This story, which for many is no more than a legend, is in fact very real, and all the Portuguese in the world know it. We are, of course, referring to the story of the Virgin of Fatima and the three little children. In this article, we'll try to do it justice.
To make reading this article as pleasant as possible, we've divided it into several chapters. Simply use the table of contents to go directly to the part that interests you most.
Contents
Our Lady of Fatima
The town of Fatima is located in the district of Santarém in central Portugal, about 1 hour 50 minutes from the airport. Porto. Fatima is first and foremost known to tourists for the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima, a place that may be architecturally magnificent, but in reality it has witnessed numerous apparitions and prophecies.
A look back at the history of these apparitions, recognized by the Church in 1930.
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima ( Santuário de Nossa Senhora de Fátima) is a major pilgrimage center in downtown Fatima. The sanctuary comprises a complete set of buildings and structures. Unfortunately, it is too often summed up simply as the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima (Basílica de Nossa Senhora do Rosário de Fátima).
In addition to the basilica, the sanctuary also includes the Chapel of the Apparitions (Capelinha das Aparições), a large oak tree, a monument to the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Monumento ao Sagrado Coração de Jesus), the Paul VI Pastoral Center (Centro pastoral de Paulo VI) and the Basilica of the Holy Trinity (Basílica da Santíssima Trindade), the last major structure to be built in the sanctuary. The large central esplanade is used to gather pilgrims for the various celebrations, but it also serves as a place for processions for the faithful.
The feast of Our Lady of Fatima is celebrated every year on May 13. This date has been fixed by the Holy See as the anniversary of the first apparition, on May 13, 1917.
The apparition of Our Lady of Fatima
The events date back to May 13, 1917, when Our Lady of Fatima appeared to three young shepherds in Fatima. They were preceded by three apparitions of an angel in 1915 and 1916, who introduced himself to the visionaries as the "Angel of Portugal", inviting the children to pray and teaching them a prayer (the Angel of Fatima prayer).
There have been exactly 6 Marian apparitions in the town of Fatima, beginning on May 13, 1917. A lady dressed all in white appeared to three little shepherds (Francisco and Jacinta Marto, and their cousin Lucia dos Santos), asking them to return the following month to pray.
Month after month, the shepherds affirmed that the apparition would happen again, and they were accompanied by ever-growing crowds until the apparition on October 13, 1917, when some seventy thousand believers and curious onlookers flocked to see the miracle promised by the Virgin Mary. A luminous phenomenon appeared in the sky, later known as the "miracle of the sun" or the "dance of the sun".
Observers included academics and non-believers. People present at the events spoke of a phenomenon that could not be explained. Many people, however, have questioned and challenged the authenticity of the facts described by witnesses.
The Bishop of Leiria, Mgr José Alves Correia da Silva, after conducting a canonical investigation, officially recognized the Marian apparitions in 1930 and approved devotion to Our Lady of Fatima. Francisco and Jacinta Marto died of Spanish flu in 1919 and 1920 respectively. They were beatified on May 13, 2000 by Pope John Paul II.
As for their cousin, Lucie dos Santos, who entered the Dorothée sisters' novitiate and then the Coimbra Carmelite convent, she died in 2005. Her beatification process is still underway. As for Jacinta and Francisco, they were canonized by Pope Francis on May 13, 2017 during his trip to Fatima for the centenary of the Marian apparitions at Fatima.
The secrets of Fatima
In the third apparition of Our Lady of Fatima, she revealed a message to the three children and asked them not to divulge it immediately. This three-part message was not revealed until several decades after the events. Lucie dos Santos, the only survivor, revealed the first two parts in 1942.
The third part of the secret was written on two sheets in 1944, then sealed and finally deposited in the Vatican's secret archives in 1957. Pope John Paul II, who had little access to the text after his assassination attempt, decided to publish it officially in 2000. Despite confirmation by Sister Lucia (the cousin, yes I know it's hard to follow) of the text's authenticity and completeness, many people continue to dispute its authenticity.
The three parts of Our Lady of Fatima's message
1st message
The first part is a vision of hell.
