Three shepherd children in the tiny village of Fatima, Portugal received a series of six apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, St. Michael the Archangel and a beautiful Angel of the Eucharist for six consecutive months on the 13th day, beginning in May 1917.
The Message of Our Lady of Fatima
Our Lady of Fatima appeared with a Holy Rosary around her waist and asked the children to tell people to pray the daily family rosary for peace. She also asked the children for the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart, which was finally accomplished July 17, 1952 by Pope Pius XII.
Pope John Paul II had a special veneration for Our Lady of Fatima, as the day of the attempt made upon his life occurred on the anniversary of these apparitions and he felt that Our Lady of Fatima had saved his life. He made a special pilgrimage to Fatima after his recovery to thank her.
As a result of his unique devotion to Our Lady of Fatima, Pope John Paul II made profound efforts to bring down the iron curtain in Russia and is credited with being the man behind the fall of communism in the former Soviet Union.
The Secrets of Our Lady of Fatima
Three secrets were revealed at Fatima, the first two were revealed immediately, while the third was to remain sealed until 1960’s when Sister Lucia – the only one of the child visionaries to live into adulthood – said the Pope would have permission to reveal it. But it was not immediately revealed and much controversy surrounded the contents of that secret.
The first two secrets consisted of a vision of hell and the means by which souls can be saved from hell.
Regarding the first secret, the children related “Our Lady showed us a great sea of fire which seemed to be under the earth. Plunged into this fire were demons and souls in human form, like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, floating about in the conflagration . . . “
The Blessed Virgin Mary asked for a devotion to be established to her Immaculate Heart and a Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays of every month to save sinners from this fate. She asked again for the Daily Family Rosary to be recited as it would save many souls.
The Manifestation of Our Lady of Fatima and the Miracle of the Sun
Our Lady of Fatima appeared to the shepherd children in a white robe adorning her body and head, with a blue tassel around her waist holding a Rosary.
In subsequent visions, the children were given visions of St. Joseph, St. Michael the Archangel and a unique angel who they termed the Angel of the Eucharist who presented them with Holy Communion.
On the day of the last apparition, the Miracle of the Sun occurred. Although it had been pouring rain all day, 70,000 people bore witness to the sun dancing in the sky, turning radiant colors and coming to earth as if they were to collide and then immediately pulling back into the heavens. When it was over, the ground and everybody present were completely dry.
Our Lady of Fatima was a renewal in the belief in previous apparitions like Our Lady of Czestochowa and it set the stage for new ones which occur later in the century like Our Lady of Garabandal.
Sources:
- Those who Saw Her: Apparitions of Mary, by Catherine M. Odell.
- Catherine Laboure and the Modern Apparitions of Our Lady, by Abbe Omer Englebert.
- Miraculous Images: Photographs Containing God's Fingerprints, by Marilynn Hughes.
- Medjugorje: Light for the World, by Pietro Jacopini
- Our Lady Comes to Garabandal, by Joseph A. Pelletier, A.A.
- The Wonder of Guadalupe, by Francis Johnston.
- The Glories of Czestochowa and Jasna, To the Priests Our Lady's Beloved Sons, by Marian Movement of Priests.
- Our Lady of America, by Sister Mildred Mary Neuzil.
- The Thunder of Justice, by Ted and Maureen Flynn.
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