Archbishop Jose Palma of Cebu will lead the consecration and blessing of Southeast Asia’s first replica chapel of the Our Lady of Fatima in San Remigio in Cebu on April 4.
This was announced by Bishop Guillermo Afable, national spiritual director of the World Apostolate of Fatima, who said it is time “to raise the banner of Our Lady.”
“In the midst of challenges and tribulations let us ask the guidance of our Blessed Mother,” said the prelate in an interview over Radio Veritas 846.
“Let us not be complacent to do good in the midst of all the evil and conflict,” said Bishop Afable.
The consecration of the chapel, known as the Capelinha de Fátima Replica, will be done on the occasion of the death anniversary of San Francisco Marto, one of the three children who witnessed the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917.
The chapel was constructed in Tinubdan Hills in Barangay Lambusan, San Remigio town, in northern Cebu.
A report on local news site SunStar said the replica has the same structural features as that of the chapel in Ourem, Portugal, such as the Stations of the Cross, the image of the Portugal’s Angel of Peace, a replica of the “Valinhos site” where the Lady of Fatima first appeared, a rosary garden, and a gazebo.
The report said about 6,000 pilgrims are expected to join the event, including benefactors, guests, bishops from other archdioceses, and local government officials.