Yesterday, St George’s parish celebrated the annual feast of Our Lady of Fatima with a procession that followed
concelebrated Mass presided by the archpriest Mgr Joseph Curmi. The congregation that took part was remarkably numerous and many more people followed the statue of Our Lady in the aux flambeaux procession.
It has been a long-standing tradition in St George’s parish to celebrate the mystery of Fatima. It was the late archpriest Mgr Michael Cefai who raised the then merely devotional commemoration to a parish festivity. In 2002 the late Pope John Paul II made it a liturgical memorial to be kept on May 13, the first of the apparitions and also the anniversary of his miraculous deliverance from an attempt on his life in St Peter’s Square.
Yesterday’s parish festivity started with concelebrated Mass at 5.30pm. During the procession, the clergy and lay faithful recited the Rosary which was led by Archpriest Mgr Curmi together with Seminarist Matthew Attard. The procession followed the shorter route along the narrow and historic streets that surround the basilica. After it re-entered the basilica, there was sacramental benediction. Both the Mass, the procession and benediction were transmitted ‘live’ by the parish community radio.
The last Mass of the day started around 7.15pm.