In 1916, an angel appeared to the three shepherd children and prepared them for the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary : at the first apparition the angel said he was the “Angel of Peace” and “Angel of Portugal” and he taught them to pray: “My God I believe in you, I hope in you and I love you. I ask pardon for those who do not believe in you, hope in and you or love you”. At the second apparition he taught them the practice of daily sacrifice and at the third a simple prayer to the Trinity: “Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Spirit, I adore you and offer you the most precious body, blood and divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world in reparation for scorn, sacrilege and indifference with which He is offended; and I ask you to convert poor sinners through the merits of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary”.
Sr. Lucia said this about the apparitions of the Angel: “God’s presence was so strong that it absorbed us and almost annihilated us. It appeared to deprive us of corporal movement(…). The great peace and happiness we felt was interior, our soul was totally centred on God”.
The central apparitions were those in Fatima during 1917.
The first happened on Sunday 13 May: the three children were tending their flock and after they had eaten their bread and cheese and recited the Rosary suddenly they saw a bight light in the trees and the figure of someone who appeared to beckon to them. The children said: “She was about 18 and her dress was as white as snow and so was the mantle which covered most of her figure. In her folded hands she held a beautiful rosary which had a golden crucifix”.
The Blessed Virgin said she came from heaven and she asked the children to return every day at the same time for six months.
The second apparition, in June 1917 happened in the presence of a small group of people. The text of the apparition refers to the mission entrusted to Lucia: “I will come to fetch Giacinta and Francisco soon, but you will remain longer on earth. Jesus wishes you to make me known and loved. He wishes to spread devotion to my Immaculate Heart all over the world. To those who practice it he promises salvation. These souls will be favourites for God and placed like flowers in front of his throne ”.
The text of the third apparition on 13 July contained a secret part. The parts communicated said : “You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners are destined to go. To save them the Lord wishes to spread devotion to my immaculate heart. If my requests are fulfilled many souls will be saved and there will be peace. The war is about to end, but if they unless they cease to offend the Lord another war, even worse, will start during the reign of Pius XI. When at night you see a new light that will be a sign from God that the world will be punished for its crimes through war, hunger, persecution against the Church and the Holy Father. To prevent this I will ask for Russia to be consecrated to my immaculate heart and communion of reparation every first Saturday of the month. If my requests are fulfilled Russia will be converted and there will be peace. Otherwise it will spread its errors throughout the world, causing war and persecution against the Church, many good people will be martyred, the Holy Father will suffer greatly: nations will be annihilated. In the end my immaculate heart will triumph. The Pope will consecrate Russia to me and it will be converted and the world will be granted a pause of peace. Portugal will remain faithful to the doctrine of the faith (…). Do not tell anyone what I will tell you now, only Francisco”.
The apparitions in Fatima are certainly the most prophetic in modern times.
The first and the second spoke of a fearful vision of hell, devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, World War II and the immense damage which Russia would cause to humanity by deviating from the Christian faith and adopting Communist totalitarianism.
The third part of the secret was written on paper at the request of the Bishop of Leiria and given to him to be kept safe.
In 1957, the Bishop handed to envelope to the Secret Archives of the Holy Office.
In 1959 Father Padre Pierre Paul Philippe of the Holy Office presented the envelop containing the third part of the secret to Pope John XXIII who decided not to make it public. A few years later Pope Paul VI made the same decision.
After suffering an assassination attack on 13 May 1981 Pope John Paul II asked for the envelope containing the secret and in 2000 officially authorised the revelation of the third part of the Message of Fatima which said: “I write in obedience to you my God because so you command through his Lordship the Bishop of Leiria and through your most Holy Mother who is also my mother. After the two parts I have described, on the left of Our Lady a little higher we saw an Angel with a sword of fire in his left hand. The flames of the sword seemed to set fire to the world and pointing to the earth the Angel cried in a loud voice: penance, penance, penance! And in a great light, which was God, we saw as in a mirror a Bishop dressed in white whom we thought was the Holy Father. Other bishops, priests and men and women religious were walking up a hill with at its summit a cross of bare branches and a bark of cork; before the Pope went up the hill he crossed a great city in ruins and trembling with a hesitant step, afflicted by pain and suffering he prayed for the souls of the dead he encountered on his way. When he reached the top of the hill he knelt down and was killed by men who shot him with bullets and arrows. The other bishops, priests and religious and lay men and women of different class and position died in the same way. Two angels at the foot of the cross held a watering can in which they collected the blood of the martyrs and poured it over souls striving to reach God”.
The fourth apparition in August happened in a different place because to convince the children to tell him the secret the mayor of Villa Nova de Aurem and he kept them prisoners for three days, before sending them back to their parents. However the children’s absence did not prevent the Lord’s manifestation and the crowds who had assembled for the apparition witnessed strange signs in the sky.
The apparition took place on 19 August and the text was: “Pray and pray intensely and make sacrifices for sinners. Know that many souls go to hell because no one sacrifices themselves or prays for them”.
At the fifth apparition Our Lady promised hat she would return the following month and work a miracle.
The sixth apparition was preceded by much publicity in the press announcing that the Virgin Mary would perform a miracle to help people believe. The texts of the apparition were the following: “I am Our Lady of the Rosary. I wish for a chapel to be built here. Keep reciting the rosary every day. The war will soon come to an end and soon all the soldiers will come home(…). They no longer offend Our Lord who has already received too much offence”.
When the vision ended there was an extraordinary wonder in the sky as it had been announced months earlier. The sun began to dance in circles taking all the hues of the rainbow and the colours were reflected on the crowds standing there.
This was the last of the central apparitions but on December 10 December 1925, Lucia, a postulant of the Dorotea Congregation at the time, received a vision of Our Lady and the Infant Jesus in her room. Here is the text of the vision: “Look my daughter, my heart is encircled by thorns pressed into it by ungrateful men with the swearing and ingratitude. At least you comfort me and I promise to give the grace of salvation to all who go to confession and receive Holy Communion every first Saturday of the month for five consecutive months, pray the rosary and stay with me for fifteen minutes meditating the mystery of the rosary to offer reparation”.
The text of the apparition in Tuy was written by Lucia’s spiritual father, Rev. Gonçalves: “The time has come for the Holy Father, together with the Bishops of the world, to consecrate Russia to my immaculate heart so the country may be saved. Many souls are condemned by God’s justice for sins committed against me. I come to ask for reparation. Sacrifice yourself for this intention and pray (…). They did not pay attention to my request… they will do so, but too late. Russia will have spread its errors all over the world causing wars, persecutions against the Church; the Holy Father will suffer greatly”.
This apparition marked the end of apparitions in Fatima.