Read the story of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Fatima
Summary
May 13, 1917
On May 13, 1917, three children grazed a small flock in the Cova da Iria, a hamlet of Fatima, in the municipality of Villa Nova de Ourém, today the Diocese of Leiria-Fatima. Their names were Lucia de Jesus, aged 10, and her cousins Francesco and Jacinta Marto, aged 9 and 7 (beatified by Saint John Paul II on May 13, 2000).
Around noon, after having recited the rosary, as they usually did, they built a small house with stones collected on the site where the Basilica stands today.
Lady brighter than the sun
Suddenly they saw a great light; thinking it was a flash, they decided to leave, but another flash came which illuminated the place and they saw above a small holm oak (where the Chapel of the Apparitions now stands) a“Lady Brighter Than the Sun”from whose hands hung a white rosary.
The Lady told the three little shepherds that it was necessary to pray a lot and invited them to return to the Cova da Iria :
"…I have come to ask you to come here for six months in a row, on the 13th, at this same time. Later, I will tell you who I am and what I want. After her I will come back here again a seventh time… Recite the rosary every day to obtain peace for the world and an end to the war…"
The children did so over the days13June:
"...Jesus he wants to use you to make me known and loved. He wants to establish devotion to my Immaculate Heart in the world. To all who adhere to this devotion, I promise salvation; their souls will be pleasing to God like flowers placed by me on His throne…»;
July 13 :
«…If my requests are heeded, Russia will convert and there will be peace… The saint Father he will consecrate Russia to me, which will convert, and a period of peace will be granted to the world. When you recite the Rosary, after each decade say: “O Jesus my! Forgive us, free us from the fires of hell, take all souls to Heaven, especially those who need it most… »;
Aug. 19(the apparition took place in the locality“dos Valinhos”about 500 meters from Aljustrel, because on the 13th the children were kidnapped by the mayor and taken to Villa Nova de Ourém) :
«…I want you to continue to go to the Cova da Iria on the 13th, and to continue to recite the rosary every day… »;
13September :«…Keep saying the rosary to bring about an end to the war… ».
In the last appearance, theOct. 13, in the presence of about 70,000 people, the Lady said «…I want to tell you that a chapel be built here in my honor. I am Our Lady of the Rosary. May we always continue to recite the rosary every day. The war is about to end and the soldiers will soon be returning home…»
After the apparition, all those present witnessed thepromised miracleto the three children in the months of July and September: the sun, similar to a silver disc, which could be fixed without difficulty, turned on itself like a wheel of fire and seemed to want to fall to earth. The news of the event appeared on the front page of the newspaperO Seculo, of Lisbon, on October 15, 1917.
Religious Lucy
Later, when Lucia was already a religious of St. Dorothea, Our Lady appeared to her again, in Spain (on December 10, 1925 and February 15, 1926, in the Pontevedra Convent and again on the night between June 13 and 14, 1929 in the Tuy Convent) asking for devotion on the first five Saturdays of the month (recite the rosary meditating on its mysteries, confessing and receiving Holy Communion, in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary) and the consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart. Our Lady had already announced this request on July 13, 1917.
A few years later, Lucia revealed again that, between the months of April and October 1916, an Angel appeared to the three Seers three times: twice a“Loca do Cabeço”and once at the well in the garden of Lucia's house. In these Apparitions the Angel had invited them to prayer and penance.
Since 1917, thousands and thousands of pilgrims from all over the world have never stopped going to the Cova da Iria; initially mainly on the 13th of each month, then during the summer and winter holiday periods and now increasingly on weekends and weekdays, for an annual total of around four million pilgrims.
In front of the statue, the Pope repeated theAct of Entrustment and Consecrationwhich he had done in Fatima on May 13, 1982 of which the last words, addressed to Our Lady, were:
«Receive, O Mother of Christ, this cry loaded with the suffering of all men! Loaded with the suffering of entire societies! Help us with the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome all sins: the sin of man and the "sin of the world", finally sin in all its manifestations. May the infinite saving power of the Redemption be revealed once again in the history of the world: the infinite strength of merciful Love! May it stop evil! May it transform consciences! May the light of Hope manifest itself for everyone in Your Immaculate Heart! »
