Between May 13 and October 13, 1917, in the midst of World War I and national political upheaval following the overthrow of Portugal’s monarchy in 1910, three young shepherds from Aljustrel, a small village near Fatima, approximately 110 miles north of Lisbon, witnessed a series of extraordinary events. They reported apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Cova da Iria, who entrusted them with messages of peace and prayer during a time of great global and local strife.
At their first encounter, the Virgin Mary implored the children to return to the same location on the 13th of each subsequent month for half a year. She emphasized the importance of prayer, specifically the rosary, as a means to bring about world peace and to end the ongoing war. Additionally, she stressed the need for the children to learn to read and write and called for prayers for the conversion of sinners and Russia, which was on the brink of a communist revolution following the recent dethronement of Czar Nicholas II.
The final apparition on October 13, 1917, drew a crowd of up to 90,000 spectators, underscoring the profound impact of the events at Fatima.
Tragically, within two years following these apparitions, Francisco succumbed to influenza at his family home. Initially laid to rest in the local parish cemetery, his remains were later transferred to the Fatima basilica in 1952. His sister Jacinta also fell victim to influenza in Lisbon. Throughout her suffering, she offered her pain for the conversion of sinners, world peace, and the well-being of the Holy Father, and was re-interred in the Fatima basilica in 1951. Their cousin, Lucia dos Santos, pursued a religious life as a Carmelite nun, living to see the beatification of Jacinta and Francisco in 2000, before passing away five years later.
The shrine of Our Lady of Fatima is visited by up to 20 million people a year.
Photo credit: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
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