The 13th of October, 1917

We left home quite early, expecting that we would be delayed along the way. Masses of people thronged the roads The rain fell in torrents. My mother, her heart torn with uncertainty as to what was going to happen, and fearing it would the last day of my life, wanted to accompany me.

Image of Our Lady of Fatima

“What do you want of me?”

I want to tell you that chapel is to be built here in my honor. I am the Lady of the Rosary. Continue always to pray the Rosary every day. The war is going to end, and the soldiers will soon return to their homes.

“I have many things to ask you: to cure some sick persons, the conversion of sinners, and other things…”

Some yes, but not others. They must amend their lives and ask for forgiveness for their sins.

Looking very sad, Our Lady said:

Do not offend the Lord our God any more, because He is already so much offended.

Then, opening her hands, she made them reflect on the sun, and as she ascended, the reflection of her own light continued to be projected on the sun itself.

…

After Our Lady had disappeared into the immense distance of the firmament, we beheld St Joseph with the Child Jesus and Our Lady robed in white with a blue mantle, beside the sun. St Joseph and the Child Jesus appeared to bless the world, for they traced the Sign of the Cross with their hands. When, a little later, this apparition disappeared, I saw Our Lord and Our Lady; it seemed to me that it was Our Lady of Dolours. Our Lord appeared and blessed the world in the same manner as St Joseph had done. This apparition also vanished, and I saw Our Lady once more, this time resembling Our Lady of Carmel. 

Sister Mary Lucia of the Immaculate Heart*

Fatima in Lucia’s Own Words: Sister Lucia’s Memoirs

*Lucia was one of the original three seers who witnessed the events and miracles at Fatima in  1917. She later entered religious life. This section from her memoirs accounts the events of the “Miracle of the Sun”.

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The Message of Fatima  is that of the Gospel which emphasizes the following points:

• permanent conversion
• prayer, namely the Rosary
• the sense of collective responsibility, and the practice of reparation.

Learn more here.

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