On May 13, 1917 “a Lady all white, more brilliant than the sun” appeared to three young children tending sheep in the Cova da lria in Portugal. It was just eighteen months before the end of World War I which had been the bloodiest and most violent war to date.

This was not the first time a supernatural visitor had appeared to the children. Some time earlier an angel called the “Angel of Peace” had come three times. He had given them Holy Communion and had exhorted them to pray and make sacrifices.

Tenderly, the beautiful woman told the children not to be afraid; she would not hurt them. Lucia, the oldest of the three children, asked the woman where she had come from and what was it she wanted. The lovely Lady told her that she had come from Heaven and that she wanted the children to return to this same spot on the 13th of the month for the next six months. At the last visit, she would tell them what she wanted.

And so began the famous and incredible apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima.

Dutifully, the children returned to the Cova da Iria in spite of persecution, misunderstanding, ridicule, and impossible obstacles. And faithfully, month after month, the Blessed Mother appeared to the children entrusting to them secrets, revealing to them visions, and giving them prophetic words.

On July 13th, shafts of light flowed from Our Lady’s hands and the earth itself seemed to roll back as the children stared into the pit of hell. The woman explained to the children:

You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace. The war (World War I) is going to end, but if people do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out during the pontificate of Pius XI. When you see a night illuminated by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign given to you by God that He is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father.

“To prevent this I will come to ask for the Consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted and there will be peace. If not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, and various nations will be annihilated. In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she will be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world.”

This prophesy is astonishing for a number of reasons. First of all, the Blessed Mother accurately predicted the elevation of Pope Pius XI, who would not become pontiff until 1922. Secondly, at the time of this apparition the Russian Revolution had not occurred: the Bolsheviks would not take over until the following October. Thirdly, as Our Lady predicted, Communism subsequently spread its errors and atheisitic philosophy all over the world. Fourthly, the sovreignty of entire nations disappeared throughout the world. Fifthly, another world war followed the first Great War, erupting during the pontificate of Pope Pius XI and ending during the pontificate of Pope Pius XII. That war introduced the atom bomb and caused even more destruction than World War I.

The last apparition at Fatima took place on October 13, 1917. More than 70,000 people gathered at the Cova da Iria. It was a rainy, windy day and the parents feared the children would be killed if no miracle took place. When the Blessed Lady appeared, Lucia asked her one last time, “What do you want of me?”

Our Lady responded, “I want to tell you to have them build a chapel here in my honor. I am the Lady of the Rosary. Let them continue to say the Rosary every day. The war is going to end, and the soldiers will soon return to their homes.”

Many people had come to the Cova to be healed and Our Lady said that some would be healed but others would need to amend their lives and ask pardon for their sins first. “Let them offend Our Lord God no more, for He is already much offended.” These were her last words.

Then the miracle began. As the crowd looked up into the sky, the clouds rolled back to reveal the sun. Suddenly, it was a white disc of light, its brilliance shrouded, so that all could gaze upon it. During this time the children saw a tableau in the heavens, with one scene after the other depicting the mysteries of the Rosary. They saw the Holy Family with the Christ Child in the arms of St. Joseph, who blessed the crowd three times. Lucia saw Our Lady of Sorrows and then Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The sun began to dance in the sky, twirling and whirling, shooting rainbow-colored rays all over the earth.

Then suddenly, the movement of the sun began to change. It plunged toward the earth, falling ever closer to the panic-stricken people. They dropped to their knees to beg God’s mercy. Just as the sun seemed about to touch the earth, it began to recede, eventually assuming its normal position. To everyone’s astonishment, everything about them, including their own rain-soaked clothing, was bone dry. Truly, it was a “Miracle of the Sun.”

Within three years, the two youngest of the children, Jacinta and Francisco died, as Our Lady predicted they would. Lucia, the oldest and the spokesperson for the little band, stayed at home with her family until she was fourteen. She eventually entered religious life and died on February 13, 2005 at the age of 97.

Our Lady had entrusted three “secrets” to the children. The first was the vision of Hell. The second was the prophetic word concerning Russia, and the third was not publicly revealed untl June 26, 2000 via the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It can be read in its entirety, along with theological interpretation, on the Vatican website.

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, then Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, commented on the meaning of Our Lady’s words when she said, “my Immaculate Heart will triumph.” Following is his commentary:

“What does this mean? the Heart open to God, purified by contemplation of God, is stronger than guns and weapons of every kind. The fiat of Mary, the word of her heart, has changed the history of the world, becaue it brought hte Saviour into the world — because, thanks to her Yes, God could become man in our world and remains so for all time. The Evil One has power in this world, as we see and experience continually; he has power because our freedom continally lets itself be led away from God. But since God himself took a human heart and has thus steered human freedom towards what is good, the freedom to choose evil no longer has the last word. From that time forth, the word that prevails is this: ‘In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart; I have overcome the wordl’ (Jn. 16:33). the message of Fatima invites us to trust in this promise.”