"Our Lady showed us a great sea of fire, which appeared to be under the earth and immersed in this fire, demons and souls as if they were transparent embers, black or tan with a human form. They floated in this fire, lifted by the flames that came out of themselves, with clouds of smoke. They fell back on all sides, as sparks fall back in great fires, without weight or balance, with cries and groans of pain and despair that horrified and made one tremble with fright.
The demons were distinguishable by their horrible, disgusting forms of frightful, unknown animals, but transparent and black. This vision lasted for a while, thanks to our good Mother in Heaven who had warned us beforehand, promising to take us to Heaven (at the first apparition). Otherwise, I think we would have died of fright and fear.
Then we raised our eyes to Our Lady, who said to us so kindly and so sadly: "You have seen the hell where the souls of poor sinners go, to save them, God wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If we do what I'm going to tell you, many souls will be saved and there will be peace."
2nd message
This part concerns a private revelation made orally by the Virgin to the three children. This secret concerns Russia.
"The war will end. But if we don't stop offending God, under the pontificate of Pius XI another even worse one will begin. When you see a night illuminated by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign that God is giving you, that He is going to punish the world for its crimes by means of war, hunger and persecution against the Church and the Holy Father. To prevent this war, I will come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, and for reparatory communion on First Saturdays.
If my demands are accepted, Russia will convert and we'll have peace. If not, she'll spread her errors throughout the world, provoking wars and persecutions against the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be destroyed. In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, which will be converted, and the world will be granted a certain period of peace. In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved, etc."
3rd message
The third part is an allegorical vision.
"After the two parts I've already outlined, we saw on Our Lady's left side, a little higher up, an Angel with a flaming sword in his left hand; it glittered and emitted flames that, it seemed, were to set the world ablaze; but they were extinguished by contact with the splendor emanating from Our Lady's right hand towards him; the Angel, indicating the earth with his right hand, said in a loud voice: 'Penance! Penance! Penance!"
And we saw in an immense light that is God: "Something similar to the way people see themselves in a mirror when they pass in front of" a Bishop dressed in white, "we had the presentiment that it was the Holy Father".
We saw various other bishops, priests, religious men and women ascending a steep mountain, at the top of which was a large Cross made of rough trunks, as if they were made of cork oak with their bark on; before reaching it, the Holy Father passed through a large town half in ruins and, half trembling, with wavering steps, afflicted with suffering and grief, he prayed for the souls of the corpses he found on his way;
When he reached the top of the mountain, prostrate on his knees at the foot of the great Cross, he was killed by a group of soldiers who fired several shots with firearms and arrows; and in the same way, one after the other, bishops and priests, religious men and women and various laymen and women of different classes and social categories died.
Beneath the two arms of the Cross, there were two Angels, each with a crystal watering can in his hand, in which they collected the blood of the Martyrs and with which they irrigated the souls that drew near to God."
The prayer of the angel of Fatima
It's a Catholic prayer, said to have been taught by the Angel of Peace in 1917 to the three little shepherds who witnessed the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima: Lucia dos Santos, Francisco Marto and Jacinta Marto. This prayer was to be said "in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference" that offend Jesus present in the tabernacle.
It consists of just two short sentences.
- "My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love you. I ask your forgiveness for those who do not believe, who do not adore, who do not hope and who do not love you."
- "Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore you profoundly and I offer you the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference by which he himself is offended. Through the infinite merits of his Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I ask you for the conversion of poor sinners".
Fatima the film
Like The Da Vinci Code, Our Lady of Fatima has also had its own film. To my knowledge, there are two, the first of which is called: The Miracle of Fatima released in 1952 and the second in 2020 is simply called Fatima . Directed by Italian filmmaker Marco Pontecorvo, the film stars Joaquim De Almeida (a Portuguese actor), known for his many American and Portuguese films. Also in the cast are Goran Visnjic, Stephanie Gil and Alejandra Howard.
Synopsis
Fatima, Portugal, 1917. A ten-year-old shepherdess, Lúcia dos Santos, and her two young cousins, Francisco Marto and Jacinta Marto, reported seeing apparitions of the Virgin Mary. Their revelations inspire believers, but raise the ire of Catholic Church officials and the atheist secular government, who try to force them to renounce their story. As news of the Virgin's foretold prophecy spreads, tens of thousands of religious pilgrims flock to the site at the time indicated by the apparition, to witness what is now known as the Miracle of the Sun.
