21 churches, 13 schools and a nursing home

The Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fatima will be in San Diego for three weeks from Jan. 4 to Jan. 24, visiting 21 churches, 13 schools and a nursing home.

The statue, last in San Diego 15 years ago, returns again thanks to the initiative of Thomas McKenna, a board member of the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue Foundation who moved to San Diego two years ago.

There are three pilgrim statues throughout the world, but McKenna says this one is unique. "It came here in 1947," said McKenna. "There is a particular grace with this statue because ever since it first came to America, the conversions that have taken place have been exceptional."

McKenna says it is not so much the statue itself but what it represents that is so powerful. "The way the world is today, the Fatima message is more important than ever," he explained. "When we look at the world today, with 1,400 abortions per day in our country, the immorality and things we see, we understand the reality of the Fatima message more than anyone did in 1917."

Read the rest of this story here: California Catholic Daily