Father Michael O’Duignan, made the announcement for the plans of an outdoor shrine to Our Lady of Fatima. Why Fatima? There was little known in the West about Fatima at that time and no one could recall having heard Fr. Luke indicate which of our Holy Mother’s titles he might have preferred for this altar shrine, but only months earlier Fr. O’Duignan had received a small Fatima booklet and letter from New York, sent by Rev. Joseph Cacella, a Portuguese priest. Fr. Cacella was born in Portugal, close to the village of Fatima. The message of Fatima was dear to his heart and he felt it was his mission to spread that message. So before long he secured printing presses and soon was writing books, leaflets and novenas, sending them throughout the Americas. One of these found its way to Lake Arrowhead in 1947. Fr. O’Duignan read it and put it aside for future reference. A year later when he started the plans for the Shrine to Our Lady, he recalled the little booklet on Fatima. Fr. O’Duignan, knowing that this was the most recent message from the Mother of God and of its importance for our time, felt it would please her to have a Fatima Shrine in these beautiful mountains. There seemed no other answer but Fatima. A letter was quickly on its way to Fr. Cacella and in return mail came a wealth of books and leaflets to be distributed to parishioners and visitors who came to mass.
Our Lady of Fatima said to the child Lucia, “tell the people,” and the people of Lake Arrowhead were anxious to hear her message. Word spread rapidly and, from then on, Our Lady seemed to be smiling down on the project in approval. Enthusiasm for the venture spread, and many people came to offer their services and help. In October 1948, Mary Coony, a summer resident with a great devotion to Our Lady of Fatima, called a meeting to ask friends to assist the proposed project.
Mrs. Coony became a great fundraiser for the project, and she is credited with spreading the news of the shrine and gathering supporters. Mrs. Coony bought the first printed literature for the shrine. On Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1948, Mr. and Mrs. R.C. Hartwell of Los Angeles, who were dining with Father O’Duignan, became so excited about the plans for the shrine project that they offered to donate the finest group of Fatima figures that could be found and the land to build the shrine. The Hartwells located Mr. Jose Ferreira Thedim from Fatima, Portugal. Mr. Thedim, a famous painter and sculptor and a witness to the “Miracle of the Sun” in Fatima, achieved fame by his appealing statue of Our Lady of Sorrows, first prize winner at the Iberian Latin American Exhibition in Seville, and by another statue of Our Lady of Fatima fashioned for the Portuguese College in Rome. Mr. Thedim agreed to carve the white Estremoz marble, which is marble from the actual site of the apparitions in Fatima. The set of figures, seven pieces in all, include the following: Our Lady, Francesco, Jacinta, Lucia and three sheep. He sculpted the statues of Our Lady of Fatima according to his memory and written instructions received from Lucia, one of the children to whom Our Lady appeared. Lucia liked and approved of the statue, now known as the Pilgrim Virgin, the most authentic representation of Our Lady of Fatima, as Lucia saw her.
Mrs. Mary Coony, an enthusiastic supporter for the Shrine who donated the Shrine’s first liturature.
Mr. and Mrs. R.C. Hartwell, donors of the seven Fatima figures, with Fr. Mike O’Duignan.
Mrs. Coony became a great fundraiser for the project, and she is credited with spreading the news of the shrine and gathering supporters. Mrs. Coony bought the first printed literature for the shrine. On Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1948, Mr. and Mrs. R.C. Hartwell of Los Angeles, who were dining with Father O’Duignan, became so excited about the plans for the shrine project that they offered to donate the finest group of Fatima figures that could be found and the land to build the shrine. The Hartwells located Mr. Jose Ferreira Thedim from Fatima, Portugal. Mr. Thedim, a famous painter and sculptor and a witness to the “Miracle of the Sun” in Fatima, achieved fame by his appealing statue of Our Lady of Sorrows, first prize winner at the Iberian Latin American Exhibition in Seville, and by another statue of Our Lady of Fatima fashioned for the Portuguese College in Rome. Mr. Thedim agreed to carve the white Estremoz marble, which is marble from the actual site of the apparitions in Fatima. The set of figures, seven pieces in all, include the following: Our Lady, Francesco, Jacinta, Lucia and three sheep. He sculpted the statues of Our Lady of Fatima according to his memory and written instructions received from Lucia, one of the children to whom Our Lady appeared. Lucia liked and approved of the statue, now known as the Pilgrim Virgin, the most authentic representation of Our Lady of Fatima, as Lucia saw her.
