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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21 COMMENTS

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  1. TO ALL PEOPLE=PLEASE LET US NOT WAIT TILL WE ARE ALREADY OLD ENOUGH TO CONCENTRATE IN GOING BACK TO CHURCH & PRAY START NOW EVEN THOUGH YOU’RE STILL YOUNG WHATEVER YOU SAY IF THERE’S A MIRACLE THEN FOREVER IT WILL ALWAYS BE A GREAT MIRECLE=PRAY

  2. Our Lady of Fatima’s Pilgrim Virgin still travels around working miracles. She came to our church last year and did some for us. Let us pray for a miracle for Sister Lucia so she too can be beatified.

  3. I am a bit confused. Please enlighten me.
    As I understand it “Saint” means canonized saint. There are many, who for hundreds of years have been “blessed” in the church and were never canonized.

    So when we say “Saint” of the day, shouldn’t it be a canonized saint.
    Besides, there are plenty of canonized saints on this day.

    I searched and quickly came up with: Author and Publisher – Catholic Online
    St. Wulfric Feastday: February 20, Birth: 1080, Death: 1154
    Wulfric (d. 1154) + hermit and miracle worker. Born at Compton Martin, near Bristol, England

    Thank you.

  4. Here we are …2017 the 100th year of the Apparitions.Here we are the Feast day of Francisco and Jacinta…I read that there is a possibility of them being Cannonized on May 13…I heard Mark Miravellis program yesterday and in it he spoke of a person from Australia ? That his loved one was the first casulity in WWII from his country,stating if only we had listened to the Message of Fatima.Are we listening ???We get bored and move along,many are looking or expecting great signs in October…The Sign my friends is the Peace Plan let us renew this in our ? hearts it still isn’t too late.We are in the post Consecration era of the apparitions Peace Francisco and Jacinta pray for us.

  5. It’s lovely ,(really), this story of these children. I do not doubt it and truly believe in miracles. I have experienced them myself. However, we need to remember that we do not need a middleman or go between , or watchtower, to pray. We need only our Lord. And as the Bible tells us, we pray in Jesus name. He is the Only way to the Father. So says the Word of the Lord. God Bless us all.

  6. God of infinite goodness

    who loves the innocent and exalts the humble
    grant that, in imitation of blessed Francisco and Jacinta,
    we may serve you with purity of heart
    and so be worthy to enter the kingdom of heaven.
    Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
    who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
    one God, for ever and ever.
    Amen.

  7. My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love You! I ask pardon of You for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and 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 Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences by which He 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.
    From 1916/17-Nov2020, we need you now more than ever. Jacinta, Francisco, Lucia, pray for us. This First Friday, accept my Act of Contrition, my Spiritual Communion, my Rosary recitation, my contemplation of all 20 Mysteries, for reparation to Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart. Amen.

    • Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.
      All holy men and women, martyrs, saints, angels, pray for us.
      Jacinta and Francisco Marto, Sister Lucia, pray for us. For Portugal.
      Margaret Mary Alacoque, Catherine Labouré, Vincent de Paul, pray for us. For France. Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Joachim, Brother André Bessette, pray for us. For Canada. Venerable Fulton John Sheen, pray for us. For USA.
      Ecce Crucem Domini!
      Fugite partes adversae!
      Vicit Leo de tribu Juda,
      Radix David! Alleluia!
      Saint Anthony of Padua, pray for us. For Italy.
      Saint Teresa of Avila, pray for us. For Rome.
      Blood of Christ Crucified, cleanse the Vatican.
      Amen.

      • Ephesians 5
        11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.
        12 For it is a shame even to speak of the things that they do in secret;
        13 but when anything is exposed by the light it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light.
        14 Therefore it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.”

        Dearest Jacinta and Francisco Marto, help me to remember these simple yet profound words of truth, justice, charity. Help this Lent be transformative in my trust and my efforts to cling to the wood of the Cross. Amen.

        • How to land an online job without relevant experience Even if you don’t have experience that’s directly relevant to the online job you want—or any professional experience at all—it’s still possible for you to snag a great role. q Here are a few tips to help you out:

          Come……. https://PossibleJob1.blogspot.com

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