October 10, 2009 marked the third annualPublic Square Rosary sponsored by Amer-

ica Needs Fatima. Every year, as more Catholicsunderstand the tremendous moral crisis thatAmerica is experiencing, the number of PublicSquare Rosary Rallies grows. Our first year sawover 2,000 Public Square Rosary Rallies, lastyear there were over 3,000 Public Square Rosary Ral-lies. This year we counted 4,337 Public Square Rosary

Rallies all across America!The devil understands very

well the importance of the PublicSquare Rosary Rallies. As a result,every year brings with it uniquetrials and obstacles. This year, aswe began enlisting captains inearnest, our computer systemcrashed despite our very capablecomputer technician, who hap-pens to be a full-time volunteer,having tested everything thor-oughly. Next, our telephone sys-tem inexplicably crashed,causing the loss of numerousmessages. One of our expensivemachines that print the banners

broke beyond repair. The final trial, on the day of therally, was the sudden onset of cold weather in manyparts of the United States that reduced attendingnumbers.

But by no means did these trials discourage us.Everything that is worthwhile in the apostolate bringsa multitude of temptations and trials. A cursory read-ing of the Church’s history and of the saints’ livesdemonstrates this.

Catholics consecrated and devoted to Our Ladydon’t give up when obstacles are sent their way. Witheach blow received from the devil, they perceive that itis the devil who is threatened. As a result, they attackhim with greater vigor, using the weapons that OurLady has given to us, primarily the Holy Rosary.

Besides the trials there were tremendous consola-tions. A huge consolation was the volunteers who trav-eled all the way to Kansas, to a place that they hadnever visited before, to meet people they had never

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America Needs Fatima ®®America Needs Fatima ®®January/February 2010 PROGRESS REPORT

Rosary Rally Captains TellTheir StoriesB Y F R A N C I S S L O B O D N I K

“Twenty people (including the Corpus Christi pastor) endured snow,sleet and freezing drizzle to pray the Rosary at Corpus ChristiCatholic School in Colorado Springs.” G.Z., Colorado Springs, Colo.

“All who attended were very glad they did andpromised to return next year. Thank you for lettingus have the privilege to share in this beautifuloffering to Our Lady.” P.W., Edgefield, S.C.

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met before. They placed themselves in our care andzealously recruited the overwhelming majority ofRally Captains. At a certain point in the campaign weset up two shifts of callers. Some of the volunteers in-sisted on volunteering for both shifts calling from 9a.m. until 9 p.m.! We were also blessed by veteran vol-unteers who called from home. They also were atremendous boost for the campaign.

But our greatest consolation was the Rally Cap-tains themselves, so full of love for Our Lady, and sodesirous of offering her reparation and so thirsty forthe conversion of souls. After all, what would the Pub-lic Square Rosary campaign be without the Rally Cap-tains?

We know from the phone calls, e-mails and lettersthat many of the Rally Captains also experienced trials,some quite difficult.

As is always the case, some rallies were large suchas the rally in downtown New York, with an atten-dance of 150. These gave Our Lady external glory.Other rallies were small, plagued by trials, abandon-ment and even persecution. These offered Our Ladyinternal glory, that glory that only God can see.

Our Lord, during His crucifixion, manifested Hisinternal glory, which Our Lady alone fully understood.Our Lord’s resurrection manifested His public glorythat was made manifest to the apostles, disciples andmany others.

Those whose rallies were beset with trials can beconsoled knowing that their heroic act gave much in-ternal glory to Our Lady, which Our Lady entirely ob-served and blessed.

So that you too may see why we are so consoled byOur Lady’s Captains, here are some excerpts of re-marks from a few of them:

Joy from Texas wrote, “There was a suddenovernight drop in temperature with heavy dark cloudsand a damp chill. Only four attended; however, webrought much attention with the banner and a statueof Our Lady. We prayed all of the Rosaries, all of theprayers and sang all of the hymns.”

Josie from New Jersey wrote, “Forty people at-tended despite the rain . . . from the ages of 3 to 87.May Our Lady touch all the hearts of those who donot believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not loveher beloved Son and her Immaculate Heart.”

Anthony from California wrote that 20 attendedhis rally, and a photo and story were published in thelocal newspaper about the rally.

Elidia from Texas wrote to us that 60 people at-tended her rally.

Rita from Austin, Minn., wrote, “We held our first

“I wish to thank Our Lord, Our Blessed Mother and you forthe opportunity to serve Our Lady in such a lovely way.”A.H., Texas

“My first experience as a Rally Captain was truly awonderful blessing. My community has alreadyrequested that we make it a yearly event.”A.O., Milpitas, Calif.

“It’s impossible to describe the powerful feeling ofsaying the Rosary with 82 people and knowing thattens of thousands of other people are also joining youacross America.” G.E., Salinas, Calif.

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Rosary crusade inAustin. There were 20 of us present. It was 32 degrees.”

