Vision of Fatima

by Thomas McGlynn

Here's the first-hand account of the Dominican priest and sculptor who worked under the direction of Sr. Lucia the last surviving witness to the 1917 Marian apparitions in Fatima as she guided him in perfecting the famed statue of Our Lady of Fatima. Sr. Lucia insisted Our Lady's hands be positioned just so, the tunic fall exactly the way she remembered, the star placed on the proper spot on the tunic, and the ball of light around her neck reaching almost to her waist. She would make corrections as Fr. Tom worked, and at times would even take one of the tools and make changes to his model. Fr. Tom emerged with far more than an exact replica of how Our Lady appeared; he came to understand and recounts here in these pages Sr. Lucia's intimate explanations of what happened in Fatima, the spiritual meanings of the apparitions, whether the Consecration to Russia occurred, why the secrets had to remain secrets for so long, and why Mary chose to appear to three young shepherd children in rural Portugal. Fr. Tom reminds us that Fatima is a place of miracles, and he points us toward the penitential character of Our Lady's message, especially the importance of praying the Rosary. Few books can provide such a penetrating, close encounter with a major Catholic event as Fr. McGlynn's Vision of Fatima . And only this book leads us into the heart and mind of a Portuguese nun who met face to face with the Mother of God.

Genres: Catholic, Christianity, Religion

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1949

Reviews

[Maryann Masci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vision Of Fatima

I thoroughly enjoyed this book because not only did I learn more about the secrets, I also learned about miracles I never knew occurred at Fatima. And to hear words from Lucy's mouth were inspirational.

[Colleen Rein · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book. Father McGlynn made a statue of Our Lady of Fatima with St. Lucia at his side. This book clearly explains Fatima, the miracles that followed, and what God wants us to take away from the apparitions. This book is for everyone that we may better understand what God wanted from us when He sent Our Lady to the children at Fatima. And, he does it while also telling a well written story.

[Manny · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author Fr. Thomas McGlynn, O.P. (1906-77) was a Dominican priest, sculptor, professor at Providence College, and writer. He sculpted many saints and Popes, and in 1947 was commissioned to make a statue of Our Lady of Fatima. After building a prototype, he decided he would bring it to the one remaining, living child of the famed Fatima Apparitions of 1917, Lúcia dos Santos, at the time a Carmelite nun, to get her approval and possible revisal for the large scale sculpture he intends to create. This book recounts his journey to Lucy, as he refers to her at the beginning of the book (later he refers to her as Irmã Dores, her name at the convent), Lucy’s rejection of the prototype statue, and the recreation of the new statue based on her vision. To be clear, this is not the more renown Our Lady of Fatima statue carved by José Thedim that is more familiar. Sister Lucy did not approve of that statue either; it did not fit the apparition. Fr. McGlynn intended to make a statue to correspond with Lucy’s perspective, her vision. And that is what this book is about, as well as filling in the complex messages of the apparition as Fr. McGlynn learns about them.

The journey to Portugal and then to the various cities of interest, and to the Fatima apparition site is very engaging. McGlynn is a fine writer who observes carefully and with a generous and humorous heart. Along the way we meet various types of people, several who were witnesses to the Fatima miracle of the sun, and we learn much about the Fatima apparitions itself. McGlynn paces the journey well, and concludes each chapter with a mini climax. The book is very well written.

But the culmination of the pilgrimage is meeting with Lúcia to get her approval and input into the prototype statue he has made. To his shock Lúcia rejects his statue completely, and after some consideration decided to plant himself in Lúcia convent to work with her to come up with a new prototype, one based on her vision, the vision she had as a child of the Holy Mother’s appearance at Fatima. The chapters where he discusses with Lúcia the vision and where they work the statue together are most fascinating. In many respects, Lúcia herself was the artist with the vision, Fr. McGynn the medium through which the vision was realized: “There was not a detail of execution that [Lúcia] missed or on which she did not comment with either approval or correction” (p. 100). The statue then is the vision that a little girl named Lúcia dos Santos had from witnessing the apparition of our Blessed Mother at Fatima some thirty years prior and which she kept in her heart all those years until God could bring about a sculptor that could make manifest that vision into a physical entity.

