Sister Lucia dos Santos, the Fatima visionary who died in 2005, said Our Lady of Fatima’s prophecy for Russia had been fulfilled, according to the Archbishop of Minsk.
Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, who served as archbishop of Moscow from 1991 to 2007, met Sister Lucia three times. At the first meeting, in 1991, he told Sister Lucia that he was the Catholic archbishop in Moscow: “She asked several times, ‘Is it true?’
“‘So,’ she said, ‘it means the prophecy of Fatima is fulfilled’”.
Part of the Fatima message – contained in a series of visions to Sister Lucia and her cousins – spoke of the rise of communism, but also spoke of the ultimate triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, especially in Russia if the country was consecrated to her Immaculate Heart.
Although some have debated whether the consecrations were carried out properly, Popes Pius XII, Paul VI and John Paul II each entrusted the world, and Russia in particular, to Mary.
Archbishop Kondrusiewicz said Sister Lucia assured him that it was done correctly.
Sister Lucia told him to work with the Orthodox, he said, and sent a statue of Our Lady of Fatima with him to give to Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexei II of Moscow.
“Later, I saw the statue on his table several times,” he said.
The archbishop explained that people in Belarus, where he now serves, had a great devotion to Our Lady of Fatima. “You will never find a church without a statue of Our Lady of Fatima in my country,” he said.
Pope’s new SSPX marriage rules
Pope Francis has approved new provisions that make it possible for marriages assisted at by Society of St Pius X (SSPX) priests to be recognised as valid.
The proposal was initially made by Ecclesia Dei and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Those who would like a wedding in the Extraordinary Form can apply to their bishop. If no other priest is available, an SSPX priest can officiate.
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