The Porziuncola Project
The Message of Our Lady of Fatima
"In the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph!"
A History of the Town of Fatima
Many centuries ago, the Muslim army was attacking the country of Portugal. The Portugese King led his army to victory and captured the Muslim King. The Muslim king had a daughter named Fatima, he had named her for Muhamad's daughter. The Portugese king fell in love with her and married her. She converted to Catholicism and the king decided to name all of his private land for her. Hence, the town of Fatima. Fatima died within the first year of their marriage and so the king, heartbroken, resigned and retired to a Monastery where he spent the rest of his life.
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It is interesting to note that on the 13th of May 1817 Our Lady reveal herself as "Our Lady of the Rosary". This title was given to Our Lady after the Battle of Lapanto, another event where the Muslims were attempting to invade Europe and were defeated by the Catholic Fleet. Although out numbered and out gunned, it was through the intercession of the Rosary that Europe was spared.
1916 The Apparition of the Angel
An angel appeared to the three shepherd children three times.
The childrens names were:
Jacinta Marto age 6
Francisco Marto age 8
Lucia Dos Santos age 11
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Jacinta and Francisco were brother and sister and cousins to Lucia. Their families were shepherds and the children were charged with the task of pastoring the sheep. Jacinta was too young to go but her mother allowed her since she would be with her cousin Lucia.
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Between the spring and summer an Angel appeared three times to the children. He defined himself as "The Angel of Peace" and the Guardian Angel of Portugal.
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The first apparition of the angel happened out behind Lucia's house, near the well. They children were praying when he appeared as "...the form of a young man, transparent, more brilliant than crystal pierced by rays of the sun..." he and said to them;
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"Do not be afraid. I am the angel of peace. Pray with me."
The angel then bowed very low and taught the children this prayer:
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"My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love You.
I ask pardon for those who do not believe,
do not adore and do not love You."
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He then arose and told the children:
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"Pray this way. The hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to the voice of your supplication."
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After the angel had disappeared, the children were given an awareness of the supernatural to such an extent that they were unaware of anything else around them and remained in that state praying the prayer taught by the angel for a long time.
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The Second Visit of the Angel:
The following summer, in the afternoon, while the children were resting, the angel came to them a second time saying:
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"What are you doing? Pray! Pray a great deal! The hearts of Jesus and Mary have great designs of mercy for you! Offer prayers and sacrifices unceasingly to the to the Most High!"
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Lucia, the only one to speak to the angel or Mary, asked:
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"How are we to make sacrifices?"
The angel then said:
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"Offer everything you can as a sacrifice to the Lord in reparation for the sins by which He is offended.; and in supplication for the conversion of sinners. Thus you will draw down peace upon your country. I am her guardian angel, the Angel of Portugal. Above all, accept and bear with submission the sufferings that the Lord will send you."
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After this, the angel departed.
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The Third apparition of the angel
It happened in the Fall, just after the children had finished praying their Rosary and saying the prayer that the angel had taught them. This time the angel appeared holding a chalice and he held Sacred Host (the Holy Eucharist) above the chalice. The Host was bleeding drops of blood into the chalice. The children knelt down and the angel then left the chalice and the Host suspended in the air. He and the children knelt and put their faces to the ground. The angel then taught the children a prayer that he had them repeat three times:
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"Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, I adore Thee profoundly, and I offer Thee the Most Precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ present in all the Tabernacles of the world, in reparation for all the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences by which He Himself is offended. And by the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg the conversion of poor sinners"
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Then the angel arose and took the chalice and Host in hand and said to the children:
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"Take and drink the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, horribly outraged by ungrateful men. Make reparation for their crimes and console your God."
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The angel then proceeded to give the Host to Lucia (she had already received her first Holy Communion), but he gave Francisco and Jacinta to drink from the chalice. The children, having experienced an incredibly strong presence of God prayed the prayer taught to them three times and then stayed still and quiet. Lucia says that for some time after they lost all use of their bodily senses.
