Holliston, Massachusetts

Our Lady of Fatima Shrine Mission Center

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Sunday, Dec. 11 at 1:00pm: St. Bridget, Framingham, celebration of St. Guido Maria Conforti

Dec. 11: Come and Celebrate Saint Guido M. Conforti

The Xaverian Missionaries of Holliston will mark the canonization of Saint Guido with a Mass of Thanksgiving to be offered in Saint Bridget Church in Framingham on Sunday, December 11th at 1:00 p.m. Come and join the Xaverians and Cardinal Sean O'Malley as we give thanks to God for the presence of Saint Guido’s sons and daughters in the Archdiocese of Boston, Paterson and Worcester.

On World Mission Sunday, Oct. 23rd, Pope Benedict XVI celebrated the canonization of three new saints for the Church. One of them, Saint Guido Maria Conforti, is the founder of the Xaverian Missionaries, a religious community that has strong ties to the Archdiocese of Boston since the early 1940's.

Please get in contact with the Holliston community at Fatima Shrine at 508-429-2144 for information, tickets for reception, over-night stay, and other details.

Christmas Lights at Fatima Shrine, Holliston, MA

The Christmas Lights display started on Sunday Nov. 27 at the Fatima Shrine. The lights are on every day of the month of December, through January 8th, from 5:00pm to 9:00 pm.

Every day, the hall will be opened for people who come to visit the Christmas lights, with goodies for everyone, young and old: hot chocolate, pastries, cookies, munchkins, etc.

Fatima Shrine celebrates the Christmas Vigil Mass on Dec. 24th, at 8:00pm, while Christmas Day Solemn Mass will be on Dec. 25th at 11:00am. During this Advent, come and enjoy this wonderful sight of the Season of Christmas.

See a preview of the beautiful Christmas Lights display at Fatima Shrine Mission Center, Holliston, MA. Put together by the Xaverian Missionaries and friends, displayed during the entire month of December. Photos and Video by Mike Marraffino

See Photos of past Christmas Lights

Rosary Procession with candles at Fatima Shrine

Fatima Days, 13th of the Month at Fatima Shrine

Thanks to the many friends who followed us throughout the 13th of the Month in 2011, a  particular year for the Xaverians at Fatima Shrine in Holliston, as we reflected and celebrated the Canonization of Bishop Conforti, our Founder, at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome on Oct. 23, 2011. Throughout this 2011 season, we offered some facets of the life of St Guido Maria Conforti and his devotion to Mary, during the Fatima Days, the 13th of the Month.

The list of Fatima Days celebrants of the Eucharist and speakers include Bishop Walter Edyvean, Fr. Tony Lalli, Fr. Francis Signorelli, Fr. Bob Maloney, Fr. Joe Matteucig and Fr. Carl Chudy.

The 7:00pm Mass was well attended, followed by Rosary Procession, with recitation of the Hail Marys in various languages. Thanks for coming to Fatima Shrine, and seeking God’s blessings for you and your family through the intercession of Mary.

In Holliston, a new saint is celebrated

Read the article by our friend Frank Mazzaglia wrote an article on the upcoming canonization of Bishop Guido Maria Conforti for "The MetroWest Daily News," and published in other New England’s local papers.

» Read Article by Frank Mazzaglia

Visiting group in front of the new Chapel of Lights at Fatima Shrine

A Guided Tour of Fatima Shrine

On a bright and sunny Sat. May 30, a group of four Xaverian Mission League members: President Shirley Melle, Secretary Gloria Gelineau, Publicity Director Joyce Covell, and Membership Chair Claire Lombardi, conducted a tour of the Chapel and grounds of Our Lady of Fatima Shrine in Holliston. 

Beginning with Saint Guido Conforti and the history of the Xaverian Missionaries, the tour group then viewed the large world map of the Xaverian mission locations. Next, they proceeded into the Chapel where the meaning of the artwork on altar and pulpit was explained. They are replicas of the altar and pulpit at the Mother House in Parma, Italy. Next, five wall-mounted Mosaic prints by Slovenian Jesuit Fr. Marko Rupnik which were brought back from Rome by Fr. Ivan Marchesin were examined and explained. Then the 24 spectacular stained glass windows depicting scenes from the Mysteries of the Rosary as well as the Xaverian Patrons and the Fatima appearances are illustrated in magnificent detailed workmanship.

Outside, the original farmhouse building given to the Xaverians by Archbishop Cushing was pointed out. The former Seminary building, which now provides senior citizen housing, was also noted.

The life-sized statues of Saint Guido Conforti (2006) and the Sacred Heart of Jesus (2007) were also viewed as well as a smaller statue featuring St. Francis Xavier on the bow of a ship en route to a mission location. The Way of the Cross, raised relieves on white Carrara marble plaques each attached to a soaring pillar of local pink granite, winds through a wooded area leading to the Crucifixion scene. The "slice of Sequoia" tree, which pre-dates our Christian era, was viewed. Next, since Mary is the Patroness of our country, the ground-based gigantic outline of the United States, a cement inlay traced in the grass before the Grotto was viewed. The Grotto beneath Crucifixion Hill, containing a marble replica of Michangelo's famed Pieta, was the next stop. In the life-sized hillside marble replica of the Crucifixion of Jesus, we also see marble statues of Our Blessed Mother, St. John the Apostle, and Mary Magdalene.

Traditional Photo by Fatima Hill

Next, the tour group neared the Fatima area of the Shrine where the Angel of Peace is depicted as appearing to the three shepherd children: Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta. The Angel came to them three times in 1916 to prepare them for Mary's appearance. The Hill of Fatima illustrates the apparitions of Mary in 1917 in Cova da Iria, Fatima, Portugal, to the same three children who are depicted kneeling attentively in front of her. 

The world mission rosary encircles more than an acre of lawn and is believed to be the world's largest rosary. It is 950 feet long and weighs 300 tons. It is the "brain-child" of Xaverian Father Oddo Galeazzi who, for three years in the early 1960s, tirelessly searched quarries and abandoned gravel pits in eastern Massachusetts to find just the right-sized "beads". Each "bead" is a few feet in length and width. Each "Hail Mary" bead bears a copper plaque engraved with the words of the "Hail Mary" in one of 53 different languages arranged in alphabetical order. Heavy links from the chain of a ship's anchor join each bead to form the decades that meet at the 18-ton granite "medal".

The tour ended with a visit to the Gift Shop to view the 25th stained glass window, a scene of the resurrected Christ appearing to the remaining 11 Apostles.

Joyce Covell

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