Chicagoland

Our Lady of Fatima restored in anticipation of apparition’s 100th anniversary

By Joyce Duriga
Sunday, May 1, 2016

Our Lady of Fatima restored in anticipation of apparition’s 100th anniversary

The newly restored Our Lady of Fatima Church, 2751 W. 38th Place, is seen in this photo. The church underwent the renovation in advance of the 2017 centennial of the apparition of Mary in Fatima, Portugal. (Karen Callaway/Catholic New World)
As part of the restoration, a mural was painted behind the statue of Our Lady of Faitma above the altar. Additional lighting was also added. (Karen Callaway/Catholic New World)
A stained-glass skylight covered in 80 years of grime was cleaned and restored in the church's ceiling and paintings depicting scenes from the rosary were hung below the choir loft. (Karen Callaway/Catholic New World)
To play up the church's Marian theme, the parish purchased several new paintings with images of Our Lady to be displayed around the church (Karen Callaway/Catholic New World)
This image of Mary was donated to the parish in 1969 by a family wanting to remember their son who died in Vietnam. (Karen Callaway/Catholic New World)
These fleur de lis plaques hang in the church as a symbol of Mary. (Karen Callaway/Catholic New World)
New lighting was installed throughout the church as part of the renovation. Color lights highlight different aspects of the sanctuary. (Karen Callaway/Catholic New World)
New holy water fonts featuring angels greet those entering the church. Father Nestor Saenz, pastor, has a devotion to angels. (Karen Callaway/Catholic New World)
Workers put finishing touches on the restored shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Words of Mary to St. Juan Diego are painted on the wall to the right of the image. On the left of the image is a painting of St. Juan Diego. (Karen Callaway/Catholic New World)
Workers finish renovations at Our Lady of Fatima - Shrine of St. Anne Church, 2751 West 38th Place, on April 15. The parish will celebrate their re-opening on May 13th in conjuction of the Feast of the Apparition of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal. (Karen Callaway/Catholic New World)
Ofelia Ramos dusts off the crucifix in the sanctuary as parishioners clean the church after renovations on April 23. Gold-leaf accents were added in the sanctuary as part of the restoration. (Karen Callaway/Catholic New World)
New lighting was installed to highlight the various focal points in the church. Parishioners clean the church after renovations were completed at Our Lady of Fatima - Shrine of St. Anne Church, 2751 West 38th Place, on April 23. The parish will celebrate their re-opening on May 13 in conjuction of the Feast of the apparition of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal. (Karen Callaway/Catholic New World)
A new window was installed commemorating the recent papl visit of Pope Francis trip to Mexico. Parishioners clean the church after renovations were completed at Our Lady of Fatima - Shrine of St. Anne Church, 2751 West 38th Place, on April 23. The parish will celebrate their re-opening on May 13th in conjuction of the Feast and Centenary of the Apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal. (Karen Callaway/Catholic New World)
A large painting of the pieta done by parishioner Wellington J. Reynolds more than 80 years ago hangs above the vestibule in the church. (Karen Callaway/Catholic New World)

After seven months worshipping in the school gym, on May 13, parishioners at Our Lady of Fatima Parish in the city’s Brighton Park neighborhood will get their first glimpse at their newly restored church. What they will see is a complete transformation.

Father Néstor Sáenz, Our Lady of Fatima’s pastor, couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome.

“As a priest I see all of this as a miracle because when I first arrived here there was no funding for new projects,” Sáenz said. “I can’t believe how all of this happened.”

Perhaps the first that draws attention when entering the church is the bright blue painted ceiling covered with stars in metallic gold paint. The colors for the ceiling were inspired by the ceilings at Notre Dame Basilica in Montreal, Canada, and the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in South Bend, Indiana. It symbolizes Our Lady’s mantle, or cloak.

“On May 13 I will ask the families to pick a star on the ceiling. They will know that star is their family star. In that star they will know that they are a part of Our Lady’s mantel. She will always accompany them even if they aren’t in church,” he said.

Included in the restoration are new floors; pews; lighting; air conditioning and heating systems; a panel of gold leaf behind the crucifix in the sanctuary; paintings of Mary in her various titles and ethnic devotions around the church; a restored shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe; new electric candles in the St. Anne shrine; a new mural on the sanctuary ceiling; and painted accents to the interior architecture. As part of the restoration a unique stained-glass skylight covered in black grime was cleaned, repaired and, after 80 years, returned to its bright yellow colors.

The transformation cost $1 million. Donations and the sale the school gym covered the cost so the parish didn’t take on any loans. At the recommendation of the Archdiocese of Chicago, Daprato Rigali Studios did the restoration.

“This is all God’s work,” said Rosa Perez who works at the parish. “We don’t have a lot as a community but the families are so giving.”

Perez has worked at the parish since Sáenz arrived and believes the restoration is a miracle and only happened because God permitted it.

“I saw what we had and we had nothing [financially],” she said. In fact the parish was $500,000 in debt. “To get to this has been a lot of hard work, understanding and just being positive.”

On May 13, 2017, the universal Catholic Church will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the apparition of Mary to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal. It is that anniversary that inspired the parish to undertake the restoration.

The Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal has asked that every church in the world dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima join with them in celebrating starting May 13, 2016, and leading up to the 100th anniversary in 2017.

The apparition in Portugal is for the entire church, Sáenz said, and the universal church will be celebrating together. This is an opportunity for Catholics in the Chicago area to unite with the wider church around Mary.

Last year, Pope Francis brought the statue of Our Lady of Fatima from Portugal to Rome to re-consecrate the world to her Immaculate Heart. It’s the same statue in whose crown St. John Paul II placed the bullet removed from his chest in the 1981 assassination attempt. The pope was shot on May 13, the feast of Our Lady of Fatima. News reports say Pope Francis will be in Fatima next year on the day of the anniversary.

The May 13 Mass at the Brighton Park church will kick off a yearlong celebration at the parish leading up to the apparition’s centennial.

Since it is the only church in the archdiocese dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima, the parish community is inviting all Catholics to visit the church leading up to the anniversary next year. They are also scheduling special Masses and events with various groups. Most of those events will be geared toward the Spanish-speaking community but some will be in English.

Sáenz will also travel with a pilgrimage group to Fatima in August where he plans to purchase statues of Our Lady of Fatima and the children that will replace the current statue of Mary high over the altar. In 2017, the group hopes to travel to Russia and pray the Rosary in Moscow’s Red Square. When Mary appeared to the children she asked for the consecration of Russia and the world to her Immaculate Heart.

In the meantime, parish volunteers are readying the church for its May 13 unveiling. On a recent Saturday, parishioners swept up construction dust and wiped down pews and walls. One of those volunteers was Irene Tovalin who said the restoration will have a “huge impact” on the parish.

“Words cannot express enough of how beautiful it is. It’s just gorgeous,” she said. “It’s completely different. It gives you this positive energy that you’re so happy to be a parishioner from here.”

Ofela Ramos agreed.

“So beautiful. I love it. Everything. I like everything,” Ramos said. “I love this church.”

Topics:

  • our lady of fatima
  • devotion
  • daprato rigali studios
  • renovation

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