Significance of Mary’s titles Fatima and Lourdes having a Muslim background

This is a personal opinion. It struck me as significant that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, is popularly known worldwide as Our Lady of Fatima and Our Lady of Lourdes.

Fatima was the daughter of the Prophet Mohammad and Lourdes was a baptismal name of a Muslim leader who decided to become a Christian because of Mariam (Mary’s name in the Qur’an). Why is this significant?

One answer is sure. In God’s providential care nothing happens without a reason. But this reason we do not know. We can only speculate, prayerfully and respectfully.

The basis of my speculation is the very high regard the Prophet Mohammad held Mariam, given the many chapters in the Qur’an about her. Calling her “chaste and pure” seems to summarize the essential reason for the high regard. And this is the reason also for my personal speculation.

In Christian teaching Mary’ chastity and purity is the result of her immaculate conception. She is therefore a person without sin or moral disorder or uniquely a person of perfect order in her thoughts, desires, words, actions and relationships. And truly a woman of inner and outer peace, for peace comes from order.

Years ago in Cagayan de Oro City our Bishops-Ulama Conference had a symposium on Mariam in the Qur’an and Mary in the Bible with 3 theologians — Catholic, Muslim and Protestant — as resource persons. There was agreement that in both holy books she was highly favored by God.

At the press conference afterwards the ABS-CBN reporter asked me a pointed question: what has this symposium to do with peace in Mindanao? I answered with another question: why is there no peace in Mindanao? His retort: because there is much disorder in Mindanao — social, economic, political and… moral (I added). So, I finally I said, our symposium wants to present a woman respected by Catholics, Muslims and Protestants as role model in peacemaking and peace building. Catholic tradition rightly calls her Queen of Peace and Our Lady of Peace. For, peace is the result of order in individuals, families and societies.

And this is why I consider it significant that our Blessed Mother has titles like Our Lady of Fatima and Our Lady of Lourdes because these have Muslim background. In a future article we will discuss this “Muslim background.”