May 13th 1917
The three children were out shepherding the sheep in an are called the Cova da Ira. Suddenly there was a bright flash of light. There were no clouds and there was no wind and the sun was shining strong. Then the children saw another flash of light. After this second flash of light they saw Our Lady standing on a small holm oak tree. The children approached her and Lucia spoke on their behalf (at first Francisco couldn't see her, but after he prayed the Rosary, as instructed by the Lady, he did. Francisco never heard the Lady and had to wait for the other two to tell him what she said.) The dialogue between Our Lady and Lucia at this first apparition went as such:
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Our Lady: "Fear not! I will do you no harm."
Lucia: "Where are you from?"
Our Lady: "I am from heaven."
Lucia: "What do you want of me?"
Our Lady: "I come to ask you to come here for six consecutive months, on the thirteenth day, at this hour. I will tell you later who I am and what I want. And I shall return here again a seventh time."
Lucia: "And I, am I, too, going to go to heaven?"
Our Lady: "Yes, you shall."
Lucia: "And Jacinta?"
Our Lady: "Yes."
Lucia: "And Francisco?"
Our Lady: "He too shall go, but he must say many Rosaries."
Lucia: "And Maria do Rosario, daughter of Jose das Neves, is she in heaven?"
Our Lady: "Yes."
Lucia: "And Amelia?"
Our Lady: "She is still in purgatory. Do you want to offer yourselves to God to endure all the sufferings that He may choose to send you, as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is so offended and as a supplication for the conversion of sinners."
Lucia: "Yes, we are."
Our Lady: "Then you will have much to suffer, but the grace of God will be your comfort."
With these words Our Lady opened her hands and a great light covered the children. Lucia said that it penetrated the inmost parts of their beings. She reported that they had seen themselves in the light, Who is God, more clearly than one sees themselves in the best of mirrors. The children were then moved by a divine impulse to drop to their knees and pray:
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"O'Most Holy Trinity, I adore Thee; my God, my God, I love Thee in the Most Blessed Sacrament."
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Our Lady then began to head up towards the east into the heavens. The children used to say that they saw heaven open as Our Lady departed from them. They chose to tell no one about the apparition, but, Jacinta being only 7 years old, could not contain herself and told her parents. The Marto's believed in the apparition, but Lucia's parents, particularly her mother, did not until the miracle on October 13th
June 13th 1917
The second apparition took place on June 13th, the feast of Saint Anthony of Padua. Over the previous month, news spread quickly about the children seeing Our Lady. A crowd joined the children as they went to the Cova da Ira and knelt to pray the Rosary. The light flashed as it had done before and
Lucia shouted to Jacinta: "Jacinta, Jacinta, here comes our Lady. I just saw the flash." And true, it was Our Lady who, like before stood upon the holm oak tree. People could hear a gentle humming of a bee as Our Lady spoke with the children.
The dialogue this month went like so:
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Our Lady: "I want you to come here on the thirteenth of next month. Say the Rosary, inserting between the mysteries the following prayer-
'O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy.'
-I want you to learn to read and write and later I will tell you what else I want."
Lucia asked is Our Lady could cure some sick person.
Our Lady: If he is converted, he will be cured within the year."
Lucia: "I would like to ask you also to take us to heaven."
Our Lady: "Yes, I will take Jacinta and Francisco soon. You, however, are to stay here a time longer. Jesus wants to use you to make me known and loved. He wants to establish devotion to my Immaculate Heart in the world. I promise salvation to those who embrace it and their souls will be loved by God as flowers placed by myself to adorn His throne."
Lucia: "Am I going to stay here alone?"
Our Lady: "No my daughter. Does this cause you to suffer a great deal? I will never leave you, my Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God."
Our Lady unfolded her hands, and as before the children were bathed in light. They were given infused knowledge Mary. Our Lady was holding her Immaculate Heart in her right hand, it was surrounded by thorns. They understood how offended she was by sin and they were given a desire to make reparation for sins against her Immaculate Heart. Lucia observed that Jacinta and Francisco were in light that ascended into heaven and that she was in the light that seem to spread over the whole world. This was to signify the early death of her cousins and Lucia's, mission to spread devotion to the Immaculate Heart.
