Afghanistan was consecrated to Our Lady of Fatima in 2017

The only Catholic church in Afghanistan was consecrated to Our Lady of Fatima in 2017. This consecration happened as the political situation in the country was beginning to worsen.

Officially, Afghanistan has no Catholic nationals and no Catholic church except for a chapel established in Kabul in 1933 within the Italian Embassy. Attended by expatriate residents, it is to this day a strong spiritual center where prayer for peace is continuous.

In 2017, its chaplain, Barnabite missionary Father Giovanni Scalese (Order of the Clerics of St. Paul) organized a consecration ceremony during which he placed all of Afghanistan under the protection of Our Lady of Fatima and her Immaculate Heart.

For the priest, the fact that the entire country is Muslim is not a problem. As the act of consecration reads: "[O Mary], the Afghans do not belong to our flock, but they are our brothers and your sons; they too have been redeemed by the blood of your Son.”

“May the consecration to the Immaculate Heart help us to live our time in a more conscious way and in total availability to the will of God", said the priest.

During the 1917 apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Fatima, Portugal, Our Lady asked the young shepherds to pray the rosary every day without ceasing, and to offer their prayer for peace in the world. The praying of the rosary has thus been recited continuously at the shrine of Fatima since its creation. By meditating on the mysteries of Christ's life, each person lets himself or herself be molded by God's love, as Mary did. This type of prayer is especially needed in Afghanistan today.

Adapted from: Aleteia