In October, acclaimed speaker and initiator of a children’s eucharistic adoration program, Father Antoine Thomas of the Congregation of St. John, will lead Holy Hours for children and a Mass at area parishes.
The liturgies are being offered in conjunction with the Oct. 3 sixth annual Worldwide Children’s Holy Hour, a project of the World Apostolate of Fatima, a public association of the faithful committed to increasing devotion to Mary and to fulfilling her requests made during apparitions to three shepherd children at Fatima, Portugal, in 1917.

Fatima is one of the best known apparitions of Mary. The Vatican declared the apparitions declared worthy of belief in 1930.

Father Antoine will lead Holy Hours for children at 1 p.m. Oct. 2 at St. James Church, at 10 a.m. Oct. 3 at Sts. Peter and Paul in Wheat Ridge and at 1 p.m. Oct. 3 at St. Vincent de Paul.

“Father Antoine is a very charismatic and popular leader of children’s adoration,” said Ewelina Cieslak, president of the local Fatima apostolate.

The French-born priest, who now lives in Illinois, created a children’s eucharistic adoration program called “Children of Hope,” which is now used in parishes around the world.

Father Antoine will celebrate a Mass for families and a rosary at 8 a.m. Oct. 4 at St. Vincent de Paul Church.

“We sincerely invite everyone to bring their children to these beautiful celebrations,” Cieslak said, adding, “Each child will receive a prayer card with the Angel of Peace.”

The epicenter of the Fatima apostolate’s sixth Worldwide Children’s Holy Hour celebration will take place at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. on Oct. 3. That liturgy will be broadcast on the Eternal Word Television Network.
In 2003 the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis held the first children’s Holy Hour organized by the Fatima apostolate and two years later the celebration was moved to Washington D.C. A growing number of parishes and dioceses around the globe have participated each year.
St. James is at 1311 Oneida St., Denver; Sts. Peter and Paul is at 3900 Pierce St., Wheat Ridge; St. Vincent de Paul is at 2375 E. Arizona Ave., Denver.

For more information, visit FatimaColorado.org online.