Lucia then rose to her feet and pointed to Our Lady as she ascended into heaven: "Look, there she goes; there she goes!"
Lucia shouted to the crowd as she pointed to the heavens.
July 13th 1917
After many attempts by her parents and the parish priest to stop her, Lucia, along with her cousins and hundreds of people, returned to the Cova da Ira for the third apparition. This was to be the most extra-ordinary of the apparitions for the three visionaries and, perhaps, the one that impacted them the most. To this day we are living with what was revealed and prophesied over a hundred years ago to these children.
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After asking the crowd to close their umbrellas, Lucia informed them that Our Lady was coming. When the Blessed Mother appeared Lucia asked:
Lucia: "What do you want of me?"
Our Lady: "I want you to return here on the thirteenth of next month. Continue to pray the Rosary every day in honor Our Lady of the Rosary to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war; for she alone can save it."
Lucia: "Will you please tell us who you are and perform a miracle so that everyone will believe that you really appear to us?"
Our Lady: "Continue to come here every month. In October, I will say who I am and what I desire and I will perform a miracle all shall see, so that they may believe."
Lucia then spoke of the petitions that had been given to her in order to present to Our Lady.
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Our Lady: "Some I will cure others not. As to the crippled boy, I will not cure him or take him out of poverty, but he must say the Rosary every day with his family."
Lucia then told Our Lady about a sick man who was anxious to die and go to heaven.
Our Lady: "He should not try to hurry things. I know well when I will come for him. Sacrifice yourselves for sinners: Say often, especially when you make some sacrifice:
O' Jesus, it is for love of Thee, for the conversion of sinners and in reparation for sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary I offer this sacrifice to Thee."
Our Lady then opened her hands as she had done before. This time the light was directed towards the earth. The children said that they saw the earth open and that they saw hell; a sea of fire, demons and souls burning and yet alive. The tortures of hell, the hideous demons and the sadness of Christ moved them deeply. The children raised their eyes to Our Lady for help.
Lucia: "Oh...Our Lady!"
Our Lady: "You have seen hell-where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them God wants to establish throughout the world the devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If people do what I tell you, many souls will be saved, and there will be peace. The war is going to end. But if they do not stop offending God, another and worse war will break out in the reign of Pope Pius XI. When you see a night illuminated by an unknown light, know that it is the great sign that God gives you, that He is going to punish the world for its crimes by means of war, hunger, persecution of the Church and the Holy Father. To forestall this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. If they heed my requests, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace. If not, she shall spread her errors throughout the world, promoting wars and persecutions of the Church: the good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated: in the end, my Immaculate Heart shall triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, which will be converted, and a time of peace will be given to the world. In Portugal, the dogma of the faith will always be preserved. Do not tell this to anyone. Yes, you may tell Francisco.
Our Lady then gave the children the final secret that came in two parts.
The first part of the third secret was in the form of a vision of an angel with a flaming sword in his left hand. He was setting the world on fire. Our Lady then extended her hand, and by the light that came from her hand the fire was stopped. The angel then pointed to the earth with his right hand and cried out; "Penance! Penance! Penance!"
In the second part of the secret, that was not revealed until 2000 ad., the children saw a bishop dressed in white passing through a city that was half in ruins. They had the impression that it was the Pope. He was greeting the dead as he passed through the city. Then there was a large hill with a cross made of coark wood at the top. Priests, bishops and lay people from all walks of life were being killed as they climbed the hill. Men with guns and bows and arrows were killing them. The Pope then climbed the hill, when he reached the top where the cross was, he too was killed. Angels were collecting the blood of the martyrs and sprinkling it upon those who were making their way to heaven.