If you have the opportunity to be in New York City, I highly recommend you take a little pilgrimage to the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer in Manhattan at 869 Lexington Avenue (between 65th and 66th streets) where the very first marble version of the statue is on display and view this most beautiful statue of Our Lady of Fatima in person. If you wish to see pictures of the statue, I posted some on my blog, here:
http://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.c...
But read Fr. McGlynn’s book on the making of the statue. Both the book and being in the statue’s presence will give you as many graces as it has given me.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have often thought to myself as I was rating a book, that it is not always necessarily that it was an "amazing" book, that I rate it a 4 or 5, but that I think it is important knowledge to have read about, keep in my bookcase, or it may come at things from an angle that is not usually represented that I feel it is important, or a "keeper". Other times, I truly feel it is an amazing book.
This falls under the important information group. Some may find it a little tedious as he recounts some information people may already know, he is very specific in expressing how meticulously the sculpture was sculpted, down to the most tiny detail, however I felt grateful to have read the book, being exposed to a more personal picture of Sister Lucia and I just overall think it was important information to spend time thinking about.

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our Lady of Fatima is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Roman Catholic tradition. It is based on the apparitions that happened in 1917 in Portugal. During this time, she appeared to three shepherd children - Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta. This year is the 100th anniversary of the apparition and to commemorate this anniversary, there are several books being published, which speak on it. One such book is entitled Vision of Fatima, published by Sophia Institute Press.

The book is written by Fr. Thomas McGlynn, a name that is unfortunately unfamiliar to most of the Catholic world. He was born in 1906 and died in 1977, an American Dominican priest and sculptor. Why do I mention the fact that an "unknown" priest was a sculptor? He was the man who sculpted the statue of Our Lady of Fatmia, under Sr. Lucia's guidance of course. The book is divided into twenty chapters and weaves together two narratives - the creation of the statue and the apparition of Mary. Each chapter begins with Fr. McGlynn recounting his tale of meeting Sr. Lucia and the sculpting of the statue, and then the chapter dovetails off of that account to here firsthand from St. Lucia on the apparition of Mary, what she experienced, and the core message of Fatima.

I don't claim to be a Catholic expert by any stretch of the imagination. However, if I find a subject that interests me, I do like to read up on it and know as much as I can. I have read about Our Lady of Fatima before, because as a convert, this subject was highly interesting to me. This book however, opened up my eyes a bit more to the apparition, due to the firsthand accounts that Sr. Lucia provided. It was also a fascinating read to learn about the creation of the statue and how meticulously it was created. Sr. Lucia wanted everyone to be able to experience the true vision of Our Lady of Fatima, and I would say she and Fr. McGlynn succeeded. If you love Our Lady of Fatima )really why wouldn't you?), I recommend this book.

This book was provided to me for free by Sophia Institute Press in exchange for an honest review.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing treasure of a book - one I will reread and recommend to friends. I only wish I had paid better attention to the statue on the basilica while I was in Fatima, but in my own defense, it is very high up and my focus was on Our Lady in the Chapel of Apparitions.

Now I HAVE to go back, copy of this book in hand, and see the statue again. The star, the heart/ thorns, the outstretched arm — I feel as if I’m seeing a new version of something that is so fundamental to me…I’m falling in love again (or even deeper in love) with the Blessed Mother and with Fatima…I did not think that was possible. This book is a joy.

[Madeline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fatima still relevant today & tomorrow!

This book explained what happened at Fatima and why it’s important to every human being on the planet. Must read for Catholics and for individuals who want a better understanding of Queen of Heaven Mary. Also, an explanation of what all the praying, fasting, and penances are accomplishing in this world & the next.

[Ingrid Pera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicely written. Really only a book on the making of the Fatima statue. Not much in terms of the visions, secrets and their meanings. Was really looking for the latter. Will try Fr Apostoli's book on Fatima.

[James Shearer · Rating 5 out of 5]

An fascinating read and a must read.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned so much from this book! I will be in Fatima in a few days and will now have a much richer experience there largely due to this book. Highly recommend!

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming story of a priest/sculptor who created a statue of Our Lady of Fatima under the guidance of Lucia, one of the visionaries. Along the way he interviews witnesses to the miracles and people who were cured, and learns all about the revelations from Lucia herself. A great introduction to Fatima.