The Blue Army of Our Lady of Fátima, now mostly known as the World Apostolate of Fátima, is a public international association that has as its general purpose "the promotion of the authentic teaching of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and the strict adherence to the tenets of the Gospel; the personal sanctification of adherents through faithful adherence to the Message of Our Lady of Fátima and the promotion of the common good by the spreading of that Message of Fátima".

History

The Blue Army was founded in 1946 by Harold V. Colgan, parish priest of St. Mary of

Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a City (New Jersey), city in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Nicknamed "The Queen City",

(US). Father Colgan had fallen seriously ill and was hospitalized. During his illness he prayed to

Our Lady of Fátima Our Lady of Fátima (, ; formally known as Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Fátima) is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus, based on the Marian apparitions reported in 1917 by three shepherd children at the Cova da Iria in Fátima, Portu ...

that if she should cure him he would spend the rest of his life spreading devotion to her. He attributed his recovery to his prayers, and began preaching to his congregation on a regular basis about the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. He summed up the message of Our Lady's apparition as this: * Devotion to the

Immaculate Heart of Mary The Immaculate Heart of Mary () is a Catholic devotion which refers to the view of the interior life of Mary, her joys and sorrows, her virtues and hidden perfections, and, above all, her virginal love for God the Father, her maternal love for ...

, * Daily recitation of the

Rosary The Rosary (; , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), formally known as the Psalter of Jesus and Mary (Latin: Psalterium Jesu et Mariae), also known as the Dominican Rosary (as distinct from other forms of rosary such as the ...

and * Righteous observance of the duties of one's state of life. His message was highly successful; however, he wanted to make more of a lasting impression upon his congregation, and so he added two further items of his own invention. The first was a signed promise that one would try to uphold these values and the second was to wear a blue ribbon or blue medal in order to remember the promise. This was also a success and the congregation all enrolled. It was then that Fr. Colgan began to think about extending this to other parishes and other nations. Thus was born the Blue Army, from Colgan's own words: "We will be the Blue army of Mary and Christ, against the red of the world and of

Satan Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...

." Fr. Colgan began preaching his message and gained success, especially with the assistance of writer John Haffert who began delivering conferences on the message of Fátima and the Blue Army. Colgan then went to the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

in May 1947 to meet

Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

in order to present his project for approval from the

pontiff In Roman antiquity, a pontiff () was a member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs."Pontifex". "Oxford English Dictionary", March 2007 The term ''pontiff'' was later applied to any h ...

. The foundation of the International Blue Army took place at the House of Pontevedra, Spain, where Mary is said to have appeared to request Communion of Reparation every First Saturday. Currently, there are over 20 million members.

World Apostolate of Fátima

The World Apostolate of Fátima has its world headquarters in the '' Domus Pacis'' ("House of Peace"), a pilgrim guest house in

Fátima, Portugal Fátima () is a city in the concelho, municipality of Ourém and Santarém District, district of Santarém in the Oeste e Vale do Tejo Region of Portugal, with 71.29 km2 of area and 13,212 inhabitants (2021). The homonymous Freguesia, civil ...

. While the Blue Army was founded in 1947, because of its rapid spread around the world, it became necessary to erect a new society. The Decree of Erection of the World Apostolate of Fátima was signed on 7 October (the Feast of the Holy Rosary), 2005. Then on 3 February 2006, the World Apostolate of Fátima held an official ceremony for the consignment of the decree and the approval of its statutes at the

Pontifical Council for the Laity The Pontifical Council for the Laity was a pontifical council of the Roman Catholic Curia from 1967 to 2016. It had the responsibility of assisting the Pope in his dealings with the laity in lay ecclesial movements or individually, and their ...

in Rome.

Organization

The Apostolate is broken up into prayer cells which are found in parishes throughout the world. These cells fall under state and national Apostolate centers which in turn are subordinate to the International Secretariat based at Fátima in the ''Domus Pacis''. The International Secretariat exists in order to coordinate the activities of the organization throughout the world and to carry out the policy decisions of the

board of trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

, an elected group of nine members of the Apostolate who represent various regional centers of the Apostolate. They meet once a year to discuss the internal affairs of the Apostolate. As of 2017, Donal Anthony Foley was the secretary, World Apostolate of Fátima, England and Wales.

Membership

Membership in its most basic sense is through making a Pledge promising the following: * To offer up every day the sacrifices demanded by one's daily duty to the faithful observance of God's law * To say five decades of the

daily while meditating on the mysteries * To wear the brown scapular of

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Our Lady of Mount Carmel, or Virgin of Carmel, is a Roman Catholic Titles of Mary, title of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated as patron saint, patroness of the Carmelites, Carmelite Order. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on M ...

as a sign and reminder of personal consecration to Our Lady and * On the first Saturday of five consecutive months, with the intention of making reparation to the

, confess and receive

Holy Communion The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...

, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep company with Our Lady for fifteen minutes while meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary. The official pledge of membership is:

I pledge myself to Our Lady and wish, thereby, to join the World Apostolate of Fátima.

