Today is a very special day. 98
years ago, three shepherd children experienced the apparition of Our Lady, the
Virgin Mary, at Fátima. The three children were Lúcia Santos and her cousins
Jacinta and Francisco Marto. The apparitions at Fátima were officially declared
worthy of belief by the Catholic Church. Popes Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul VI,
John Paul II and Benedict XVI voiced their acceptance of the supernatural
origin of the Fátima events. John Paul II credited Our Lady of Fátima with
saving his life following an assassination attempt on the Feast of Our Lady of
Fátima, 1981. He donated the bullet that wounded him to the Roman Catholic
sanctuary at Fátima, Portugal and it was placed in the crown of the Virgin's
statue.
On May 13, 1917, Lúcia described
seeing a lady "brighter than the sun, shedding rays of light clearer and
stronger than a crystal goblet filled with the most sparkling water and pierced
by the burning rays of the sun". While they had never spoken to anyone
about the angel, Jacinta divulged her sightings to her family despite Lucia's
admonition to keep this experience private. Her disbelieving mother told
neighbors as a joke, and within a day the whole village knew. Further
appearances were reported on June 13 and July 13. In these, the lady asked the
children to do penance and Acts of Reparation and make personal sacrifices to
save sinners. According to Lúcia's account, the lady also confided to the
children three secrets, now known as the Three
Secrets of Fátima.
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