Our Lady of Fatima

Date: 1917
Place: Fatima, Portugal
Visionaries: 3 children -- Lucia, Jacinta,
Francisco

In the Spring of 1916, on the back edge of

WWI, before the Russian Revolution and
when the world was beginning to spin even
more wildly out of control, an angel
appeared to 3 shepherd children at Fatima,
Portugal. The angel, who called himself the
Angel of Portugal, appeared three times,
taught the children various prayers and
entreated them to penance and to offering
sacrifices to the Lord.

After these 3 appearances, a lull of 8

months went by. Then, in 1917, when Lucia
was 10, Francisco was 9, and Jacinta was
7, Our Lady appeared to the children,
asking them to return to that site on the 13th
day of each month for the next 6 months.
(She would come 6 times to all the children,
and also later  to Lucia alone.)

During the first apparition (13 May), Our

Lady answered questions from the children
about their fates. She said that they would
all go to Heaven (but Francisco would have
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a few Rosaries to say first). She told them
that of two of their friends who'd died, one
was in Heaven and another was in
Purgatory. She then mentioned the war in
Europe and told the children to pray the
Rosary for peace.

During the second apparition, she told the

children to pray what has become known as
the "Fatima Prayer" during their Rosaries.
When asked, she said that Francisco and
Jacinta would be in Heaven soon, but that
Lucia would stay to help bring people to
Christ.

During the third apparition, three secrets

were given to the children.

First, they were shown a vision of Hell.

Second, they were told of the "errors of

Russia" and how they would spread
throughout the world unless the world
mended its ways. To that end, she called for
penance and said that Russia should be
consecrated to her Immaculate Heart by the
Pope and the Bishops in union with him,
and that the faithful should receive
Communion of reparation in atonement for
the sins of the world on the first Saturday of
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each month (the "First Saturdays" devotion).
If these things aren't done, Russia's errors
would spread, the Church will be
persecuted, various nations will be
annihilated, and the Holy Father will have
much to suffer. She said, though, that in the
end, her Immaculate Heart would triumph.

Lucia, warned by her Bishop that the

apparitions could be demonic, asked the
Lady if she would tell them who she was
and if she would perform a miracle to help
prove to others that the visions were real.
The Lady said she would.

During the 4th apparition, Our Lady gave

the children instructions concerning the
chapel which was to be built and reassured
them of the miracle that would take place.

During the 5th apparition, she said that the

promised miracle that all could see would
take place during her next visit (on 13
October).

During the last apparition common to all the

children, crowds gathered; around 70,000
people sloshed through the mud caused by
the heavy rains that had fallen all night to
see the promise fulfilled. Mary referred to
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herself as the "Lady of the Rosary,"
mentioned again the chapel that would be
built, and said the war would end soon.
Suddenly, the dark clouds that obscured the
sky parted, revealing the sun as a softly lit
disk of spinning silver or an opalescent pearl
shade. Thousands and thousands saw the
sun spin, dance, throw off many different
rays of color -- red, yellow, purple, blue light
coloring all they saw. Some swore they saw
the sun crashing toward the earth. Even
secular newspapers reported what
happened with the sun and that one could
witness the phenomenon without hurting
one's eyes. People who'd gone to the site to
mock the children and the faithful found
themselves in tears, staring at the sky in
amazement, converted to Christ. Then Our
Lady disappeared, and St. Joseph, holding
the child Jesus, appeared to the children,
blessing the world by signing the Cross in
the air. This apparition went away, and then
Christ and Mary (as Our Lady of Sorrows)
appeared, Christ blessing the world as his
step-father had done. Then Our Lady
appeared alone again, only to Lucia's eyes,
as Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. After the miracle
of the sun, the crowds saw that the muddy,
wet fields and their clothing had dried.

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Francisco and Jacinta died very young, as
Our Lady said. They were beatified in 2000.
Lucia joined the Carmelite Order as a nun
where she still lives until her death in 2005.
In 1944, Our Lady appeared again to Lucia
and asked her to write down the Third
Secret given to her at Fatima -- Our Lady
also informed Sister Lucia that it was to be
revealed prior to 1960.

1960 came and went, but the secret was not

revealed; instead, Sr. Lucia was ordered to
never speak to anyone about Fatima.

