OUR LADY OF FÁTIMA: Apparitions in Portugal in 1917

Pope Benedict XV organised a prayer crusade to Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces, with a view to saving the world, which was then devastated by the First World War. A week later, his anguished plea received a response from the very lips of the divine Mediatrix. One Sunday, 13 May 1917, three children were tending their sheep on the hills of Fátima, in Portugal. Lucia, aged 10, and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta, aged 9 and 7 respectively, were the blessed ones chosen by the Virgin.

Hearing the midday bell ringing in the distance, they knelt and recited the rosary. Their prayer was interrupted by the sight of a flash of lightning, followed by a second one, brighter than the first. Yet the sky was cloudless. Oh, what a marvel! A few paces away, on the branches of a holm oak, they caught sight of a beautiful Lady, more resplendent than the sun. Dazzled and terrified, the three children want to run away, but the mysterious apparition reassures them with a gesture of motherly kindness and says to them: ‘Do not be afraid; I will not harm you.’

After a few minutes of ecstatic silence, Lucia dared to ask: ‘Who are you?’ ’ ‘I am from heaven,’ replied the heavenly vision, ‘I have come down to ask you to come here, for six months running, on the 13th of each month.’ The Virgin urged them to recite the Rosary often. ‘You shall add this prayer after the Gloria Patri: ‘O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, and lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are most in need of Your mercy.’ Then She fell silent and gently slipped away.

On the 13th of each of the following five months, the children had the joy of seeing the beautiful Lady again. News of the apparitions spread rapidly. On 13 July, the crowd reached five thousand, and in August it numbered nearly twenty thousand. Finally, on 13 October, around seventy thousand people flocked to the site despite the rain. Suddenly, the sky cleared, the sun trembled… shook……and began to spin round and round at a dizzying speed, casting enormous beams of multicoloured light. The clouds, the trees and the rocks took on the most varied hues. Whilst the crowd gazed at this breathtaking spectacle, the three children saw the Blessed Virgin, this time accompanied by Jesus and Saint Joseph. This unprecedented miracle lasted a dozen minutes and was clearly visible for over four miles around.

This miracle took place exactly on the day, at the hour and in the place that had been announced, to encourage people to believe in the reality of the apparitions and to obey the message that the Blessed Virgin brought from Heaven. At Fatima, as at Lourdes, Our Lady urged penance and the recitation of the Rosary. ‘If my request for penance and prayer is heeded, Russia will be converted and you will have peace,’ promised the Virgin Mary. ‘...Otherwise, she will spread her errors throughout the world, giving rise to wars and persecutions against the Church. The righteous will be martyred, the Holy Father will suffer greatly, and many nations will be destroyed.’ But let us not forget that Our Lady of Fatima added: ‘In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.’

Taken from *The Marian Message* by F.E.C., 1947 edition, pp. 82–90