The St Paul’s Catholic Church in White River celebrated the feast of Our Lady of Fatima on Sunday October 15.
According to Fr Molewe Machingoane, this feast is celebrated on May 13, but they do so in October every year since it is the Month of the Rosary.

“We begin with Holy Mass, then it is the procession with the statue of Our Lady, ending with a fundraising when we sell raffle tickets and celebrate in style.
“Over 100 years ago, the Mother of Our Lord appeared to three children shepherding flocks in the field and asked them to pray the rosary to end wars and for the conversion of Russia. We need to pray the rosary more now that Russia is in war. We celebrated this feast with the community of Mbombela, who joined us and supported us,” he said.

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“The story of the Our Lady of Fatima begins on May 13, 1917. Three children, Francisco, Jacinta and Lucia, were tending to their family’s sheep. The children, under 10 years old, were blessed with the presence of the Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus. The children saw this beautiful woman dressed in white standing above a bush. Our Lady of Fatima told them to pray the rosary daily until the end of World War I,” said Fr Molewe.

He said they celebrated in style as they invited various entertainers, local and from outside the province, to grace the event, and enjoyed Portuguese cuisine. They were also entertained by the famous dance group from Portugal known as Rancho da Cosa.