Russia has never been consecrated to Her

Immaculate Heart; instead, the Second
Vatican Council was convened, and in order
to not offend the Russian Orthodox and to
have members of that religion present at the
Council, the destructive policy of "Ostpolitik"
began. This policy ensured that the Council
would not condemn the errors of
Communism.

The Church's hierarchs did not listen, and

the "errors of Russia" spread throughout the
world.

The Six Apparitions of Fatima

 
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 The apparitions of Our Lady were advanced
one year before by three apparitions of an
angel who prepared the little seers to
become messengers of the Mother of God.
 
First apparition of the Angel
 
In spring in 1916 Lucia Dos Santos age 9,
and her cousins, Francisco and Jacinta
Marto, ages 8 and 6 respectively, were at a
meadow with their sheep in (hamlet of
Fatima). It started raining, and they hid in a
small cave to escape the rain. After the rain
stopped and the sun came out, they stayed
in the cave to eat their lunch, say the rosary
and play a game of jacks. They had played
but for a short while when, on the serene
day, a strong wind blew that swayed the
trees and a sudden white light enveloped
them. In the middle of that light appeared a
cloud in the form of a young man who said
to them: "Fear not! I am the Angel of
Peace. Pray with me!" The angel knelt on
the ground and bowed very low. The
children imitated the angel and repeated his
words three times: "My God, I believe, I
adore, I hope, and I love You. I beg
pardon of You for those who do not
believe, do not adore, do not hope, and
do not love You." Then he rose and said:
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"Pray this way. The Hearts of Jesus and
Mary are attentive to the voice of your
supplications."
 
Second apparition of the Angel
 
It Occurred in summer, when the seers were
playing near the well of Lucia's house. The
Angel said to them: "What are you doing?
Pray! Pray a great deal. The Hearts of
Jesus and Mary have merciful designs
on you. Offer prayers and sacrifices
continually to the Most High." The
children asked: "How must we sacrifice
ourselves?" The angel said: "Make
everything you do a sacrifice, and offer it
as an act of reparation for the sins by
which God is offended, and as a petition
for the conversion of sinners. By this
you will bring peace to your country. I'm
its Guardian Angel, the Angel of
Portugal. Above all accept and bear with
submission all the suffering the Lord will
send you." From that moment, they began
to offer to the Lord everything that offended
Him, without trying to find any other ways of
mortification or penance other than passing
hour after hour, bowed to the ground,
repeating the prayer that the angel had
taught them.
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Third apparition of the Angel
 
It occurred in autumn at Cabeco. The
children started prayers when they saw the
angel, which had in his hand a chalice over
which hung a Host, from which fell in the
chalice some drops of Blood. He knelt and
repeated three times with the children:
"Most Holy Trinity-Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit-I adore thee profoundly. I offer thee
the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and
Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the
tabernacles in the world, in reparation for
all the outrages, sacrileges and
indifferences whereby he is offended.
And through the infinite merits of His
Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate
Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the
conversion of poor sinners." Then he
rose, took the Host, and gave it to Lucia,
while the contents of the chalice he gave to
Jacinta and Francisco, and said: " Take the
Body and the Blood of Jesus Christ
horribly outraged by thankless men.
Recover their sins and comfort your
God."
 

Apparitions of Our Lady

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 First apparition of Our Lady
 
