Our Lady of Fatima, patron of Guyana

Patrona de Guyana

La devoción a Our Lady of Fatima born of the Marian apparitions reported by three pastoral children - Lucia dos Santos, Jacinta and Francisco Marto - in the Iria's cova, Fatima, Portugal, between the 13 May and 13 October 1917; that is the historical core of the advocation and its universal spread in the Catholic Church.

Main data

Origin and history

La devoción a Our Lady of Fatima born of the Marian apparitions reported by three pastoral children - Lucia dos Santos, Jacinta and Francisco Marto - in the Iria's cova, Fatima, Portugal, between the 13 May and 13 October 1917; that is the historical core of the advocation and its universal spread in the Catholic Church.

As for their presence in Guyana - and also in Surinam- the available sources present it as patron of both countries, with the 13 May. However, in the sources consulted no consta a specific documentary account of the local origin of this devotion in Georgetown and a detailed institutional chronology of its implementation in the diocese; therefore, any more precise reconstruction on the dates of beginning or decree of local patronage should be considered no constable with the revised documentation.

The image and the sanctuary

The sources consulted do not accurately describe a concrete image - material, authorship or particular iconographic features - venerated in Georgetown, so that data no constan in the revised documentation. What does appear in the available information is the reference to a parish of Our Lady of Fatima in Georgetown, Guyanawhere an annual coronation of a statue of the Virgin is held.

It is also not clear from the verified sources that there is a National sanctuary, minor basilica or diocesan sanctuary officially identified for this advocation. With the information available, the most prudent thing is to talk about a parroquia o Parish temple dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima, without adding institutional titles that are not documented.

Sponsorship and coronation

La advocación de Our Lady of Fatima is recognized as of Guyana and Suriname. In consultation does not contain a documented canonical coronation for the image of Georgetown, neither the year nor the Pontiff or celebrant delegate; it is only generally recorded that in the parish of Our Lady of Fatima in Georgetown they "crown a statue" each year, without allowing to identify a formal canonical coronation.

This fact sheet should therefore only include the national patronage widely distributed in the sources consulted, and should be blank or “not reported” any data on specific canonical coronation.

Party and devotion

La main party se celebra el 13 May. This date coincides with the first apparition of 1917 in Fatima and is the one that is more stable in connection with universal devotion to the Virgin of Fatima.

On pilgrimages, inflow or popular traditions in Georgetown, the revised sources only make it possible to state that there is a living local devotion y una annual coronation of a statue in the parish of Our Lady of Fatima. They do not contain reliable data on the number of pilgrims, specific processions, or popular features specifically quantified for Georgetown in the documentation consulted. It can be said, with caution, that devotion is inserted into the world framework of Fatima, characterized by prayer, penance and Marian consecration.

Link to the Rosary

The relationship of Fatima with the Rosary is direct and essential: the full title of the advocation is Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima, and the tradition of apparitions is intimately associated with the prayer of the Rosary. This devotion is therefore not fully understood without the prayer of the Rosary, which is one of its most characteristic spiritual features.

In the case of Georgetown, the sources consulted no detallan a specific local rosarian praxis, but the spiritual logic of the advocation allows us to affirm that the Rosary naturally accompanies this Marian devotion, in continuity with the universal message of Fatima focused on the conversion, prayer and intercession of the Virgin.