With the statues assured, Bishop Charles Buddy of San Diego gave his consent to purchase property for the proposed shrine. Out of love and devotion, Mr. and Mrs. Norris Nadeau dedicated their time performing the arduous task of tracing the owners of 19 separate lots. On May 23, 1949, the women of the parish, under the direction of Fr. James Anderson, organized the Our Lady of Fatima Guild with the intention of helping with the shrine project. On July 5, 1949, the Fatima novenas were initiated.
In the beginning, a rosary for world peace was held once a week in homes of guild members and a Novena to Our Lady was held each week in the church. The guild was responsible for fulfilling various duties in the church and raising money for the shrine by selling Christmas cards with a beautiful sketch of the proposed shrine, designed and donated by Mr. Paul Fehr, an architect from Los Angeles.
In the fall of 1948, Captain William Haller, assigned to the 817th Army Corp. of Engineers, stationed at March Air Force Base, visited Our Lady of the Lake Church and learned of the plans to build the shrine. Fr. O’Duignan advised him that the work to prepare the site would involve more money than the parish could afford. In memory of his younger brother, who was killed in the South Pacific during the war, Captain Haller became dedicated to helping with the project and came to the church often to discuss plans for the project. Captain Haller was assigned to temporary duty in Texas, but on July 13, 1949, remarkably the last day of the first Fatima novena, he returned and organized a volunteer work force from the 817th Engineers Combat Unit and Airmen from March Field-Riverside. Obtaining permission from the commanding officer, the men utilized the heavy equipment needed to clear the site, built retaining walls and positioned boulders for the shrine. Week after week the twelve “boys” came with their captain up the mountain and spent days combing the hillsides for rocks and material with which to build the rock wall and stone altar. Sadly, before the completion of the shrine, Captain Haller was sent overseas to Japan and the boys themselves were sent to various assignments. They had accomplished a tremendous task, sacrificing all their free time and energy to a project they learned to love. It was with sadness and joy they departed: happy they could have been of help and sad that they could not continue. All the men looked forward to a day when they might visit the completed shrine. Prior to construction, the property for the shrine needed to be cleared of two wooden structures and two old street cars. Mr. Archie Johnston donated his time, labor and equipment for this immense task. Actual construction began on July 16, 1949, the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
Captain William Haller, who organized the 817th Division of Engineers.
Mr. Archie Johnston removing two old street cars from the area and clearing the ground in preperation for the Shrine
Soldiers from the 817th Division of Engineers, known as “the boys”, with Fr. Mike O’Duignan.
Fr. Mike O’Duignan and Andy Ugrin, master stonemason who created all the stonework for the Shrine and rectory.
Andy Ugrin, a 73-year-old retired stonemason, provided the leadership and experience for all the stonework for the shrine and the current rectory. He completed the stone altar and rectory stonework in the spring of 1951 after two years of dedication.
In May, 1951, Jose Thedim, the Portuguese sculptor, made a special trip from Portugal to survey the site of the shrine at Our Lady of the Lake. He spent many hours at the site, studying the terrain and sketching the shrine as it would appear when the figures would be in place. His original sketch hangs in our rectory today. On December 7, 1951, the eve of the Immaculate Conception, Fr. O’Duignan, who was hospitalized for a lung hemorrhage, received a cable from Portugal that the Fatima figures had arrived in New York. That cable from Portugal also brought the news that the huge figure of Our Lady was transported free of charge on the little ship named Harta. One of the directors of the Portuguese shipping company, Corregadores Aeoreanos, had donated her passage. Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Lockhart went to the dockside when the figures arrived and welcomed them in the name of Our Lady of the Lake. The Lockharts were one of the first families of our parish and their support of Our Lady of the Lake continued for many years afterward. Mr. Lockhart was often seen at the site of the shrine helping or taking refreshments to the soldiers during the clearing of the site for the shrine. Mr. Lockhart also took rolls of colored moving pictures as the work progressed, and some of those pictures were donated to our church. It was at this time that the Lockharts donated the Italian hand-carved wooden Stations of the Cross, which still adorn our church today.
