“Say the Rosary every day to obtain peace for the world. and after each decade say the following prayer:
‘O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell, and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who have most need of Thy mercy. ‘”
The story of Our Lady of Fatima begins in the village of Fatima, Portugal.
In 1916, the Angel of Peace visited 3 young peasant children: Lucia dos Santos (age 9), and her cousins, Francisco Marta (age 8) and Jacinta Marta (age 6), while they were shepherding their flocks in the field. The Angel asked them to pray with him on 3 separate occasions. He asked that they pray as often as they could.
A few months after the Angel of Peace’s third visit to Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta, Our Lady first appeared to the children while they were shepherding at la Cova da Iria.
First Apparition, May 13, 1917
Mary appeared to the three children in the field surrounded by light. She asked them to return on the 13th of each month for her visit and requested that they pray the Rosary daily to end the war. “Pray the rosary every day to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war.”
Second Apparition, June 13, 1917
Mary appeared for a second time to the children at Fátima and asked Lucia to learn how to read and write. She also told them, “Soon I will take Jacinta and Francisco, but Lucia is to stay a while longer,” and to Lucia, “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.”
Third Apparition, July 13, 1917
At the third apparition, Mary revealed the “three secrets of Fátima” to the children. Undisclosed for many years, St. Pope John Paul II revealed the three secrets of Fatima in full after the attempt of his assassination. She also gave them the Fátima Prayer and Sacrifice Prayer during this visit.
The first secret was the terrifying vision of hell you read about above — souls lost to sin, shown to the children not to frighten them, but to fuel their mission to pray and sacrifice for sinners.
The second secret was a prophecy: a warning that if Russia was not consecrated to Mary’s Immaculate Heart, it would spread its errors throughout the world — a message that felt shockingly relevant as the 20th century unfolded.
The third secret was the most mysterious of all, kept under lock and key by the Vatican until the year 2000, when Pope John Paul II finally revealed it. It described a vision of violence and persecution against the Church — and John Paul II himself believed it pointed to the 1981 assassination attempt on his life, which happened, of all days, on May 13th — the anniversary of the very first apparition.
Fourth Apparition, August 19, 1917
“The children missed their scheduled meeting with the Lady at the Cova da Iria on Aug. 13 because they were detained by the anti-clerical civil authorities,” writes Robert Fastiggi for Our Sunday Visitor. Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta were released on the Assumption (August 15th). Our Lady appeared to the three children a few days later near one of their homes and encouraged them to continue returning to la Cova da Iria on the 13th of each month.
Fifth Apparition, September 13, 1917
30,000 people accompanied the three children to la Cova da Iria at the fifth apparition. Mary said, “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.”
Sixth Apparition, October 13, 1917
Though the region had been subjected to three days of torrential downpour, nearly 70,000 people journeyed through the heavy rain and mud to the place of the previous apparitions to witness the predicted miracle. Many were scornful, unbelievers whose sole intent was to discredit the children’s stories.
Suddenly the “clouds separated…and the sun appeared between them in the clear blue, like a disk of white fire.” The people could look at the sun without blinking and while they gazed upward, the huge ball began to “dance”. The huge fireball whirled rapidly with dizzy and sickening speed, flinging out all sorts of brilliant colors that reflected on the faces of the crowds. The fiery ball continued to gyrate in this manner three times, then seemed to tremble and shudder, and plunge in a mighty zigzag course toward the earth. The crowd was terrified, fearing this was the end of the world.
However, the sun reversed course and, retracing its zigzagging course, returned to its normal place in the heavens. All of this transpired in approximately ten minutes. After realizing they were not doomed, the crowd began ecstatically laughing, crying, shouting and weeping. Many discovered their previously drenched clothing to be perfectly dry.
Sources: Hallow.com, americaneedsfatima.org, focus.org
