DEKALB—The 24 hours of prayers in the presence the Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fatima, at St. Mary Church, culminated with Mass and the singing of favorite Marian hymns.

When it was time for the statue to leave, parishioners said a fond farewell, waving white handkerchiefs symbolizing the defeat of evil.

“This was life changing,” said Annalisa McMaster of DeKalb.

“It just gave me the time to pray to her, and to listen to her voice in my heart,” she said, after receiving the brown scapular moments before the statue departed for its next stop in Rockford.

Batavia and Huntley were also on the schedule for the pilgrim statue.

The Mass at St. Mary was celebrated by Father Kenneth Anderson, who came back to St. Mary from his parish in Freeport for the special occasion. Assisting at the Mass was Father Anthony Vu Khac  Long of the Vietnamese Ministry here.

Ceremonies surrounding the visit by the statue included processions, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, the Litany of Loreto,  the rosary, and consecrations to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

“Mary was able to say ‘yes’ to God. She recognized that God has a plan,” Father Anderson said.
“She sees through the darkness. So we should reach for God in times of trouble,” he said and reminded the congregation that God is always present.

Custodian Patrick Sabat, who travels with the statue, encouraged those at the Mass to remember the message of Fatima and recall why white handkerchiefs are appropriate to wave good bye to the statue.

The white is a reminder of the white square at Fatima and Our Lady’s promise that communism, symbolized by Red Square in Moscow, would be defeated, he said.