A 20-foot statue of Our Lady of Fatima destroyed by the EF3 tornado that devastated the Indian Lake area of Logan County on March 14, killing three people and injuring at least 27 others, was found on the lake bottom on Holy Saturday, March 30, by a team of volunteer divers.

“We are so excited to have her finally located, and just one day before Easter Sunday,” said Bill Quatman, chairman of the American Society of Ephesus (ASE), a nonprofit group that owns the statue.

“Visibility was near zero and three drone flights could not locate her, so divers had to feel for the statue in the dark. She was found about 50 feet offshore after being blown off her concrete pedestal. She never touched the ground and must have flown 50 to 100 yards in the air. That would have been quite a sight to see,” Quatman said.

Quatman said a new statue and a concrete pedestal for it will be built. The former pedestal raised the height of the original statue to 43 feet. ASE is not soliciting design ideas for the new shrine until debris is removed and the site is graded.

The statue was a popular site for pilgrims from the Diocese of Columbus, especially around Aug. 15, the Solemnity of the Assumption, when an annual Mass was celebrated there by the pastor of Russells Point St. Mary of the Woods Church, with the Archbishop of Cincinnati also a frequent celebrant. Logan County is part of the archdiocese.

Quatman said a 60th anniversary event planned for that date this year has been postponed.

“We likely cannot use any of the original statue, (but) we will build something equally impressive and respectful,” he said. “We knew that the shrine was important to the community and have been overwhelmed at the requests to build her back.”

An insurance claim to cover the loss is pending, he said.

Quatman also said ASE made a $25,000 donation to the United Way of Logan County’s Indian Lake tornado relief fund. “We suffered property damage and the loss of our beloved Mary statue. But others in the community suffered injuries, loss of life and home or business. We felt compelled to give back. Our prayers are with the affected community,” he said.

He said he has been receiving inquiries from around the world about the statue and was particularly grateful for a kind letter from the mayor of Fatima, Portugal, who visited the site in August 2018.

People have offered to donate to a rebuilding fund, but Quatman has asked that donations be sent to the United Way.

The statue, popularly known as “Our Lady of the Lake,” was erected by Quatman’s grandfather George, who operated an amusement park in Russells Point. When dedicated in 1964, it was the world’s largest Marian statue, five feet taller than the statue at Fatima that was the elder Quatman’s inspiration. George Quatman died in 1964, two weeks after the statue’s dedication.

Profits from the park, now closed, were used to build the statue. It was sculpted and cast in Florida, with work beginning in February 1963. The face of the Virgin Mary was based on a painting, reputed to be one of the several portraits attributed to St. Luke, that Quatman saw in an Armenian chapel in Jerusalem. Upon completion, it was shipped to Ohio, where it was placed atop the pedestal. 

Mary’s robes were painted blue and white, trimmed in gold, with fluorescent paint that came alive under concealed black lighting. A water fountain below the statue was programmed with 14 water scenes.

The original construction included a motorized, lighted platform that permitted the statue to complete a full rotation once an hour with 18 changes of color. In more recent years, the statue has permanently faced outward, overlooking Indian Lake.

For more information on ASE and the statue, visit www.ase-gbqfoundation.org or www.saintmaryofthewoods.com/fatima. For more on United Way of Logan County’s Indian Lake tornado relief fund, visit https://www.uwlogan.org/indian-lake-tornado-community-response.