Month of Mary
Dear Crusaders of Fatima,
The month of May has arrived with spring flowers and Mother’s Day just around the corner. Have you considered a May pilgrimage. Your invited to stop by the Shrine anytime to pay tribute to our Heavenly Mother. You can perhaps ask a friend to join you as you set out praying the rosary until you reach your destination, and perhaps say another rosary while your there and one as you return. This is a great practiced that the church has recommended for centuries. The shrine is an official pilgrimage site in the Archdiocese of Boston, and a wonderful way of obtaining the indulgences for making a pilgrimage.
This year Ascension Thursday is celebrated on May10th; Pentecost Sunday arrives ten days later on the 20th, and the Visitation on the 31st. I would be remiss if I neglected to mention Memorial day weekend with all the parades and cookouts on the 28th. The First Saturday in May coincides with “Cinco de Mayo” celebrations. This year we will be actually celebrating Mother’s Day on the 13th of May, the first Candlelight Vigil of the season and the Anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima. Join us for the May crowning and the Rosary Procession.
We have decided to host the Candlelight Vigil on May13th, 2018 at St. Columbkill Church in Brighton MA. The reason has to do with safety concerns and parking issues because of the construction project. We anticipate as a temporary solution to have local parishes host the candlelight vigils on the 13th of the month from May through October this year. We will announce where they will be held as soon as we have made the necessary arrangements. The First Saturday devotions will continue to be held at the Shrine throughout construction, and the Shrine will be opened as usual. The construction on the St. Gabriel project is a month behind schedule which pushes the start date to early May. There will be construction fences put up around the property as I reported last month. I believe we should be okay for the First Saturday in May. Once construction begins parking will only be available on Washington St. and in front of the school and rectory.
You will have to walk around the fencing and enter the shrine from the stairs on Washington St. Their plan begins with digging up Monastery Road to bring in new utilities, and they have already begun to cut down some trees. The work on the monastery will start with abatement and demolition of the retreat house that connects the monastery and the Church. I will be posting updates on our web site as they progress. If you have any questions, you could call us at the shrine or write to us, or you can also contact us online through our website: http/www.fatimashrineboston.org.
We are still in the planning stages of fixing the lower roof and hope to have it done soon.
If people would like to make a donation to the Crusaders of Fatima Inc. you can do so by sending a donation to the PO Box address listed at the bottom of the page, or you can make a donation through our website. Just hit the donate button.The new Website address is http/www.fatimashrineboston.org.
The Rev. Edward Riley will be presiding at our First Saturday devotion in May.
The Rev. Richard Fitzgerald, Pastor at St. Columbkill Church will officiate the Candlelight Vigil