(From left to right) Sculptor Jose Thedim, his secretary Ms. Heather Woods, Fr. Mike O’Duignan and Maria Thedim (Jose’s daughter).
Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Lockhart recieving the statues for the Fatima Shrine in New York City.
The completed statue of Our Lady of Fatima
The original sketch of the shrine by sculptor Jose Thedim. It hangs proudly in the rectory.
Mr. A.K. Fuesk, a friend of the Fatima project, donated his services as broker and made necessary preparations to have the figures transported from the East coast via the Panama Canal to Los Angeles. The figures arrived in San Pedro weeks later, but because of two heavy snows in the mountains, they were taken to Barstow by William Casey and stored. Prior to their shipment overseas, Jose Thedim transported the figures, the first ever to be done in white Estremoz marble, to Fatima for a blessing by the Bishop of Fatima. In April 1952, Fr. Mike O’Duignan, now out of the hospital, went to Barstow to inspect the figures and prepared to bring them to Lake Arrowhead. He was still making preparations when the Bishop, concerned for the priest’s health, sent him to a hospital in Tucson, Arizona to recuperate completely. The shrine seemed at a standstill. The summer of 1952 passed and winter set in. All work was halted. In the spring of 1953, Fr. Ray O’Donohoe, the new pastor, set out to complete the shrine. Mrs. Hartwell, donor of the figures, returned to the mountains for a few weeks to aid in contacting the people who promised to complete the project. Mrs. Hartwell secured hundreds of plants and shrubs and with the help and supervision of Fr. O’Donohoe helped place and plant them. Mr. William Casey loaded the figures onto trucks in Barstow. Because of unexpected engine trouble, the trucks with the figures arrived at 2:30 am on July 16, 1953, the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, exactly four years after the actual work on the shrine began.
Mr. Nishan Toor, an Altadena artist and sculptor promised to erect the figures and was notified and prepared to begin work. Mr. Jack Hoenig of Lake Arrowhead, who had done work on the rectory, began construction on the outdoor pews. Venetian-like blinds were attached on poles above the pews and could be adjusted for protection from the sun during hot summer months. Mr. F.B. Nightingale, of Altadena came and donated his time and materials to provide light to the shrine site. Mr. and Mrs. B. Ethier donated materials so the altar could be finished and within a few weeks the work was completed. On Sunday, July 19, 1953, Rev. Msgr Thomas Mathews, pastor of the Holy Rosary Church in San Bernardino came to bless the new chapel and the stone altar. Msgr. Thomas had established the original mission church twenty-five years earlier and spoke of the mountains as expressing the Majesty of God. Christ himself had fled from the cities and villages to be alone in the mountains to commune with God. Our Lady had also chosen the mountainous terrain of Fatima and Lourdes. Msgr. paid tribute to the many priests who had served in the parish and the hundreds of people, both Catholics and non-Catholics, who labored so lovingly and contributed so much.
The Shrine dedication Mass on August 16th, 1953
The outside shrine shown with the Venetian-like blinds and wooden benches for summertime services.
The Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima was dedicated on Sunday, August 16, 1953. Hundreds attended the ceremony. A High Mass was celebrated in the outdoor chapel by Fr. Ray O’Donohoe, and Fr. Mike O’Duignan delivered the sermon. He recalled the summer, five years earlier, when the plans were announced and when the site was covered with boulders, dead wood and street cars. Now after those years of willing labor, a dream was realized to honor the Mother of God.
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22627 Rim of the World Dr.
Lake Arrowhead, Ca. 92352
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P.O. Box 1929
Lake Arrowhead, CA 92352
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