how blessed we are to have her at our parish,” Mindy Jones said later that morning. “It was an honor to carry her.”
The Rev. Stephen Mondiek’s homily was about being left out of something, tying his message to the story of Noah and the ark, of the three children who first saw the Virgin Mary at Fatima and of the return of Jesus.
At Fatima, Mary had “some special message for the children to make reparations, to make sacrifces for each other,” Mondiek said. “It’s providential that she came to us to today. You may never see the Our Lady of Fatima again in your lifetime.”
The statue, the second made by Jose Thedim, was completed and blessed by the Bishop of Fatima on Oct. 13, 1947, exactly 30 years to the day after the great miracle of the sun, which drew the world’s attention to Mary’s message. It was to be “the Western statue,” to travel the world under a guardian, currently Karl Marburg of Michigan, who said that the statue has been in the Cincinnati area since Nov. 2, and Guam before that.
About halfway through Mass, the power went out in Lindenwald, leaving Marburg to give his presentation to the children in the shadowy sanctuary.
“For most of the children, this story is new,” Weber said. “We hope that they will gain an appreciation of Mary and the blessings she will give them throughout their lives, that she is someone they can depend on no matter what.”
Following the morning Mass, the pilgrim statue remained on view in the sanctuary for the rest of the day, including a 7 p.m. Mass, before continuing on her journey.
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2188 or rjones@coxohio.com.
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