This is the 100th anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima’s appearance to the children in Fatima, Portugal. Pope Francis, to celebrate the anniversary, blessed six replica statues of Our Lady of Fatima. We were very fortunate to have one of the replicas in our parish on Friday, October 20th. Fr. Ariel Lustan, pastor spearheaded the blest occasion. Students at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School made white flags to wave as the Knights of Columbus carried Our Lady down the aisle to sit prominently in the sanctuary all day.

All of the students were enrolled into the brown scapular. The sign below the statue says ” Please do not touch Our Lady, she will touch you. ”  One of the little 4th grade boys asked Sr. Carol. ” Does this mean that if I touch the statue she is going to touch me!!?!?!”  I explained to him that there is no need to touch the statue, just pray to her and she will touch you through your prayers.

This was a busy day at St. Anthony of Padua School because our school won the contest of naming the new police dog for the Casa Grande Police Department. Police officers and the Drug Alliance Reps came to our morning assembly in the courtyard and presented us with our award. Our school chose the name “Lobo” which in Spanish means wolf. Lobo and his new owner came for our morning announcements. In a month, after Lobo is fully trained, the police officers will return with Lobo and he will demonstrate all that he learned such as how to sniff out drugs.