June 25, 2023 // Diocese

Messages from Fatima are Forever Relevant

Lisa Kochanowski

Assistant Editor/Reporter

“As I was crying about what to share, I really felt that the biggest thing Our Lady wanted me to share with you is that there is a special anointing on each one of your lives that she wants to talk to you about, and that she wants to draw you into her heart into a deeper relationship with her,” said Rosary Comeau-Laguaite to a crowd of more than 50 devout followers of Our Lady.

She was a witness speaker at a Mary’s Way meeting on Sunday, June 11, at Queen of Peace Church in Mishawaka. During her talk, she shared details about her personal connection with Mary and how their close relationship and connection comforted her during the passing of her husband Josh Comeau. Through Mary’s love and guidance, she has found the strength to carry on with her six children and continue her devotion to Our Lady.

At a young age, Comeau-Laguaite felt a special calling to Mary noting her name being Rosary was definitely the first step of a unique connection to Mary and to praying the rosary. An awakening during high school made her realize the importance of leading a prayerful life, and she spoke about her amazing and impactful trips to Medjugorje with her late husband and their family.

“In Mary’s messages at Medjugorje and her messages from all her apparitions are very similar where she talks about these pillars and school of prayer. And so, it was there that I began to understand more deeply. I began to understand this invitation into her school of prayer and into just understanding the profound gift that the rosary is, understanding the importance of daily Mass, of monthly confession, and of prayer and fasting,” noted Comeau-Laguaite.

After the witness speaker, visitors had the opportunity to pray the rosary with guest speaker Jerry Horban, President of the World Apostolate of Fatima in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend. The moment of prayer was followed by a presentation titled, “The Importance and Relevance of Fatima in Current Times.”

According to The World Apostolate of Fatima, USA, Inc., it was originally known as The Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima. The name was changed when the organization was raised to the status of Public International Association of the Faithful, making it the global organization that speaks on behalf of the Church about Fatima. The apostolate is a Public International Association of the Faithful under the Pontifical Council for the Laity. It’s the only Fatima organization in the world that speaks “in the name of the Church” and “with the authority of the Church” on Fatima. It has been positioned under The Pontifical Council for the Laity because its work is chiefly the work of the lay faithful. Their mission is to help people learn, live, and spread the message of Our Lady of Fatima in communion with the Church and in concert with The New Evangelization.

“I know it happened even though I wasn’t there,” said Horban to the crowd regarding Fatima apparitions. “The Fatima message is just as relevant today as it was in 1917.”

Horban discussed the state of the world today, noting many shocking revelations including 65 million children being aborted in the United States, how marriage is an abolition with the acceptance of same-sex marriages, crime is up in the country, and a sense of me-ism is plaguing our country.

Stats by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops from 2007 were shared and they noted only 23 percent of the population practices their faith and goes to Mass, 68 percent believe they can be a good Catholic without going to church, 67 percent don’t believe in hell, 37 percent believe it’s important to follow all teachings of the church, 29 percent attend adoration, 26 percent of adults go to confession once a year, 4 percent of the population prays the rosary daily, and 8 percent prays the rosary once a week.

“Within our Catholic Church, we have to do a lot better,” said Horban.

The talk included a historical overview of each child who witnessed the apparition at Fatima, sharing details about their lives, personalities, how each received the message, and how each child lived the remainder of their time on earth following the guidance of Our Lady’s message. The three were given three secrets, one being a vision of hell showing them the importance of the world changing its ways or being led to an eternity of despair.

Horban talked about how Fatima is a directive for living out the Eucharist and that Our Lady visited the site to share a message of hope and peace to the world during a bleak time in history. He noted that the core of Our Lady’s communication can be expressed in three simple sentences:

Addressing the eternal order, she told us that hell exists and that souls are being lost to it because there is no one to make reparation for their sins.

Speaking of the temporal (worldly), she said that war is a consequence of sin.

The salvation of souls and the attainment of world peace require the conversion of sinners. Mary said, “People must stop offending God because He is already so much offended.” (October 13, 1917)

During the lecture, Horban also shared five requests of Our Lady of Fatima.

In the first request, Our Lady of Fatima requests that each day we offer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Sacrifices demanded by the duties of your state in life along with any hardships or difficulties God brings into your life. In reparation for sin and for the conversion of sinners, offer it up. Sister Lucia considered living out of this disposition the most fundamental and important everyday response to Fatima.

The second request asks for praying the rosary daily and includes doing so while meditating on the mysteries, especially for world peace.

In the third request, we are asked to consecrate ourselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and wear the brown scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel as a sign of our consecration.

The fourth request asks people to practice the Communion of Reparation on the first Saturday of the month, popularly known as the First Saturday Devotion.

In the final request, we are asked to contribute to the establishment of devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in the world by spreading the message of Fatima to others.

To learn more about the World Apostolate of Fatima Fort Wayne-South Bend Division, visit https://www.fatimafwsb.org.