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A Sea of Roses to Fatima
Oct 13, 2012 / Written by: Andrea F. Phillips
Wow! How better to describe the “sea” of red and white roses delivered at Fatima!
On October 12, 2012 in the name of 9,077 America Needs Fatima Rosary Rally Captains and of 4,482 Rosary Rally sponsors across America, a "sea" of roses were delivered to the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal.
ANF volunteers Michael Gorre and Peter Shibler, and Spanish correspondent Felipe Barandiaran arrived in Fatima on October 11, the bearers of eleven massive bundles of roses. It was a rainy day, but Don Felipe, who has been delivering ANF’s roses to Fatima since 2007, had an inkling the overcast wouldn’t last, “in all the years we’ve been arranging the delivery of roses, there has never been rain on the day of the delivery.”
“On October 12,” writes Michael Gorre, “the clouds parted and we had bright sunshine for the eve of the miracle of the sun.” And it was certainly a glorious day for photos with the two banners celebrating all the Rally Captains and generous sponsors who made this year’s 9,077 Rosary Rallies possible across America.
Pilgrims to Fatima were impressed with the multitude of flowers and the number of Rosary Rallies being held in the U.S. and all over the world on October 13 this year.
After the group photo in the Cova da Iria, the flowers were distributed among the various altars around the Fatima Shrine. The volunteers then presented the thousands of petitions, intentions and consecration pledges to the Immaculate Heart of Mary at the chapel of the apparitions. These weighed almost fifty pounds. A special bouquet was also offered in the name of those who made special requests.
From the thousands of small red candles which ANF members sent in from several Fatima mailings, fourteen oversized candles were made. These were lit at the shrine with a special prayer for America, for the work of America Needs Fatima and its supporters, and for the intentions of each and every person represented in the bouquets, in the petitions and in the candles.
The three ANF volunteers also prayed for ANF members at the tombs of Blesseds Francisco and Jacinta Marto, at the place of the apparitions of the Angel, and in Aljustrel, the three seers’ hamlet.
May increasing public devotion to the Rosary rise to heaven as an earnest plea for Our Lady’s words at Fatima to become a reality: