SAGINAW – More than 100 people made a statement on the front lawn of a local Knights of Columbus Council on Saturday, Oct. 16, praying a noon rosary to combat an erosion of morals in today’s society.
It was the third straight year Saginaw Township-based Council 4232 held the rally, part of a campaign by America Needs Fatima (ANF) that holds several thousand rosary rallies across the country. The purpose of the rallies is to reveal the gravity of today’s moral corruption, to explain it in light of God’s plans and to outline how to prevent the chastisement, according to the group’s website.
It was a natural fit for the Knights of Columbus, according to Council Grand Knight Paul Yelle, who said the Knights traditionally have had a deep love of the Blessed Mother and its order’s members are often noted as faithful prayers of the rosary.
It was perhaps the best attendance for the local ANF rally, hosted by Yelle and celebrated by Fr. Richard Jozwiak, council chaplain and senior priest of the Diocese of Saginaw.
ANF is a nonprofit campaign made up of Catholic citizens united in the goal to win the heart and soul of America for Mary, the Blessed Mother.
In addition to the rosary rallies, America Needs Fatima organizes pro-life rallies, anti-blasphemy protests, the distribution of millions of flyers nationwide, a home visitation program enthroning statues of Our Lady of Fatima and the promotion of books and devotional items.
The group uses the Fatima message, a series of six Marian apparitions to three shepherd children in the Portuguese village of in 1917, for everything it does. The group has the following examples of how it has spread the Fatima message, defended the Catholic faith and promoted Christian values in America:
- In 2006, ANF organized 2,062 separate protests nationwide against the movie “The Da Vinci Code.”
- On Oct. 13, 2007, ANF organized more than 2,000 public square rosary rallies coast-to-coast, which the Knights’ rally helped to promote.
- Since 1995, the “Mary in Every Home” home visitation apostolate has reached over 400,000 homes, where specially trained “custodians” are invited by families to make two-hour Fatima presentations and pray the rosary together.
For information on America Needs Fatima, visit the group’s website at www.americaneedsfatima.org.