Frequently Asked Questions about America Needs Fatima

1. What is America Needs Fatima?
America Needs Fatima (ANF) is the American TFP's special campaign to spread the Fatima message in the United States. The goal of America Needs Fatima is to win the heart and soul of America for Mary by spreading Our Lady's Fatima message and promoting devotion to Her Immaculate Heart.

2. How does America Needs Fatima go about accomplishing its goal?

By means of faith-filled prayer, word, and action. Hundreds of thousands have already accepted America Needs Fatima's encouragement to pray the Rosary and do the five First Saturday's devotion requested by Our Lady.

America Needs Fatima reaches out to millions of Americans on the Fatima message using hand-distributed and publication-inserted fliers, direct mail campaigns, and major media advertisements.

America Needs Fatima's anti-blasphemy network organizes protests and public acts of reparation for attacks on the honor and purity of Our Lord, the Blessed Mother, and the Catholic Church. In 2006, America Needs Fatima organized 2,062 protests nationwide against the gnostic movie The Da Vinci Code.

America Needs Fatima also organizes the public recitation of the Rosary on college campuses and city streets. To honor the 91st anniversary of Fatima's miracle of the sun, on October 13, 2008, America Needs Fatima is holding some 3,000 Public Square Rosary rallies coast-to-coast.

Through its Mary in Every Home apostolate, America Needs Fatima custodians take Pilgrim Virgin statues to individual homes where they give a two-hour Fatima presentation and pray the Rosary. Since 1995, the Mary in Every Home apostolate has reached over 400,000 people.

All of America Needs Fatima's efforts would be in vain, but for the prayers of many priests and religious across the country who pray regularly for its efforts.

3. When did America Needs Fatima start?

 The America Needs Fatima apostolate started in February 1985.

4. Who directs America Needs Fatima?

Between 1985 and 1994, the America Needs Fatima campaign was headed by Mr. Charles Preston Noell III, a TFP director. From 1994 to 1996, the campaign was blessed with the leadership of Rev. Fr. Kevin J. Beaton. From 1996 to the present, the campaign has been directed by Mr. Robert E. Ritchie, a TFP director.

5. How many members does America Needs Fatima have?
Since 1985 more than 600,000 people have participated in the America Needs Fatima apostolate. Active membership is over 125,000.

6. What is the Mary in Every Home apostolate?

America Needs Fatima's Mary in Every Home apostolate consists in a two-hour Fatima home visit and presentation. An America Needs Fatima custodian brings a 48" Pilgrim Virgin statue, which is then crowned by the host(ess) in his/her home. The Rosary is prayed, a 25 minute DVD on the Fatima story and message is shown, and the custodian gives two small presentations. Free devotional materials on the Rosary and the five First Saturdays devotion are also distributed. America Needs Fatima has twelve dedicated custodians who travel the country reaching thousands of homes every year.

7. How can I schedule a visit of a Fatima Pilgrim Virgin statue to my home?

Just call the scheduling office at 888-460-7371. The staff there will be happy to schedule a visit of a statue the next time a custodian is in your area.

8. Does the Church support America Needs Fatima?

Over the years, America Needs Fatima has received hundreds of letters of support from bishops praising the apostolate or specific efforts it has undertaken. You can read many of these letter here. And, over the decades, thousands of priests and religious have provided their support and prayers as well.

9. Is America Needs Fatima linked to Fr. Nicholas Gruner and the Fatima Crusader? No. America Needs Fatima is not associated in any way with Fr. Nicholas Gruner or his quarterly publication The Fatima Crusader. TFP's bi-monthly magazine is called Crusade, but TFP's use of this name for its magazine is unrelated to Fr. Gruner and dates back to the early 1970's.

10. Does America Needs Fatima publish anything?

Yes. Besides its millions of fliers, novenas, devotional items, and holy cards, America Needs Fatima has printed several publications. These include:

  • Fatima: A Message More Urgent Than Ever by Luiz Sérgio Solimeo
  • Our Lady at Fatima: Prophecies of Tragedy or Hope for America and the World? by Antonio A. Borelli
  • Jacinta's Story by Andrea F. Phillips
  • Meet the Witnesses by John Haffert
  • The Book of Confidence by Fr. Thomas de Saint-Laurent
  • The Secret of the Rosary by St. Louis de Montfort
  • The Way of the Cross by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira
  • Fatima Children's Drawing Book by Andrea F. Phillips
  • Annual Fatima calendar

11. Is there a relationship between America Needs Fatima and the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property-TFP?

Yes. America Needs Fatima is the American TFP's special campaign to spread the Fatima message in the United States. The American TFP strives to defend the Church and Christian civilization from the evils of the day and to further the basic principles of a Christian society, i.e. tradition, family, and private property. As part of its efforts, TFP promotes the Fatima message, and it does this through its America Needs Fatima campaign.

12. Are donations to America Needs Fatima tax-deductible? Yes. America Needs Fatima is a campaign of The Foundation for a Christian Civilization, Inc., a New York nonprofit and publicly supported 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.

Donations to America Needs Fatima are deductible up to 50% of the donor's federal adjusted gross income. Please help pass the Fatima message on to future generations by prayerfully including America Needs Fatima in your will!