"The Pilgrim Virgin"

August, 2011 - Our residents come from many different cultural and religious backgrounds. The Royal Health Group is respectful of all our residents, and celebrates their diversity. Recently, Royal Falmouth hosted the “Pilgrim Virgin,” a statue of the Mother of Jesus with accompanying devotions based on the apparition of the Virgin Mary at Fatima, Portugal in 1917. The statue, about three feet in height, has been travelling around Cape Cod on a weekly basis for more than 20 years. Its purpose is to keep the messages of Fatima, including the importance of family unity, alive in the hearts of believers.

The tradition began in 1947, when the now world-famous International Pilgrim Virgin statue was sculpted by Jose Thedim, based on the description of one of the three young children who witnessed the apparition in Fatima. In 1967, Pope Paul VI sent 25 statues out on their pilgrim journey. Today, there are thousands.