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World Apostolate of Fatima is pleased to announce that the US Papal Nuncio, His Excellency Archbishop Pietro Sambi, will be officiating the Mass for the renewal of our country's Consecration to Our Patroness, the Immaculate Conception.
All are invited to come to our nation's Basilica, The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, in Washington, D.C., Saturday, November 11, 2006 at twelve noon.
All bishops have been invited to participate at the Mass. However due to scheduling conflicts, the bishops may sign the Consecration prayer for their dioceses, which has been provided to them by the World Apostolate of Fatima which will be offered at the Mass. The prayer for the Consecration was composed by our bishops in 1959 at the dedication ceremony of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception whereby they consecrated the country to Our Patroness, the Immaculate Conception. However by this consecration on November 11th our country will be Consecrated to the Heart of Our Patroness - which is our apostolate's mission for world peace.
During World War I, His Eminence Francis Cardinal Bourne, who was the Primate of England, Consecrated England to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary. He claims, and many others as well, that it stopped World War I. The Armistice was signed ending World War I after the Consecration on November 11th - incidentally the same day which this Papal Nuncio chose to officiate the Mass for the United States.
During the 1720's the Bubonic plague was rampant in Marseille, France. 50,000 died out of the town's population of 90,000 in a matter of months. Thousands were laying dead in the streets, for people feared to bury them and risk catching it as well. The Archbishop consecrated Marseille to the Sacred Heart to end the plague - which it did without any medical means or vaccinations.
The country Portugal was Consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary before World War II and was protected from the war.
To view the document the bishops will sign, please select this link: Prayer for Renewal.
The Importance of the Consecration of the United States to Blessed Mother - as explained by Fr. Andrew Apostoli, C.F.R.
Please explain what is happening on November 11th at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception?
The World Apostolate of Fatima has requested the United States Papal Nuncio, His Excellency Archbishop Pietro Sambi, to offer a Mass of which there will be a Consecration of the United States to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, our Patroness, with special mention of the Immaculate and Sorrowful Heart of Mary - the mission of the World Apostolate of Fatima.
They are going to use the prayer of Consecration composed by the United States bishops for the dedication of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in 1959. An official Consecration always requires the use of a prayer that was composed and approved by the bishops of that country.
This Consecration will take place on November 11, 2006 at 12 noon at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The main celebrant is the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, however, the Consecration prayer will be read by a bishop of the United States.
What is the historical and religious significance of the Consecration?
Historically, many countries have been Consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and many to Blessed Mother under various titles. These Consecrations have proven to be strong link with the Sacred Heart or Blessed Mother. In such cases, the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Blessed Mother have given a special protection and care to those countries that were Consecrated to Them.
Sometimes the Consecration has been asked for by Our Lord or Our Lady. A Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary was asked by Blessed Mother in her apparition at Fatima on July 13, 1917. Evil had spread throughout the world. This evil was communism.
The actual Consecration was finally made by Pope John Paul II on March 25, 1984. Communism began to change from within. In 1989, the Berlin Wall came down. It did not fall down. It was not knocked down. It was taken down by the people who had put it up, because of a change in heart. It was peaceful. And we know that conversion comes from the grace of God. The dissolving of the Soviet Union occurred in 1992-1993. There still needs to be put into action the second condition of Blessed Mother's request, for the conversion of the nation, namely the practice of the five first Saturdays of the month.
Our Lord requested, though St. Margaret Mary, the Consecration of France to His Sacred Heart. The French king refused to do the Consecration. It was made by another king many years later. But it was too little, too late. If the Consecration had been made, the terrible tragedy of the French Revolution would have been avoided.
Why is this Consecration important now?
We only have to look at the situation outside our nation and inside our nation.
Outside the nation, there is growing threat of violence, terrorism, war and even the possibility of a nuclear war. Archbishop Fulton Sheen gave a talk "The Approach of Midnight." He said that if the United States continued on its course of killing life at the beginning by abortion, destroying life at mid-day and twilight by euthanasia, killing the handicapped and elderly, it will lead inevitably to a midnight of catastrophic destruction by nuclear war. Recent events of testing of nuclear weapons in North Korea and the threat of nuclear weapons in Iran make the midnight of nuclear war a frightening possibility.
Inside the country, we see the rising of secularism, which is suffocating moral and religious values. Part of this is the spread of the culture of death, by abortion, embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia and the like. Another facet of the culture of death is the destruction of the Christian value of family, the fundamental building block of civil society and the Church. This is being undermined by the promotion of gay lifestyle, especially the acceptance of homosexual unions to be recognized as marriage. It is also being undermined by the spread of pornography, couples living together without the benefit of marriage and increasing divorce.
The external and internal problems we face are enormous. They threaten the very fabric of our society. Politics alone cannot solve these problems. Military might would only lead to mutual destruction of countries.
We are left with one choice. Our Lady gave that in her very first apparition in Fatima, May 13, 1917. She said, "I am the only one who can help you!" I believe that.
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