Barbara from Jermyn, Pa., wrote, “My friend Kimcalled and asked if I could attend the rally with her. Igot dressed in 15 minutes. Thirty-three people prayedunder a very gloomy sky. As wefinished the Rosary andstarted the litany, the cloudsparted and the sun was shiningdown on us. There was a realcontrast in the sky. Directlyacross from us was a funeralhome with an American flagflapping in the wind. Over that,the clouds remained dark andominous. I really felt that thedark clouds represented theevil that is trying to overtake our country.”

Maria from Fullerton, Calif., wrote that over 20 at-tended her Public Square Rosary at a park. Next tothem were 50 raucous college students. Someone ob-served how that was a typical picture of what is goingon in our country. Maria and her participants resolved

to hold rallies each month from now on.Aurora from Sacramento, Calif., wrote

about how she prayed to Our Lady askingher to help her find a good location. Shemet some pro-lifers and decided to holdher rally in front of an abortion clinic thatshe did not even know existed in her com-munity. The pro-lifers who were alreadypraying at the clinic were very happy to seethe banner with Our Lady’s picture.

Elena from New York City held her Pub-lic Square Rosary in front of MadisonSquare Garden. Before the Public SquareRosary began, she was able to teach threeteenagers, who joined, how to pray the

Rosary. She very wisely wrote, “What mattersmost is the quality and not quantity of prayers.Prayers that are a total surrender to God’s will

shall never be abandoned. Indeed the prayers of thehumble pierce the clouds.”

Jenny from Hopkinsville, Ky, wrote, “Total atten-dance was 38 people including three priests!”

Valerie from Hawaii informed usthat there were 126 rallies in herstate!

Finally, George from Canadawrote, “With short notice we hadclose to 150 attending. There is al-ready much excitement for 2010 andI have five eager participants toform a committee. Canada needsFatima too!”

This sampling of remarks, Ihope, clearly demonstrates the seri-

ousness with which the Rally Captains take this cam-paign. They understand the tremendous battle that isheating up between the angels and the devils, betweengood and evil, between those who are of the Virgin,and those who are of the devil.

I hope that some of these remarks may inspire youto sign up to become a rally captain for 2010. You cancall us at (866) 584-6012 to sign up right now.

Our Lady needs you now more than ever! �

Our Lord’s resurrectionmanifested His publicglory that was made

manifest to theapostles, disciples and

many others.

“I was very pleased and happy to honor Our Blessed Mother with the Rosary.I know that She did hear our prayers.” E.P., Midland, Texas

“I’d like to see more Rosary Rally Captains forSaipan. My daughter has enrolled 20 otherfamilies to join for next year.” E.C., Saipan Procession of Our Lady with TFP

members in ceremonial habit on 5thAvenue in New York City.

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�� Thanks for all you do to organize theseimportant Public Square Rosary Rallies inthese difficult times. You’re an incrediblegroup of people and we appreciate all yoursupport, including the banner that we willsave for next year.

N.M., via e-mail

�� Now I’m inspired to be a Rosary RallyCaptain every year. We showed the worldthat we were neither ashamed nor embar-rassed to stand up for our Catholic faith.

M.H., Florissant, Mo.

�� My first experience as a Rally Captainon October 10 was truly a wonderful bless-ing. My community has already asked me tomake it a yearly event.

A.O., Milpitas, Calif.

��This was our first attempt, and 25 peoplegathered on the very cold, windy day to pleadour case before God through Mary. We passedout blankets, caps and gloves to those whowere unprepared for the weather. The bannerheld up beautifully between two permanentposts. We are looking forward to hold anotherrally next year even if it’s snowing.

V.S., Brackett, Wis.

�� I had the pleasure of meeting two ofyour young representatives, Matthew andCharles. They did a Fatima home visit at thehome of a friend of mine. It is inspirationaland heartwarming to see such dedication.Thank you for your wonderful mission andall who make it possible.

J.P., Williamstown, Mass.

�� The statue at our Fatima home visit wasexceedingly beautiful and the presentation byCustodian José Ferraz was remarkably hum-ble and gentle. Our home was very blessed.

J.G., Ardmore, Pa.

�� I’m very happy to be a Child of Mary. Ilove the Child of Mary lapel pin and wear italways on my jacket. I also have the big pic-

ture of Our Lady of Fatima in my room andremember that my name is on the Child ofMary Plaque at your main hall.

C.S., Hales Corner, Wis.

�� I am most grateful for your courteouskindness in sending me the novena to SaintThérèse of the Child Jesus, which I did notknow about. I started praying it as soon asI received it.

M.C., via e-mail

�� The Miraculous Rose Novena and thepicture of Saint Thérèse gave me thecourage to keep trying.

M.F., Meridian, Idaho

��Thank you America Needs Fatima for allyour correspondence. It’s like a drop ofwater in a dry desert.

M.S., Edinburg, Texas

�� I read everything in your Crusade Maga-zine. WOW! There are conservative Catholicsout there! All of your articles, especially theone on Saint Thérèse, were edifying!

R.M., Horseshoe Bend, Ariz.

