The Sculptor-Priest of Fatima
BY FR. HUGH VINCENT DYER, O.P.
F
atima has been present in my imagination
for nearly as long as I can remember.
I grew up in Albany, New York, in the
1980s. Albany is the place where Fr. Patrick
Peyton, C.S.C., began his apostolate of the
Family Rosary Crusade. He had two great
sayings: “The family that prays together stays
together” and “A world at prayer is a world
at peace”. That prayer is the Rosary. In my
neighborhood, there was a woman of faith,
Mrs. Giminiani, who promoted the message
of Fatima and encouraged others to pray the
Rosary for conversion.
“Penance seeks justice and
communion with Jesus
crucified. The prayer of the
Rosary is a prayer whereby
we grow in the virtues of
Mary’s contemplative heart.”
L a st yea r I fou nd a n out- of-pr i nt book
on Marian apparitions, which referenced
a rare book entit led Vision of Fatima by
our own Fr. Thomas McGlynn, O.P. I called
the Dominican House of Studies librarian, Fr.
John Martin Ruiz, O.P., to track down a copy
of McGlynn’s book on Fatima; I also asked him
to read it. We both read the book with delight:
therein McGlynn recounts his encounter with
and privileged access to the last surviving
visionary, Sr. Lucia, who personally provided
direction as he sculpted a visual representation
of Our Lady of Fatima. His statue stands,
centered, above the entrance to the basilica
at Fatima, where it is seen by hundreds of
thousands of pilgrims every year.
The book Vision of Fatima is more than an
enjoyable travelogue. Fr. McGlynn reminds us
that Fatima, like Cana, is a place of miracles.
He also points us to the penitential character
of Mary’s message. Penance seeks justice and
communion with Jesus crucified. The rosary
is a prayer whereby we grow in the virtues of
Mary’s contemplative heart. Fatima has long
been an impetus toward prayer, and Fr. Mc-
Glynn’s work supports this motivation. His
book is again a gift to Our Lady of Fatima in
this centennial year of the apparitions.
Vision of Fatima has been re-published
by Sophia Institute Press and is available
through Amazon and Barnes & Noble.