The Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Fatima at Saint Mary Church in Riverside on Wednesday October 2, 2024 | Todd Bannor 
The Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Fatima during a children’s mass at Saint Mary Church in Riverside on Wednesday October 2, 2024 | Todd Bannor 
The Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Fatima during a children’s mass at Saint Mary Church in Riverside on Wednesday October 2, 2024 | Todd Bannor 
The Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Fatima at Saint Mary Church in Riverside on Wednesday October 2, 2024 | Todd Bannor 
Children worship the Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Fatima at Saint Mary Church in Riverside on Wednesday October 2, 2024 | Todd Bannor 
The Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Fatima at Saint Mary Church in Riverside on Wednesday October 2, 2024 | Todd Bannor 
Information about the Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Fatima at Saint Mary Church in Riverside on Wednesday October 2, 2024 | Todd Bannor
The world-famous International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Fatima is visiting the area in early October as part of the Fatima Tour for Peace, drawing pilgrims and worshipers from around the region to St. Paul VI Parish in nearby Riverside.
Sculpted by Jose Thedim, aka “the Michelangelo of Portugal,” the statue has been traveling internationally since 1947.
On Oct. 13, 1947, in the presence of 200,000 pilgrims at Fatima — a shrine where many Catholics believe the Blessed Mother appeared and where healings have reportedly occurred — the statue was blessed by the Bishop of Leiria-Fatima and commissioned to serve as “The Pilgrim Virgin.” She was then flown to the United States, where she was crowned in Ottawa, Canada, and began a two-year tour of Canada and the U.S.
The statue has since traveled to more than 100 countries, carrying what Catholics believe are Fatima’s blessings and urgent message of peace to people worldwide.