13 july, 2010
Two months after Benedict XVI’s pilgrimage to the Shrine of Fatima on May 12 thru 14, the Gold Rose donated by the Roman Pontiff to this Shrine can now be seen at “Fatima Light and Peace”, the continuous exhibition located in the Rectory Building.
It is made of gold, silver, pearls and marble by the jewelry shop Brothers Tavani (Rome) and consists of a main branch with four roses of different sizes and little branches with leaves. The rose branch is interweaved by a rosary of gold and pearls, having at the center a silver heart surrounded by thorns. The base consists of a silvery vase showing engraved at the center the coat of arms of Pope Benedict XVI and the date: XIII-MAII-MMX.
Besides feeling honored by this gesture of the Holy See for the second time, the Shrine of Fatima is also glad that the Gold Rose is enriched with symbols specifically connected to Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima. This art work is also unique since it embodies elements intimately related to the iconography of Fatima, shown in the fact that the set of little branches surrounds the heart pierced by the thorns of one of them and also in the fact that it embodies a rosary of gold and white pearls. The Gold Rose alludes, thus, through these symbols, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and to the title with which the Virgin Mary is venerated at the Shrine of Fatima.
Marco Daniel Duarte
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