Today is the centenary of the first apparition of Mother Mary to the children of Fatima. It is also the centenary of the episcopal consecration of Eugenio Pacelli who would later endow her with a very beautiful Mass to honour her Immaculate Heart.
On this day, two significant events have taken place in Tasmania. First of all, Archbishop Julian Porteous consecrated Tasmania to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in a major ceremony in his cathedral of Hobart, which included the crowning of the Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady of Fatima by His Grace himself, the Rosary recited while walking in procession around the cathedral with the statue, and the Litany of Loretto. In the text he used for the occasion and which began “I, Julian Porteous, eleventh bishop of the See of Hobart, do solemnly consecrate Tasmania to the Immaculate Heart of Mary”, the archbishop prayed: “Let there be revealed once more the infinite power of Christ’s redemption, the outpouring of His merciful love. May it destroy the power of sin and evil among us. May consciences be transformed to know the truth revealed by God and witnessed to in the Catholic Church.”
The monks of Notre Dame Priory were honoured to be present on this momentous occasion, and they join with their archbishop in calling down the blessings of the Lady of Fatima upon all the inhabitants of this island.
The other significant event, much more circumscribed, was the consecration of Notre Dame Priory to the Immaculate Heart. The text used by Fr Prior for the occasion can be found under the “From the Prior” tab.
