The creative world of Lebanese-Armenian painter/sculptor Raffi Yedalian is always full of new, interesting and highly aesthetic works, one of which is the TORCH, which was created for the shrine built in the newly created place of the Virgin of Apparition in the Portuguese city of Fatima and is dedicated to the 100^th anniversary of the Virgin of Apparition in that place.

…On May 13, 1917, three little shepherds – 10-year-old Lucia Santush, her cousins Jacinth (Justina) and Francisco – witnessed a real miracle, that is, the Virgin of the Apparition. Among the branches of a large oak tree not far from the city of Fatima, the children saw the shining image of the Virgin Mary. Mariam urged them to visit that place on the 13^th of every month, and the children would be near the tree on that day every time…Through those children, the Holy Virgin was conveying three major messages – pray her Rosary every day, repent and do deeds of atonement for the sins of everyone to be forgiven.

…All of Portugal found out about this soon, the news spread across the globe, and the place became a shrine. One time, on the 13^th of October, people witnessed the “sun dance” during which people were enjoying the enigmatic phenomenon around the sun with amazement (the rays of the sun would separate for a couple of minutes and move in the sky, creating interesting and enigmatic contours.

From that point on, the 13^th of May became the day of the start of appearances of the Holy Virgin. On May 12, 2017, Pope Francis I, who is devoted to the messages of the Holy Virgin, prayed the Rosary along with 1,000,000 believers in the Sanctuary of Fatima, and on the next day (13 May), served a Holy Mass.

In May, people having gathered at the Sanctuary of Fatima from different corners of the globe on the occasion of the 100^th anniversary of the Virgin of the Apparition, witnessed the opening of the torch prepared by our fellow compatriot. On that day, according to Raffi Yedalian, the ceremony of Rosary prayer was chaired by patriarch of the Maron community Mar Beshara Rai and attended by Vicar of the Armenian Catholics, Bishop Kevork Asadourian and Patriarch Huna. On the day of the ceremony of the Rosary prayer, the prayer “Greetings to you, Mary” is recited in four languages, including Arabic, Armenian, French and English. Mr. and Mrs. Yedalian pray in Armenian. Patriarch Rai donates the copper torch gilded by Raffi Yedalian that was supposed to be placed in the museum of the Sanctuary of Fatima. The torch created by Yedalian is a uniquely beautiful, valuable, marvelous creation and dedication to the Holy Virgin. It is composed of 7 sections that symbolize the 7 Apparitions of the Holy Virgin decorated with 7 crosses. The tree of the mother of Lebanon is seen in the center of the torch. On the occasion of the 100^th anniversary of the appearance of the Holy Virgin, Yedalian carved 100 crosses on the torch. The statue of the Virgin Mary-Harissa is 8.5 meters high, and Yedallian’s torch is 85 cm long. At the bottom of the torch, the artist portrayed the mark “Է” (eh in Armenian) of the Armenian church (Է means the only perfection). Raffi Yedalian created two copies of this torch (the second one is for the shrine of the Virgin-Harissa of Lebanon).

The ceremony held in the small and marvelous city of Fatima in Portugal and the wonderful work of Lebanese-Armenian artist Raffi Yedalian were a respect to not only the Virgin Mary, but also to the apparition of the God-given talent of our compatriot, Raffi Yedalian.

Karine Avagyan