Holliston, Massachusetts
Our Lady of Fatima Shrine Mission Center
Xaverian Mission Center
Our Lady of Fatima Shrine
101 Summer St. - P. O. Box 5857
Holliston, MA 01746
(508) 429-2144
Gift Shop: (11am-5pm) (508) 429-8172
See us on GOOGLE MAP
Virtual Tour of Fatima Shrine
Directions to Holliston, MA
Fatima Days 2010: Remember the 13th of the Month
Please come to the Monthly Fatima Days ! Over the years, the Fatima Days on the 13th of the Month at the Shrine in Holliston have become a tradition in the spiritual life of parishes and people in the area.
Dates:
May 13th: Fr. Lawrence Esposito, pastor of Good Shepherd Parish, Linwood, MA
June 13th: Fr. Ed Riley, Archdiocese of Boston - Home School Ministry.
July 13th: Fr. Brian Manning, pastor of St. Mary's Parish, Franklin, MA
August 13th: Fr. Tom Stanton, pastor of St. Martha's Parish, Plainville, MA
September 13th: Fr. Frank Campo, associate pastor at St. Mary's Parish, Franklin, MA
October 13th: Bishop Walter Edyvean, Auxiliary Bishop of Boston - Western Region.
Program:
6:30pm: Get-together, choir practice & sing along
7:00pm: Liturgy of the Eucharist
8:00pm: Prayer of the Rosary outdoors - Followed by refreshments in the Hall
9:00pm: all is finished.
People find joy and spiritual nourishment in coming together to pray and celebrate the message of Fatima, with a world-mission perspective, and pray the Hail Marys in various languages. See the video for a preview.
A Guided Tour of Fatima Shrine
On a bright and sunny Sat. May 30, a group of four Xaverian
Mission League members: President Shirley Melle, Secretary Gloria Gelineau,
Publicity Director Joyce Covell, and Membership Chair Claire Lombardi, conducted
a tour of the Chapel and grounds of Our Lady of Fatima Shrine in Holliston.
Beginning with Blessed Guido Conforti and the history of the Xaverian
Missionaries, the tour group then viewed the large world map of the Xaverian
mission locations. Next, they proceeded into the Chapel where the meaning of the
artwork on altar and pulpit was explained. They are replicas of the altar and
pulpit at the Mother House in Parma, Italy. Next, five wall-mounted Mosaic
prints by Slovenian Jesuit Fr. Marko Rupnik which were brought back from Rome by
Fr. Ivan Marchesin were examined and explained. Then the 24 spectacular stained
glass windows depicting scenes from the Mysteries of the Rosary as well as the
Xaverian Patrons and the Fatima appearances are illustrated in magnificent
detailed workmanship.
Outside, the original farmhouse building given to the Xaverians by Archbishop
Cushing was pointed out. The former Seminary building, which now provides senior
citizen housing, was also noted.
The life-sized statues of Blessed Guido Conforti (2006) and the Sacred Heart of
Jesus (2007) were also viewed as well as a smaller statue featuring St. Francis
Xavier on the bow of a ship en route to a mission location. The Way of the
Cross, raised relieves on white Carrara marble plaques each attached to a
soaring pillar of local pink granite, winds through a wooded area leading to the
Crucifixion scene. The "slice of Sequoia" tree, which pre-dates our Christian
era, was viewed. Next, since Mary is the Patroness of our country, the
ground-based gigantic outline of the United States, a cement inlay traced in the
grass before the Grotto was viewed. The Grotto beneath Crucifixion Hill,
containing a marble replica of Michangelo's famed Pieta, was the next stop. In
the life-sized hillside marble replica of the Crucifixion of Jesus, we also see
marble statues of Our Blessed Mother, St. John the Apostle, and Mary Magdalene.
Next, the tour group neared the Fatima area of the Shrine
where the Angel of Peace is depicted as appearing to the three shepherd
children: Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta. The Angel came to them three times in
1916 to prepare them for Mary's appearance. The Hill of Fatima illustrates the
apparitions of Mary in 1917 in Cova da Iria, Fatima, Portugal, to the same three
children who are depicted kneeling attentively in front of her.
The world mission rosary encircles more than an acre of lawn and is believed to
be the world's largest rosary. It is 950 feet long and weighs 300 tons. It is
the "brain-child" of Xaverian Father Oddo Galeazzi who, for three years in the
early 1960s, tirelessly searched quarries and abandoned gravel pits in eastern
Massachusetts to find just the right-sized "beads". Each "bead" is a few feet in
length and width. Each "Hail Mary" bead bears a copper plaque engraved with the
words of the "Hail Mary" in one of 53 different languages arranged in
alphabetical order. Heavy links from the chain of a ship's anchor join each bead
to form the decades that meet at the 18-ton granite "medal".
The tour ended with a visit to the Gift Shop to view the 25th stained glass
window, a scene of the resurrected Christ appearing to the remaining 11
Apostles.
Joyce Covell
Soup and Mission with Congo in our Minds and Hearts
See some photos from community newspaper
Holliston Tab, which show the Soup and Mission event held at Fatima
Shrine, with the focus on Congo. Martin Bahati, a Jesuit priest born in the
Congo, and studying at Boston College, spoke about his native country. He shared
his mission concerns, and the Xaverians offered a light meal of homemade soup
during this Lenten season. The topic was on the social and political situation
of the peoples in the Great Lakes area of Central Africa and the
challenge facing the churches in those countries (RD of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda,
Uganda, and Sudan). Fr. Martin Bahati did a superb job, he had a nice
power point presentation and people like him and felt challenged by what he
said. It was great.
About 60 people came and joined in this Faith and Food event: share our
mission and concern with others as well as enjoy, in the spirit of Lent, the
homemade soups prepared by our friends of the Holliston League.
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