On Sunday May 13th 1917 the children
were pasturing their flock as usual at the
Cova da Iria, which was about a mile from
their homes. They were playing when
suddenly a bright shaft of light pierced the
air. They described it as a flash of lightning.
It was not really lightning, but rather the
reflection of a light that approached little by
little. Frightened by the flash, the children
looked around at the sky that was clear and
bright without the least spot of a cloud. No
breeze stirred, the sun was strong, and
there was no hint anywhere of a storm that
might be responsible for a flash of lightning.
The children, however, thought that they
had better head home in case it might start
raining. As they descended the hill. Another
flash of lightning took them by surprise.
Panicky with fear, they took a few steps and
looked towards the right. There, standing
over the foliage of a small holmoak, "a lady
dressed all in white, more brilliant then the
sun, shedding rays of light, clear and
stronger than a crystal glass filled with the
most sparkling water, pierced by the burning
rays of the sun". The lady spoke to them
and said: "Fear not! I will not harm you."
"Where are you from?" the children asked. "I
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am from heaven" the beautiful lady replied,
gently raising her hand towards the distant
horizon. "What do you want of me?", Lucia
asked. "I came to ask you to come here
for six consecutive months, on the
thirteenth day, at this same hour. I will
tell you later who I am and what I want.
And I shall return here again a seventh
time." Lucia said : "Do you come from
heaven...and will I go to heaven ?" " Yes,
you'll go". "And Jacinta?" "As well" " And
Francisco?" "Him too , but he will have to
say many rosaries". In the end Our Lady
asked : "Do you wish to offer yourselves
to God, to endure all the suffering that
He may please to send you, as an act of
reparation for the sins by which He is
offended, and to ask for the conversion
of sinners?" "Yes, we do." said the
children. "You will have to suffer a lot, but
the grace of God will be your comfort.
"Then she opened her hands with a loving
gesture of a mother who offers her heart.
From it an intense light departed that
seemed to go through them. The vision
vanished telling them : "Recite the rosary
every day to obtain the peace for the
world and the end of the war." And She
disappeared.
Second apparition of Our Lady
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On June 13 1917, accompanied by about 50
people, the children were reciting the rosary,
when there was again the lightning, and
immediately after the Lady on the holmoak
appeared like in May. "What do you want
from me?" asked Lucy. "I wish you to
come here the 13th of next month; that
you say the Rosary every day, and that
you learn to read. In succeeding months
I will tell you what else I want." "I would
like to ask you to bring us to Heaven", said
Lucy. "Yes, Jacinta and Francisco will be
among the few, but you must stay here
for a long time. Jesus wants to help
Himself of you to make Me known and
loved. God wishes you to remain in the
world for some time because He wants to
use you to establish in the world a
devotion to my Immaculate Heart. I
promise salvation to those who embrace
it, and their souls will be loved by God as
flowers placed by myself to adorn His
throne." Lucy asked: "Will I stay here
alone"?, "Don't be discouraged , I will not
abandon you ever. My Immaculate Heart
will be your refuge and through it will
conduct you to God." Then She opened
her hands and emanated her light on the
children, Jacinta and Francisco seemed to
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be in the light that went up toward the sky,
Lucy in the light that spread on the earth. In
front of the palm of the right hand of the
Lady there was a heart surrounded by
thorns that impaled it. They understood that
it was the Immaculate Heart of Mary
affronted from the sins of men, and She
then asked for reparation.
Third apparition of Our Lady
 
On July 13 1917 they recited the rosary with
the crowd, they saw the usual reflex of light
and then the Lady on the holm oak. Lucy
asked: "What do you want from me?" She
answered: "That you come the 13th of the
next month, that you continue to recite
the Rosary every day to our Lady of the
Rosary to obtain peace in the world and
the end of the war, because only She will
be able to aid you." Lucy said " I want to
ask you to tell us who you are, and to make
a miracle for the crowd to believe that you
appear." She Answered: "you continue to
come here. In October I will tell you who I
am, that which I want, and I will do a
miracle that all can see and believe.
Sacrifice yourselves for sinners, and say
often this prayer, especially during any
sacrifice: "O my Jesus, I offer this for
love of Thee, for the conversion of poor
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sinners, and in reparation for all the sins
committed against the Immaculate Heart
of Mary.". As she spoke these words, Our
lady stretched out her hands, and bright
rays came forth which seemed to penetrate
into the earth. All at once the ground
vanished, and the children saw Hell,
frightened they lifted their eyes to the Lady
who told them:" You have seen Hell,
where the souls of poor sinners go. To
save future souls God wishes to
establish in the world the devotion to My
Immaculate Heart. If people do what I tell
you, many souls will be saved." Then She
said:" If my requests are granted, Russia
will be converted and there will be peace.
If not, she will scatter her errors
throughout the world, provoking wars
and persecution of the Church. The good
will be martyred, the Holy Father will
have much to suffer, and various nations
will be destroyed...But in the end, my
Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy
Father will consecrate Russia to me,
Russia will be converted, and a certain
period of peace will be granted to the
world". "Do you want to learn a prayer?"
the vision asked, "Yes we do!" the children
responded. "When you recite the Rosary,
say at the end of each decade: "Oh My
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Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from
the fires of hell, and lead all souls to
Heaven, especially those in most need of
Your Mercy."
Fourth apparition of Our Lady
 
