Polish Community join with Crowning Celebrations.
On Saturday 18th February, at Westminster Cathedral, Vincent Cardinal Nichols reconsecrated England to Our Lady of Fatima. He also crowned the “Pilgrim Statue” of Our Lady of Fatima which will be visiting St Chad’s at the end of July, together with the relics of Blesseds Francisco and Jacinta Marto.
The following day, Father Ireneusz Maraszkiewicz, Priest-in-charge of the Polish Catholic Mission in Walsall, joined in with the celebrations.
During the Mass he explained his congregation, “Yesterday, on the centenary anniversary of the Apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima, Westminster Cathedral was filled to overflowing for the re-consecration of England and Wales by Cardinal Nichols to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and for the crowning of the National Pilgrim Statute of Our Lady of Fatima.”
“The celebrations started with the procession with the pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima to the altar where she was solemnly crowned with a golden crown by Cardinal Nichols. The crown was made by the same company which manufactured Our Lady of Fatima’s original crown, in which the bullet, from which St. John Paul II was saved, can be found.”
Speaking afterwards, Father Maraszkiewicz said, “As the local community of the Polish Catholic Mission in England and Wales, it is with great joy that we joined in prayer with our English brothers and sisters in one Church and around one Mother. Our prayer is not only our duty, but also evidence of gratitude for the hospitality and the understanding we are experiencing in this country. In our traditional devotion to the Mother of Jesus, who is also our Mother, we continually experience her perpetual help and love, and so we wish to share this grace with others. Our own experience is witness to the wisdom and justness of consecrating the country to the Mother of God.”