Our Lady of Fatima, venerated in the Shrine of Fatima of Bayamon

Marian Advocation of Bayamón (San Juan)

La advocación de Our Lady of Fatima, formally Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima, born of the Marian apparitions reported by three pastoral children - Lucía dos Santos, Francisco Marto and Jacinta Marto - in the Iria's cova, about Fatima (Portugal), between the 13 May and 13 October 1917. In these apparitions, the Virgin presents herself as the "Lady of the Rosary" and entrusts a message of conversion, penance and prayer for peace and for the Church, which the Catholic Church has discerned and approved.

Main data

Origin and history

La advocación de Our Lady of Fatima, formally Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima, born of the Marian apparitions reported by three pastoral children - Lucía dos Santos, Francisco Marto and Jacinta Marto - in the Iria's cova, about Fatima (Portugal), between the 13 May and 13 October 1917. In these apparitions, the Virgin presents herself as the "Lady of the Rosary" and entrusts a message of conversion, penance and prayer for peace and for the Church, which the Catholic Church has discerned and approved.

The accounts of the seers, later gathered in memories and documents, speak of six main apparitions and a message that includes the call to the daily prayer of the Rosary, the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the supplication for the conversion of sinners. These facts gave rise to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima in Portugal and to a global expansion of devotion, with numerous images, sanctuaries and chapels of Fatima erected in various countries.

In particular, the "Fátima de Bayamón Sanctuary (Puerto Rico) located in Bayamón, department of San Juan, Colombia"the sources consulted do not corroborate the existence of a sanctuary with this dual geographical reference or provide a documented history of it: no consta in the accessible documentation a formal foundation, diocesan decree or official history of a sanctuary with these characteristics in Colombia.

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The image and the sanctuary

The typical iconography of Our Lady of Fatima shows the Virgin Mary as a imagen de heela completo, usually standing, dressed with white robe and mantleoften with a rosary in the hands, crown in the head and, in many representations, the Immaculate Heart visible in the chest. This iconography is inspired by the description of the pastoralists and has been spread in countless replicas and pilgrim images around the world.

On the concrete image venerated in the so-called "Shrine of Fatima of Bayamón, department of San Juan, Colombia"there are no verifiable data from official or Catholic press sources: no consta the type of material (wood, plaster, resin, etc.), or the author, or whether it is an image brought from Portugal or a local copy.

Nor has the documentation consulted found a safe reference to official name of the templeits canonical rank (parish, diocesan, national, minor basilica, etc.) and an architectural description recognized by the corresponding diocese: therefore, as regards the official title and ecclesial category of that sanctuary, no consta documented information.

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Sponsorship and coronation

La advocación de Our Lady of Fatima He is not, in himself, the universal patron of a particular nation, but he has been proclaimed patron of various parishes, cities and communities around the world; and his sanctuary in Portugal has become a reference place for contemporary Marian piety. In several countries, bishops and episcopal conferences have consecrated their local churches to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in spiritual bond with Fatima.

Concerning specific patronage on Bayamon (Colombia) or on a diocese linked to a "Shrine of Fatima of Bayamon"no official decrees or references appear in the sources consulted: no consta Our Lady of Fatima has been proclaimed a canonical patron of that place with formal recognition.

As for the canonical coronation of the image venerated in that particular sanctuary, no reference has been found in ecclesial documents, local Church press notes or reliable chronicles: does not contain a documented canonical coronation for the image of Our Lady of Fatima in the sanctuary described.

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Party and devotion

En la Iglesia universal, la main feast of Our Lady of Fatima se celebra el 13 May, anniversary of the first apparition in 1917. In many parishes and shrines dedicated to this advocation are celebrated that day Solemn Eucharist, processions with the image of the Virgin, prayer vigil and multitudinary rosaries, following the spirit of the message of Fatima.

The great pilgrimages to the Portuguese shrine of Fatima are especially concentrated on the dates of the 13 May y del 13 October, convoking hundreds of thousands of faithful from many countries, with liturgical celebrations, torches processions and acts of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This dynamic of pilgrimages has inspired, in many other shrines of Fatima, days of prayer and local romaneries around May 13.

For the sanctuary specifically mentioned as "de Fátima in Bayamón, department of San Juan, Colombia," the available sources do not provide reliable data on:

– organización de regular pilgrimages, – cifras de afluencia de fieles, – popular traditions own (processions, specific novenas, promises, etc.).

That is why, beyond the universal celebration of 13 Mayany description of local practices in that particular place would be conjectural: no consta documented information on particular devotional features or on mass celebrations verified in that sanctuary.

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Link to the Rosary

La advocación de Our Lady of Fatima is closely linked to Rosary. In the accounts of the apparitions, the Virgin presents herself as the "Lady of the Rosary" and explicitly requests that pray the Rosary every day for the peace of the world and the end of war. The message of Fatima insists on conversion, penance and reparation, and presents the Rosary as a privileged means of joining Christ and collaborating with the salvation of souls.

In the Shrine of Fatima in Portugal, the prayer of the Rosary is one of the central practices: community rosaries are prayed, especially in the great pilgrimages, and the procession of the candles is usually accompanied by the meditated Rosary. This model has influenced the lives of many shrines and parishes dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima throughout the world, where the Rosary becomes the daily prayer of the faithful and the axis of novies, vigil and holy hours.

Although no specific data have been found on the way in which the Rosary is celebrated in the so-called "Shrine of Fatima of Bayamón (Colombia)," it is consistent with the spirituality of this advocation that any community that honors it puts the Rosary at the center of his prayer life. Where Our Lady of Fatima is invoked, the faithful and persevering prayer of the Rosary helps to contemplate the mysteries of Christ's life with Mary, to intercede for peace, for the Church and for sinners, and to live the daily offer of one's life in response to the call of Fatima.