Preparations for the celebration of the 1st Saturday in February at the Maghdouché Shrine in Lebanon had been well underway throughout January. As the shrine is over an hour’s drive from Beirut, dozens of coaches had to be chartered to bring the faithful to the shrine. Thanks to a tremendous mobilization, many buses were financed by Lebanese and French donors to enable the poorest to come. In this war-torn country, many Lebanese live on less than fifty dollars a month…
This1st Saturday of February in Lebanon is the second event of the Jubilee 2025 of the 1sters Saturdays of the Month for Peace , which kicked off on Saturday January 4, 2025 at the Médaille Miraculeuse sanctuary in Paris and will continue throughout the world.
But there was a threat. The Maghdouché sanctuary is located in southern Lebanon, close to the combat zone. With the ceasefire scheduled to run until January 27, 2025, there was widespread concern that the fighting could flare up again, preventing the celebration of the1st Saturday in February.
To everyone’s surprise, a few days before January 27, an agreement was reached between Lebanon and Israel. The ceasefire was extended and peace maintained. Many Lebanese attributed this unexpected extension of the peace to Lebanon’s commitment to fulfilling the request of the 1st Saturdays of the month of Fatima.
On Saturday February1 at 2pm, buses and cars left Beirut and other places in Lebanon for the shrine of Maghdouché to carry out Our Lady’s requests, which we recall:
1/communion, 2/confession, 3/recitation of the rosary, 4/meditation of a Rosary mystery for 15 minutes, and 5/completion of these acts in reparation for offenses against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
By 4.30pm, the basilica was packed with a crowd of over fifteen hundred people, who had come not just to pray, but to perform an act of obedience requested by the Queen of Heaven to obtain peace: to perform on the1st Saturday of the month.
The Mass was solemnly celebrated by Monsignor Haddad, Archbishop of Saida and Deir El Kamar of the Greek Melkite Catholics. In his homily, he announced the definitive establishment of the 1st Saturdays of the month of Fatima at the Maghdouché sanctuary. At the end of the mass, the rosary was started, as requested by Our Lady.
The faithful also reported a hopeful fact: Muslims had also travelled to Maghdouché to join Christians in praying for peace. The Virgin of Fatima amazes Muslims. The Blessed Virgin is very important to them, and the question arises: why did she appear a century ago in the only village in Portugal with a Muslim first name? They see in Our Lady of Fatima a message of peace that is also addressed to them and invites them to draw closer to Christians to obtain this peace.
At the same time, near Beirut, in Saint Elias, the “Mary’s Heart” community gathered in union with Maghdouché to celebrate the1st Saturday of the month. The mass was celebrated by Monsignor Elias Sleiman in the Maronite rite, demonstrating the willingness of Maronites and Greek Catholics to unite behind the request of Our Lady of Fatima. For this is the spirit of the World Alliance of the 1st Saturdays of Fatima for Peace: to unite throughout the Church, whatever our sensitivities, to humbly realize together what Mary has asked of us in order to obtain peace.
At Saint Elias, as at Maghdouché and in all 1st Saturdays groups around the world, meditation was made on the same joyful mystery, so as to be united in Church across the world. It’s worth noting that this community has been meeting at Saint Elias on the 1st Saturdays of the month since 2020. They were the first in Lebanon to commit to this devotion on a regular basis, and their prayers have undoubtedly contributed to the spread of this devotion throughout Lebanon, helping to bring peace to this troubled country.
Finally, what happened on Saturday February1, 2025 in Maghdouché, Lebanon, goes far beyond the Lebanese context. In fact, in many places around the world, the faithful also celebrated the1st Saturday of the month for peace in union with the Lebanese present at Maghdouché.
But that’s not all. The Blessed Virgin asked that the 1st Saturdays of the month be celebrated and formalized throughout the Church in order to achieve peace. Lebanon paved the way. For the first time, a prelate of the Church has established this devotion definitively in one of the country’s largest sanctuaries.
Let us pray to Our Lady that this official act may bring many graces of peace to Lebanon, and that Lebanon may be an example to all the other countries of the world, so that they too may follow in this footsteps on the occasion of the Jubilee 2025 of the 1ers Saturdays of Fatima for Peace.
February 15, 2025, Alliance 1ers Fatima Saturdays for Peace