Eagle Scout Builds Fatima Arch

On Wednesday, February 20, 2019, Father Michael Russo and the students and staff of Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School in Lafayette celebrated the feast day of the three shepherd children who received apparitions of Our Lady at Fátima in 1917. The celebration began with Mass and ended with the blessing of a new monument, a replica of the original arch that was built over the holm oak tree on which the Virgin Mary appeared. The dedication also marks the 70th anniversary year of the founding of Our Lady of Fatima Church/School Parish in Lafayette. The new monument is an Eagle Scout project by 8th grade Fatima student, Brenden Daigle. The 13-year old student built the arch with the help of his father, Weylin Daigle, and godfather, Glenn Daigle. The story of the three shepherd children who had visions of the Our Lady and the message she gave to them has fascinated Christians around the world for the past century. Jacinta and Francisco Marto, aged seven and nine, and their cousin, ten year old Lúcia dos Santos, were looking after the family sheep in a field known as the Cova da Iria when they first saw an apparition of a beautiful lady dressed in white, "made of light and holding a rosary in her hand," as they later described her. Our Lady appeared five separate times on the holm oak tree on the 13th of each month from May through October, with the exception of the August apparition which took place on the 19th at another location.