�� I just finished reading the July/Augustissue of Crusade Magazine, which I found byaccident and I am delighted with its content.I would like to subscribe and have more in-formation about fighting blasphemy.

D.M., Hampton, N.J.

�� Thank you so much for the viewpointthat you placed in the September 22 editionof the Washington Times against socialistichealthcare reform.

B.L., Onley, Va.

�� Please continue to spread Our Lady’spictures to other homes. I love the peacefullook in her eyes and really enjoy looking ather kind and gentle face. I hope and pray itwill bring peace and love to the people whowill receive it.

C.L., San Francisco, Calif.

�� What a God-send! When my calendararrived in the mail I was so overjoyed Icried. It is such a beautiful calendar. I thankyou from the bottom of my heart.

M.L., Minneapolis, Minn.

�� The America Needs Fatima calendar ismy inspiration for the whole year.

R.Q., El Paso, Texas

�� The 2009 calendar was lovely but the2010 far surpasses it.

C.C., Falmouth, Maine

�� I don’t ask, “Maybe we could . . .” or“How about . . . .” When I think somethingis good for evangelizing in public, I do it;then I tell others about it. They can join me;if not, I keep doing it alone.

I started serious efforts to have a Rosaryprocession in our parish in May and Octo-ber. Didn’t know how or what to do, but de-cided to just do it. In 2002, at the age of 82,coming out of the church at noon, I started.While people were still coming out, I tookout my Rosary and walked and prayed alonearound a residential block, with the Rosarydangling from my hand. I sent a letter invit-ing people to do the same but no one came.I did the same in 2003 and 2004, but no oneelse came. Finally, in May 2005, a youngmother and son came with me. I pointedout that I was old and hoped that theywould keep going when I was no longerthere. In May 2008, another young mothertook over and formed a real processionthrough the streets. I made a carrier withtwelve little lights around the statue for twopersons to carry. Those rallies had about 24people at each. In 2009, there were morethan 60 people, including the priest andseminarians. Please pray this mother getshelp and that it becomes a yearly event.

C.J., Guelph, Canada

Our Readers Write...

All those who participated in the 2009 Public SquareRosary Rallies were remembered in a special way at

Fatima.On October 13, just two days after Our Lady received

4,337 spiritual roses from the Public Square Rosary Ral-lies across the country, the same number of red roseswas presented at her shrine in Fatima. The rallies werea special project of the American Society for the Defenseof Tradition, Family and Property and its America NeedsFatima campaign. A special five-member delegation ofcampaign members went to Fatima on October 13, theninety-second anniversary of the miracle of the sun todeliver the roses.

The shrine was filled with pilgrims on this special day, and sev-eral pilgrims helped the delegation deliver the roses.

Mr. Felipe Barandiaran, the Spanish correspondent for CrusadeMagazine, prepared the roses the day before and arranged the lo-gistics to deliver so many fresh flowers at one time.

Together with the red roses, the delegation unfurled a large

banner with the names of the 4,337 Rosary Rally Captains. In ad-dition, they delivered some 1,500 white roses to Our Lady of Fa-tima on behalf of those who helped this year’s Public SquareRosary Rallies financially. This offering closed with prayers foreach of the Rosary Captains and all those who helped in the prepa-rations for the 2009 Public Square Rosary Rallies. �

B Y N I C H O L A S M A K

USTODIAN’SCORNER We Custodians many times leave a visit

without knowing how grace wasworking inside the souls of the attendees.In fact, I experienced such a visit in SanFrancisco, California. There was nothingunusual about the visit. The small groupthat assembled was quiet and attentive.Nothing remarkable seemed to happen, yetgrace was moving behind the scenes.

Months later, the hostess of the visitmailed a letter to the America Needs Fa-tima office in Kansas. She wrote she hadbeen extremely moved by the statue of

Our Lady of Fatima, and had consequentlydecided to go back to the Church and con-fess for the first time in 50 years. She con-cluded her letter with, “I feel so blessedshe helped me find my way.”

People often ask me if Our Lady hasdone any miracles through the statue. I an-swer that no “sensational” type of miraclehas happened with the statue. However,Scripture teaches us that converting a soulis a miracle, and no small one at that. Sothe statue, or rather Our Lady through herstatue, did a huge miracle in converting the

hostess’ soul after 50 years away from theChurch! Can you imagine living that longaway from the Church?

Saint Ignatius says that we should doeverything as if everything depended onmen, but know full well that everythingdepends on God, and this is very much theattitude of Fatima Custodians as we travelwith Our Lady, for she is really the onewho does all the work. �

TToo sscchheedduullee aa FFaattiimmaa vviissiitt iinn yyoouurr hhoommee,, ccaallll ((888888)) 446600--77337711

A Woman Returns toConfession After 50 Years

4,337 roses were delivered on behalf of Rosary Rally Captains and sponsors.

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Our Lady Receives Thousands of Roses at FatimaB Y B E N J A M I N H I E G E R T

The author with one of ANF's PilgrimVirgin statues.