Undeterred by driving rain, throngs of over 70,000 people trekked through rough terrain.  Covered in mud and completely soaked, most arrived by foot to the small village of Fatima, Portugal.  It was a vast and diverse crowd that gathered that October 13th men, women, children, peasants, university professors, newspaper journalists, government officials, Christians, and atheists.  Their intentions and expectations for the day varied as much as their backgrounds.  Yet when the day was over, they would all experience an unexplainable event that would change their lives.

 

It was 1917. World War I raged.  Lenin was preparing to take over Russia, making it the first Communist country.  Portugal itself was in political chaos.  Yet it was the words of three children, Lucia Santos, and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto, ages 10, 9, and 7 respectively, that attracted the minds and hearts of the 70,000.  Beginning on May 13, 1917, and continuing each month until October, the children said they saw a beautiful lady dressed in white, shining brighter than the sun.  Identifying herself as the Lady of the Rosary, she delivered startling prophecies and a plan to bring peace to the world.

 

She requested prayers and sacrifices to save poor sinners from Hell and to bring peace.  Specifically, she asked to pray the rosary daily, to receive Jesus in Holy Communion on the First Saturday of the month to make atonement for the sins of the world, and for Russia to be consecrated to her Immaculate Heart.  She predicted the end of the war, but the coming of another war if her requests were not heeded.  “If my wishes are fulfilled,” she said, “Russia will be converted and there will be peace; if not, then Russia will spread her errors (communism) throughout the world, bringing new wars and persecution of the Church; the good will be martyred and the Holy Father will have much to suffer; certain nations will be annihilated.  But in the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph…. and the world will enjoy a period of peace.” 

 

News of the apparitions spread quickly, bringing believers and critics alike.  The children suffered much from ridicule.  The Administrator (Mayor) of the region went so far as to take the children into custody from August 13th-15th imprisoning them and threatening them with death in an attempt to get them to recant their story.  The children remained steadfast.  To help those who did not believe the Lady told the children, “In October I will tell you who I am and what I want.  I will then perform a miracle so that all may believe.”

 

The promised “Miracle of the Sun” was experienced not only by those in Fatima, but also by those 25 or more miles away.  Eyewitness accounts from secular newspapers to believers to atheists were the same.  It was an event like no other.  “The sun, at one moment surrounded with scarlet flame, at another aureoled in yellow and deep purple, seemed to be in an exceedingly fast and whirling movement, at times appearing to be loosened from the sky and to be approaching the earth, strongly radiating heat.” (Dr. Almeida Garrett, PhD – Coimbra University).  When the miracle was over everything, the earth and people, were completely dry and clean.  

Although the events of Fatima happened 100 years ago, the relevance of its message remains.  With an average of 10 million visitors a year, Fatima is one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in the world.  Like that first crowd who saw the sun dance, people are now and always will be drawn by its message of how each person truly can help bring peace to the world.