In August the children were prevented by
the civil authorities to go to the meeting of
the 13th in which had gathered an immense
crowd. The children for two days were
confined and threatened with many
torments to make them deny, but they did
not surrender, they were ready to offer their
lives not to betray the promises made to the
Lady. When they had been released on
August 19, while they fed the flock in a
place called Valinhos they saw the Lady
above a holmoak. " What do you want from
me?" Lucy asked. "I Want you to continue
to go to the Cova da Iria on the 13th, that
you continue to say the Rosary every
day. I, in the last month will make the
miracle that all will believe." Then with a
sadder appearance told them: "Pray, pray a
lot and offer sacrifices for the sinners.
You know that many souls go the hell
because there is none who pray for
them."
Fifth apparition of Our Lady
 
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On September 13th the children and about
30.000 persons accompanied them to the
Cova da Iria and they there recited the
Rosary, soon after appeared the Lady on
the holmoak. "I Want you to come here on
October 13 and that you continue to
recite the Rosary to obtain the end of the
war. In October the Lord, the sorrowful
Lady, the Lady of Mt. Carmel, and St
Joseph with the child Jesus, will also
come to bless the world. God is glad of
your sacrifices, He does not want you to
sleep with the chord to the sides, use it
only during the day."
Sixth and last apparition of Our Lady
 
On 13 October 1917 the children
surrounded by a crowd of 70.000 persons
under a torrential rain, Lucy asked again of
the Lady: "What do you want from me?" she
answered: "I am the Lady of the Rosary, I
desire here a chapel in my honor to be
built, that people continue to recite the
Rosary every day. Will the war finish. The
war is going to end, and the soldiers will
soon return to their homes." Then Lucy
asked: "may I ask you for cures and
conversions, will you grant them?". "Some
yes, others no. It is necessary that they
ask pardon for their sins, that they don't
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offend God our Lord, and that he is
already too much offended." "Do you
Want anything else from me?" Lucy
asked. "I do not want anything more."

Then She opened her hands again and She

launched a ray of light in the direction of the
sun as Lucy shouted that they should look
at the sun. At this point the promised sign
happened, Lucy shouted to look at the sun,
the rain stopped suddenly and there
appeared an exceptionally bright sun but not
dazzling. The sun began to turn as if
projecting in each direction bands of light of
each color that lit and colored the clouds,
the sky, the trees, and the crowd. It stayed
for some moments then it went back to its
normal position, it stayed still for a small
while and then it happened again. Suddenly
it looked as if it stood out from the sky to fall
headlong on the crowd, that was looking
terrorized, they fell to their knees and
begged mercy. Meanwhile the children saw
a Lady dressed like the white of the sun with
a blue cope, St. Joseph with the Child Jesus
that blessed the world.Then after this vision
they saw The Lord bless the world, standing
next to Our Lady of Sorrows. After these
visions the Lady of Mt Carmel finished the
miracle. The people then became aware
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that there clothes were completely dried.
 

One of the principal anti-clerical publications

of the day was O Dia, a major Lisbon
newspaper. On October 17th, O Dia
reported the following: At one o'clock in the
afternoon, midday by the sun, the rain
stopped. The sky, pearly gray in color,
illuminated the vast arid landscape with a
strange light. The sun had a transparent
gauzy veil so that eyes could easily be fixed
upon it. The gray mother-of-pearl tone
turned into a sheet of silver which broke up
as the clouds were torn apart and the silver
sun, enveloped in the same gauzy gray
light, was seen to whirl and turn in the circle
of broken clouds. A cry went up from every
mouth and people fell on their knees on the
muddy ground. The light turned a beautiful
blue as if it had come through the stained-
glass windows of a cathedral and spread
itself over the people who knelt with
outstretched hands. The blue faded slowly
and then the light seemed to pass through
yellow glass. Yellow stains fell against white
handkerchiefs, against the dark skirts of
women. They were reported on the trees, on
the stones and on the serra. People wept

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and prayed with uncovered heads in the
presence of the miracle they had awaited.

Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta

What Happened after the Visions?

