Our Lady of Fatima

Marian title of Belize City (Diocese of Belize City- Belmopan)
Recognized by the Church

The devotion to Our Lady of Fatima is alive in Belize as a devotion imported from the mid-20th century, in parallel to the rest of the world, from the apparitions of Fatima (Portugal, 1917). In 2024 it was reinforced by a travelling mission: the Heralds of the Gospel carried a pilgrim image of the Virgin of Fatima to Belize, with celebrations in different parishes and in the church of Divine Mercy.

Main data

Origin and history

The devotion to Our Lady of Fatima is alive in Belize as a devotion imported from the mid-20th century, in parallel to the rest of the world, from the apparitions of Fatima (Portugal, 1917). In 2024 it was reinforced by a travelling mission: the Heralds of the Gospel carried a pilgrim image of the Virgin of Fatima to Belize, with celebrations in different parishes and in the church of Divine Mercy.

The image and the sanctuary

The devotion is widely spread in several parishes, without a great national sanctuary of its own; activities are documented in Belize City and other locations. The 2024 mission with the pilgrim image sought to strengthen the prayer of the rosary in family and the consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, organizing one day a month for the family rosary.

Sponsorship and coronation

Atvocation fully approved by the Church (official recognition of the apparitions). There is no national sanctuary or local coronation.

Party and devotion

The party is held on May 13 (and October 13), with masses, rosaries and, where there are images, torches processions. The Gospel Heralds collect testimonies from families who first gathered together to pray the rosary and experienced family reconciliation; they are devotional accounts, not canonical processes.

Link to the Rosary

In Fatima, the Virgin asked for the daily prayer of the Rosary for peace; in Belize this advocation precisely drives the rosary prayed in the family. The pilgrim mission of the image makes the Rosary the way of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.