On Tuesday, January 21, Rosary Academy had the privilege of hosting the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Fatima for the day. Parents, members of the Rosary community, and many Rosary students were able to pray and reflect in the presence of the statue.

Lawrence Maginot, who travels with the statue, delivered short informational talks about the history of the apparitions at Fatima and the significance of the statue. I had the privilege of asking him some questions:

How did you come into this position?

“During the 90’s I was in a Carmelite monastery in Munster, Indiana and my predecessor when he was home he would attend mass there. I got to know him and later, I had left, but the monastery was close to my home so he got ahold of my and asked if I would be interested in learning his work. I took him up on that offer and in 2006 I began travelling with him. I continued that until the end of 2008. Because I was needed at home, I ended up getting away from it but was called back to it in 2015 in preparation for the centennial tour which was the 100th anniversary of the events at Fatima. I got back involved and I’ve continued to be involved ever since then.”

Could you tell me a little about the statue?

“After World War 2, it became clear that Our Lady’s message was extremely prophetic with what she warned about 30 years earlier, particularly about the developments in Russia. The idea came to have this image made as a device to help spread the message of Fatima. Everywhere she would go, people would hear about the message and try to adapt it to their lives. From there, into the 50s, more and more people have heard about Fatima. People don’t realize how few people heard about Fatima before World War 2. Primarily it was just Portugal, maybe into Spain a little bit, but after World War 2 it became universally known.”

Have you travelled internationally with the statue?

“I’ve been to Mexico, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Lithuania, Poland, and Guam.”

Have you personally witnessed any miracles associated with the statue of Our Lady?

“The statue itself is an ongoing miracle. People who travel with her or spend time with her are struck that her appearance and her expression seems to change. Sometimes she appears to be sad, other times joyful and it’s inexplicable. There’s nothing you can really point to. All the time I’ve been with her, I’ve noticed it without being able to explain it. The best I can explain is that there is a thin veil there hiding a real person. Her face just appears to be alive. We have an artist that periodically refinishes her and he was struck by the eyes. They are glass eyes, but he said there is something unique about them. Most glass eyes have a serial number if they need to be replaced. He said he could order another eye for her, but what would come would not match. He said God did something to those eyes, made them look more realistic more alive. She has also wept on occasion. It most profoundly happened in 1972 in the archdiocese of New Orleans in the summer. She was travelling around the archdiocese and on at least 15 occasions, in various parishes, she was seen weeping. It drew the attention of the archbishop of New Orleans who began an investigation. They had forensic scientists examine the fluid that was coming from her eyes and they, without knowing what they were examining, they testified that they were human tears. A lot of people asked why is she weeping. We can only guess, but the following year on January 20th, 1973 is the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, but that summer was when the hearings and arguments were taking place and the justices were writing their opinions, but it was only in the following year that we discovered what Our Lady was weeping about.”

During his presentation, Mr. Maginot shared many ways for living a life of increased consecration to Mary, such as praying a Rosary every day. The Rosary community will move forward with new devotion to Mary, keeping in mind the lessons imparted through the apparitions at Fatima.