On October 15, America Needs Fatima, a campaign of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP), coordinated thousands of Public Square Rosary Rallies across the United States. The reasons behind these rallies are to pray for solutions to America’s many problems and to make public reparation for the sins of the nation, especially same-sex “marriage” and abortion. These rallies also spread the Fatima message, which is all the more timely today.
The Public Square Rosary Crusade is an outreach program popularized by America Needs Fatima. Thanks be to Our Lady, this endeavor has grown tremendously since it first began in 2007. That year, 2,107 public Rosaries were held, already a significant number. However, 21,544 rallies blanketed the country this year, with a large concentration in cities like Miami, Chicago and Los Angeles.
One Exceptionally Symbolic Rally
However, one rally stood out from the rest. Indeed, the crusader spirit was particularly tangible during the rally held in midtown Manhattan.
There, TFP members were joined by dozens of local Catholic activists. In addition, students from the TFP-run St. Louis de Montfort Academy made the four-hour trip to participate in what proved to be a rally brimming with symbolism.
It was a beautiful sight to behold. The participants wielded TFP standards, banners and, most importantly, rosaries. They prayed all the Mysteries of the Rosary across from St. Patrick’s Cathedral, a refreshing Gothic masterpiece surrounded by crushing New York skyscrapers.
For the occasion, a beautiful statue of Our Lady of Fatima presided over the rally, escorted by four TFP members in ceremonial habit. This appearance of Our Lady was especially fitting, as it reminded those present of the splendorous apparition at Fatima that took place 105 years before.
Learn All About the Prophecies of Our Lady of Good Success About Our Times
In her honor, the TFP band played hymns of devotion to the Blessed Mother, to which the Catholics present sang along. The impact of this scene seemed to stop the hustle and bustle characteristic of New York, as passersby stopped in their tracks to admire the magnificent sight placed in their paths. Nothing could compete with the resonant prayers and hymns offered by the Rosary crusaders. Many applauded the young TFP band members after each hymn.
Other people perceived the incompatibility of the prayers with their sinful lifestyles and reacted accordingly. One woman screamed upon seeing the banner against abortion and same-sex “marriage,” a message she considered “hateful.” Another man walked behind the campaign and loudly shouted vulgarities at the peaceful rally participants. Despite these reactions, one could sense that much of the public was deeply impressed by the event.
After the rally, those present sensed a newborn zeal for the Faith, enkindled in their hearts. They perceived that the symbolic rally would have supernatural repercussions.
Making the Modern-Day Crusade Palpable
This rally was not just a group of friends coming together to pray the Rosary. It was a public declaration of traditional Catholic teaching in the epicenter of moral decay.
This clash between good and evil was visible to all present. Amidst a sea of vulgarity and immorality, there boldly stood a manifestation of dignity and virtue. This contrast was omnipresent, taking the sense of crusade to an apex.
One symbolic detail illustrates how the rally represented the supernatural conflict between good and evil. Directly behind the rally stood a hideous idol of the pagan-god Atlas that stands in front of Rockefeller Center. Across Fifth Ave. was St. Patrick’s Cathedral, as if directly opposed to the pagan world.
CLICK HERE to Become a Rosary Rally Captain in 2023
Instead of hiding from this evil pagan monument, the rally’s participants courageously invoked the Queen of Heaven. They turned their backs to the statue as if rejecting the devil’s perverse work. They faced the Cathedral, illustrating that the Church is the solution to the present crisis, not Satan.
Thus, this year’s Fifth Avenue rally conveyed a message that the world direly needs. As society is completely given to disordered passions, the remaining faithful need to rise up and fight against the acceptance of moral debauchery. In short, it is time to call a moral crusade.