The children were told not to reveal the secret to anyone. Eventually, during the process of investigation of the events, Lucia sent the Holy Father a copy of the last part of the secret. The Pope's kept it secret until it was revealed in 2000 by Pope John Paul II.
Our Lucia then asked Our Lady:
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Lucia: "Is there anything more you want from me?"
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Our Lady: " No; today I desire nothing else from you."
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Our Lady then returned to heaven as she had done before.
August 13th-19th 1917
Before the children were able to arrive at the Cova da Ira on the 13th of August, the authorities fooled them and told the children that they would take them there. Instead, the children were taken out of town and were threatened to be boiled in oil if they did not tell the secrets. The children chose death rather than to betray Our Lady. The children wound up spending a couple of days in jail where they convinced the prisoners to pray the Rosary. Eventually, due to the growing mobs, the children were released.
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On August 19th the Lucia and Francisco were with Francisco's other brother while tending the flock. Jacinta was not with them because she was being treated by her mother for lice that she got while in prison. Lucia saw the flash of light and told her cousin to go get Jacinta because Our Lady was coming. Jacinta arrived in time to see Our Lady at Aljustrel. Lucia welcomed Our Lady with the usual question:
Lucia: "What do you want of me?"
Our Lady: "I want you to continue to come to the Cova da Ira on the thirteenth and continue to say the Rosary every day."
Lucia then shared with Our Lady her anguish at the unbelief of so many and asked if she were wiling to perform a miracle so that all might see and believe:
Our Lady: "Yes. In the last month, October, I shall perform a miracle so that all might believe in my apparitions. If they had not taken you to the village, the miracle would have been greater. Saint Joseph will come with the Baby Jesus to give peace
to the world. Our Lord will also come to bless the people. Besides, Our Lady of the Rosary and Our Lady of Sorrows will come."
Lucia: "What do you wish us to do with the money and the offerings that the people leave at the Cova da Ira?"
Our Lady: "Have two litters made. One is to be carried by you and Jacinta and two other girls dressed in white; the other one is to be carried by Francisco and three other boys. The litters are for the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, and the money that is left over will help towards the construction of the chapel that is to be built."
Lucia then asked about the sick persons that had been recommended to her prayers.
Our Lady: "Yes. I shall cure some of them within the year. Pray! Pray a great deal and make sacrifices for sinners, for many souls go to hell for not having someone to pray and make sacrifices for them."
Our Lady then departed in her usual fashion.
September 13th 1917
On the 13th of September, Lucia led the thousands of people who gathered at the Cova da Ira in the recitation of the Holy Rosary. Our Lady came as promised and Lucia began their meeting with her greeting:
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Lucia: What do you want of me?"
Our Lady: "Let the people continue to say the Rosary every day to obtain the end of the war. In the last month, October, I shall perform a miracle so that all may believe in my apparitions. If they had not taken you to the village the miracle would have been greater. Saint Joseph will come with the Baby Jesus to give peace to the world. Our Lord will also come to bless the people. Besides, Our Lady of the Rosary will come. God is pleased with your sacrifices but does not wish you to sleep with the rope. Wear it only during the day" (the children, as an act of penance had tied a rough rope around their waists).
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Lucia: "They have requested me to ask you many things. The girl is a deaf mute. Don't you want to cure her?"
Our Lady: "In the course of the year she will improve."
Lucia: "Will you help these other people?"
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Our Lady: "Some I will cure, but others no. Our Lord does not have confidence in them."
Lucia: "The people would very much like to have a chapel built here."
Our Lady: "Use half the money received so far for the litters. On one of them place the statue of Our Lady of the Rosary. The other half should be set aside for the building of the chapel."
Lucia: "Many people say that I am a swindler who should be hanged or burned. Please perform a miracle for all to believe?"
Our Lady: "Yes, in October, I will perform a miracle so that all may believe."
Lucia: "Some people gave me these two letters for you and a bottle of cologne."
Our Lady: "None of that is necessary in Heaven."
Our Lady then departed in her usual manner. Some people reported seeing as luminous globe ascending toward heaven.