Dear Queen and Mother, who promised at Fátima to convert
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
and bring peace to all mankind, in reparation for my sins and the sins of the whole world, I solemnly promise to Your Immaculate Heart:

# To offer up every day the sacrifices demanded by my daily duty # To pray at least five decades of the
Rosary The Rosary (; , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), formally known as the Psalter of Jesus and Mary (Latin: Psalterium Jesu et Mariae), also known as the Dominican Rosary (as distinct from other forms of rosary such as the ...
daily while meditating on the Mysteries # To wear the Scapular of Mount Carmel as profession of this promise and as an act of consecration to You, # To accomplish the devotion of the Five First Saturdays of the month, including the fifteen-minute meditation on the Mysteries of the Rosary. I shall renew this promise often, especially in moments of temptation.

The daily offering mentioned is traditionally the following:

O my God in union with the
Immaculate Heart of Mary The Immaculate Heart of Mary () is a Catholic devotion which refers to the view of the interior life of Mary, her joys and sorrows, her virtues and hidden perfections, and, above all, her virginal love for God the Father, her maternal love for ...
''(here kiss the brown scapular)''. I offer Thee the Precious Blood of Jesus from all the
altars An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in Christian ...
throughout the world, joining with it the offering of my every thought, word and action of this day.
O my Jesus, I desire today to gain every
indulgence In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for (forgiven) sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission bef ...
and merit I can and I offer them, together with myself, to Mary Immaculate – that She may best apply them to the interests of Thy Most
Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus () is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus Christ is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devotion to Christ is p ...
. Precious Blood of Jesus, save us! Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us! Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!

Thus are delineated the primary devotions of the World Apostolate. These are the devotions mandated by the Blessed Virgin Mary during the Apparitions at Fátima. Traditionally this pledge is printed, and signed by the person who desires membership. It is also traditional that this signed pledge is then sent to the international headquarters in Fátima where it is then taken and buried near the shrine there. Aside from the daily offering, recitation of the rosary, the wearing of the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the five Saturdays in honor of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Apostolate also recommends to its members the practices of nine first Fridays in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Home

Enthronement An enthronement is a ceremony of inauguration, involving a person—usually a monarch or religious leader—being formally seated for the first time upon their throne. Enthronements may also feature as part of a larger coronation rite. In ...

of the Sacred Heart, and family

consecration Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

to the

Sacred Heart of Jesus The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus () is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus Christ is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devotion to Christ is p ...

and the

. A further practice associated with the World Apostolate is the Pilgrim statue of

. There are several designated "pilgrim statues," however the primary one is the international pilgrim statue which has traversed the globe several times since its sculpting in 1947 by José Ferreira Thedim. The purpose of the statue is to renew interest in Catholic parishes in the message of Fátima, and to stir up affection to Our Lady.

Blue Army Shrine

The National Blue Army Shrine of Our Lady of Fátima, in Washington Township ( Warren County), New Jersey, is located on and rises over the Muscontecong Valley. It hosts more than 50,000 pilgrims annually.

The Apostolate symbol

The symbol of the apostolate consists of a pair of doves forming an image of praying hands holding a rosary. These are then surrounded by an image of a brown scapular, containing the words in Latin ''Orbis Unus Orans'' ("One World Praying"), the motto of the Apostolate. All of these surmounted on a blue disc, blue being the symbolic liturgical color of the Virgin Mary in the Catholic Church.

Media

In 1996, John Haffert (co-founder of the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fátima) spoke about Fátima and his book ''Meet the Witnesses'' in which he interviewed nearly 200 witnesses to the Fátima miracle, describing their detailed witness accounts. In 1985, the organization largely financed the film ''State of Emergency'', originally advertised under the title ''Chain Reaction''. Starring

Martin Sheen Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. His work spans over six decades of television and film, and his accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and ...

, the film concerns a

nuclear physicist Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...

who determines that

nuclear fusion Nuclear fusion is a nuclear reaction, reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei combine to form a larger nuclei, nuclei/neutrons, neutron by-products. The difference in mass between the reactants and products is manifested as either the rele ...

experiments may lead to global destruction. The physicist travels to Portugal to investigate the Fátima prophecies, believing they may describe his fears. The film was produced by Richard Bennett and written by Ray Cunneff, based on an article on nuclear tests by Rand McNally Jr. Of the production, Martin Sheen said, "The fact that it's even being done is so extraordinary. A film about a man's subtle transformation, about a spiritual journey he's compelled to take…amazing! It's hard to find anything where you can project your personal feelings." The film's budget was $6 million. It also starred

Peter Firth Peter Macintosh Firth (born 27 October 1953) is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Sir Harry Pearce in the BBC One programme '' Spooks''; he is the only actor to have appeared in every episode of the programme's ten-series lif ...

and Tim Pigott-Smith. The World Apostolate of Fátima USA has published ''Soul Magazine'' quarterly since 1950. The editor is Barb Ernster.

References

External links

World Apostolate of Fátima, International Secretariat

World Apostolate of Fátima, USA

The Life and Works of a Fátima Apostle: John Haffert
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blue Army Of Our Lady Of Fatima Our Lady of Fátima Catholic advocacy groups Christian organizations established in 1946 1946 establishments in New Jersey Non-profit organisations based in Portugal International Christian organizations