Folly pervades that part of society which, sadly, neither delves deeper into nor has any real interest in faith beyond parading it around and reinterpreting it as it suits the occasion. The latest example of this can be found at the Meet Gala 2026.

The lavish dress supposedly inspired by Our Lady of Fatima is yet another affront to the Mother of God, who embodies all the graces with which He adorned her. Many of us recognize her as a model of virtues across the broadest spectrum, for there is none she lacks. And among them, naturally, is modesty. How can one claim to be honoring her with a garment that lacks the elegance that accompanies decency? Let us not be deceived. There is a certain audacity—which I’m not sure can be mistaken for naiveté—in choosing it to shock at a fashion show attended with obvious intentions: to be the most lauded for originality and, as the gossip press often says, the most dazzling. Of course, when natural beauty is present, it is only natural that all eyes will be on the one who possesses it, as is the case here.

However, this is disrespectful. It’s an inappropriate attitude, even though it’s being embraced by journalists who, clearly ignorant of what they’re saying, praise the attire, calling it a tribute to Mary under that particular title.

In spiritual terms, the Virgin Mary does not invite us to ostentation, nor to the pursuit of applause or public acclaim. She calls us to withdraw into ourselves, meditating on what she represents and what she, in the name of her divine Son, has been urgently repeating: that  we must pray, that we must convert,  which translates into fasting from our passions. Only in this way can we avert a catastrophe of unpredictable dimensions throughout the world. These are appeals she has made insistently for centuries in La Salette, Lourdes, Rwanda, Rue du Bac, Laus, and, of course, in Fatima, as well as Garabandal and Guadalupe.

It is never the time to trivialize what is to come, especially not in circumstances like those we are witnessing everywhere: immense suffering, successive wars, the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent people, appalling poverty… In short, evil reigning supreme. And are we, as believers, supposed to look the other way? I believe we have a duty to draw attention to the indifference, the wastefulness, the lack of generosity, the emptiness, and the mediocrity that surround these lavish celebrations, which explain the flippancy and frivolity with which events like the one that prompts this reflection are treated.

In short, it has nothing to do with someone feeling a particular devotion to a specific Marian devotion. I won’t go into the fact that perhaps this is someone who doesn’t regularly attend church; that’s not my place. But the truth is that for devotion to be authentic, it must have internal and external characteristics that wouldn’t choose a catwalk to manifest themselves in the way it has. And especially in this month of May, which the Church dedicates to Mary, we would do well to remember this.