Description
Our Lady of Fatima is shown above three kneeling shepherd children, recalling the Marian apparitions reported in 1917 at Cova da Iria in Portugal. The children were Lucia dos Santos and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto. In 1930, following a canonical inquiry, the bishop of Leiria declared the visions worthy of belief and authorized devotion to Our Lady of Fatima.
Prayer, conversion and peace
The first apparition was reported on May 13, 1917. The Fatima devotion emphasizes the Rosary, conversion and prayer for peace. These themes help explain why an image of Mary with the children is used for family prayer and Rosary groups, rather than simply as a portrait of an individual saint.
The scene depicted on this icon
Mary wears a white mantle edged in gold and holds her hands together in prayer, with a rosary hanging before her. A crown, a cloud beneath her feet, green hills and sheep form the setting around the children. The crown belongs to the devotional interpretation of the scene; the composition is religious art, not a documentary record of the apparitions.
Made in Poland on linden wood
Art Christiana makes this icon to order on a linden-wood board with two coats of primer. The image is printed directly onto the prepared surface and finished with decorative gold-tone metal leaf (schlagmetal). A certificate bearing the production year and a hanging fixture are attached to the back.
Place the icon near the spot where the household prays the Rosary, or give it to someone with a particular devotion to Fatima. Its narrative composition also offers a starting point for explaining the three children's place in this Marian tradition.