Francisco died on 4 April 1919 and Jacinta

died on 20 February 1920. Before she died,
little Jacinta revealed little-known but
remarkable statements made by Our Lady.
Here are just some of them:
More souls go to hell because of sins of
the flesh than for any other reason.
Certain fashions will be introduced that
will offend Our Lord very much.
Many marriages are not good; they do not
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 please Our Lord and are not of God.
Priests must be pure, very pure. They
should not busy themselves with anything
except what concerns the Church and
souls. The disobedience of priests to their
superiors and to the Holy Father is very
displeasing to Our Lord.
The Blessed Mother can no longer
restrain the hand of her Divine Son from
striking the world with just punishment for
its many crimes.
Tell everybody that God gives graces
through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. tell
them to ask graces from her, and that the
Heart of Jesus wishes to be venerated
together with the Immaculate Heart of
Mary. .

Lucy entered the Convent of the Sisters of

St Dorothy to learn to read and write; then
she entered in the convent of Coimbra
where she was until her death in 2005.

On December 10, 1925, sister Lucy

received an apparition by the Child Jesus
and the Virgin Mary in her convent cell. The
Holy Virgin shown her a Heart surrounded
by thorns, Our Lady said to her:

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"See, My daughter, My heart surrounded by
thorns which ungrateful men pierce at every
moment by their blasphemies and
ingratitude... Say to all those who:

for five months, on the first Saturday,

confess,
receive Holy Communion,
recite the Rosary
and keep Me company for 15 minutes
while meditating on the fifteen mysteries
of the Rosary, in a spirit of reparation,

I promise to assist them at the hour of death

with all the graces necessary for the
salvation of their souls."

As Our Lady said at the apparition of 13 July

1917, "I shall come to ask for the
consecration of Russia". She did this on 13
June 1929, when She appeared to Lucy in
the Chapel of Dorotheas (known as the Last
Vision of Fatima), in the town of Tuy. Lucy
said: "I had sought and obtained permission
from my superiors and confessor to make a
Holy Hour from eleven o'clock until
midnight, every Thursday to Friday night.

Being alone one night, I knelt near the altar

rails in the middle of the chapel and,

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prostrate, I prayed the prayers of the Angel.
Feeling tired, I then stood up and continued
to say the prayers with my arms in the form
of a cross. The only light was that of the
sanctuary lamp. Suddenly the whole chapel
was illumined by a supernatural light, and
above the altar appeared a cross of light,
reaching to the ceiling. In a brighter light on
the upper part of the cross, could be seen
the face of a man and his body as far as the
waist; upon his breast was a dove of light;
nailed to the cross was the body of another
man. A little below the waist, I could see a
chalice and a large host suspended in the
air, on to which drops of blood were falling
from the face of Jesus Crucified and from
the wound in His side. These drops ran
down on to the host and fell into the chalice.
Beneath the right arm of the cross was Our
Lady and in her hand was her Immaculate
Heart. (it was Our Lady of Fatima, with her
Immaculate Heart in her left hand, without
sword or roses, but with a crown of thorns
and flames). Under the left arm of the cross,
large letters, -as if of crystal clear water
which ran down upon the altar, formed
these words: "Grace and Mercy". I
understood that it was the Mystery of the
Most Holy Trinity which was shown to me,
and I received lights about this mystery
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which I am not permitted to reveal. Our Lady
then said to me: "The moment has come in
which God asks the Holy Father, in union
with all the Bishops of the world, to make
the consecration of Russia to my
Immaculate Heart, promising to save it by
this means. There are so many souls whom
the justice of God condemns for sins
committed against me, that I have come to
ask reparation: sacrifice yourself for this
intention and pray."

Pope Pius XI did not make the

consecration which Our Lady had asked
Lucia to make known. Pope Pius XII in his
turn, did not consecrate Russia in the
original form, he consecrated the whole
world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
with a particular mention of Russia. Pope
Pius XII did something similar in 1942,
and later consecrated the Russian people
in 1952. Though Our Lady was pleases
with Pope Pius XII attempt, she told Lucia
the attempt was not the fulfillment of the
request. Pope  Pius XII could not get his
bishops in union for the consecration, as
Our Lady had requested. The
consecration remains undone.

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