50th Marian Festival at cathedral

THE Bendigo Apostolate of Our Lady of Fatima will hold its fiftieth annual Marian Festival on Sunday 13 October at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Wattle Street.

Marian Festivals the world over celebrate events that were said to have occurred on 13 October 1917 in Fatima, Portugal, where a predicted miracle visit from the Virgin Mary resulted in extraordinary solar activity.

Fr Stephen Bolling, the Bendigo Apostolate’s chaplain, described the reported scenes.

“During the miracle, the sun, without losing any clarity became gentle enough to look at directly,” he said.

“It then gave off different colours over several minutes, changing the whole landscape, then started to spin around, before appearing to fall towards the earth.

“The 70,000 strong crowd panicked, but soon realised they were unharmed and the sun had returned to its normal position.”

Fr Bolling said the Festival is a celebration of devotion to the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Fatima and the messages she is said to have sent during the events “about devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and praying the Rosary.”

“So we try to continue promoting those messages and to carry out what she asked by praying the Rosary and honouring her under that title, Her Immaculate Heart,” he explained.

Proceedings for the day will include a mass celebrated by Bishop Leslie Tomlinson at 11am followed by a barbecue at midday.

A rosary procession will follow with the crowning of the Fatima statue afterwards.

Further information is available at bendigofatima.com/marian-festival.