October 13th 1917
October 13th, from the evening of the 12th of October until midday on the 13th it had been raining hard. The Cova da Ira was a muddy mess. The over seventy thousand people in attendance were soaked to the bone. Nothing and no one was dry. There was to be a miracle that day and believer and non-believer alike showed up to see if they would behold a miracle. Even the Portugese officials came for the big day. Lucia quieted the crowd when she saw the sign of the flash of light: "Silence! Silence, Our Lady is coming!" Our Lady arrived and rested her feet upon the small holm oak tree. Lucia greeted her:
Lucia: "What does your Grace want of me?"
Our Lady: "I want a chapel to be built here in my honor. I am Our Lady of the Rosary. Continue to say the Rosary every day. The war is going to end soon and the soldiers will return to their homes."
Lucia: "I have many things to ask of you: To heal some sick people and to convert some sinners, ect."
Our Lady: "Some yes. Others, no. People must amend their lives and ask pardon for their sins. (then growing very sad) They must not offend Our Lord any more for He is already too much offended."
Lucia: "Do you want anything more of me?"
Our Lady: "No. Nothing more."
Lucia: "Then neither will I ask anything more of you."
Our Lady then opened her hands and omitted a flood of light. While rising she pointed toward the sun and the light gleaming from her hands lighted the sun itself. Move by an inner force Lucia cried out: "Look at the Sun!" Suddenly the sun began to spin and change colors from red to green to yellow. It omitted these different colors of light that reflected off the people. It was as if the sun was loosed from its orbit and began to dance around the sky. Then, it started to fall, getting larger and larger. People began to run and cry out for mercy. Some even began to confess their sins and cry to God believing it to be the end of the world. Before reaching the earth, the sun returned to its place and size. Many discovered that they had been healed and all became aware that the ground, their clothes and everything around them had been dried after the long nights rain. People began to cry: "Miracle! Miracle!" The miracle was seen as far as thirty miles away and in the capital of Lisbon.
As the people watched the miracle of the sun, the children beheld a different site. They saw Saint Joseph and the Child Jesus with the Blessed Mother. Saint Joseph and the Baby Jesus blessed the world. Then the children saw the Sacred Heart of Jesus, He then blessed the world. After this the children saw Our Lady as Our Lady of Sorrows and Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
This event became known as the Miracle of Fatima all the secular newspapers covered the miracle and many government officials were converted. Finally, Lucia's mother came to believe that her daughter's apparitions were true.
The Children and the Final Apparition
Saint Francisco Marto
Little Francisco died at the age of 11 on April 4th 1919. He was Beatified in the year 2000 and declared a Saint on May 13th, 2017, one hundred years after the first apparition.
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Saint Jacinta Marto
As promised by Our Lady, and as the last act of penance she would offer for the conversion of sinners and in reparation for sins against the Immaculate and Sacred Hearts, Jacinta died alone in Lisbon on February 20th, 1920, a month shy of her tenth birthday. She was beatified and canonized with her brother Francisco by His Holiness Pope John Paul II. In 1951 Saint Jacinta's remains were moved into the Church next to her brother. When her grave was opened she was found entirely incorrupt!
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Lucia Dos Santos
Lucia received her last apparition from Our Lady when she was 15 years old. The bishop wanted her to study and to get away from the crowds that daily surrounded her and the Cova da Ira. Heartbroken over her father's death, the thought of never seeing her family again, having to leave behind her name and the Cova da Ira, Lucia decided to take beck her yes. She felt that she just could not offer this suffering. Crying at the Cova da Ira, she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder, it was Our Lady.
Our Lady: "Do not be afraid. Do what the bishop has asked of you. I will be with you."
After these comforting words Our Lady left her.
Eventually Lucia would join the Dorthian Sisters and during her time with this community Our Lady would appear to her two more times.
In the first apparition Our Lady came to her with the child Jesus. She was holding her Immaculate Heart surrounded by thorns. It was then that Our Lady asked for the first five Saturdays