Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2010 to all

Requiem aeternam

In your charity, please pray for the soul of my mother, Marie Tan, who passed away just now after a battle with cancer. Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine on her. May her soul rest in peace, Amen.

Our God is an awesome God!

I had been feeling rather down and frustrated, sad and disappointed, hurt and betrayed. And to add to the frustration, it began to rain just as I was leaving the office. Not good, if you're riding a bike and trying to avoid hastening The End. As I was wallowing, suddenly I hear sirens and then came a police escort clearing the way through heavy traffic for a convoy of superbikes. And I promptly joined in =) It was nice, the heavy traffic parting for you and you kinda just cruise. LOL. Fun.

Almost 7 years I've been riding my bike on the long journey to and from work, but this is the first time God has given me the VIP treatment and in a moment when I most needed it, needed to feel His embrace and his Presence to confirm me in the decisions I've taken. Truly our God is a humorous and loving Father, who reaches out to His servants in their moment of need, showing His care and unfailing love. And oh, the rain stopped too after a while and I wasn't even wet.

Our God is an awesome God and greatly to be praised!

Thanks Lord for Your sign. I know what I must do, though it saddens me greatly to do it, I know when to call it quits and to surrender what you've given me and put into my charge back to You who are Father of us all. Thy will be done always, now and forever more.

The Miracle of the Sun

As promised, the 2nd part of the post on the apparitions at Fatima. This post concerns the eye witness accounts and descriptions of the Miracle of the Sun which was predicted by the visionaries after the Blessed Virgin revealed it to them and witnessed by a crowd of thousands.

Modified from Wikipedia.

The Miracle of the Sun is a miraculous event that was witnessed by as many as 100,000 people on 13 October 1917 in the Cova da Iria fields near Fátima, Portugal^[1].

According to many witness statements, after a downfall of rain, the clouds broke and the sun appeared as an opaque, spinning disk in the sky^[2]. It was said to be significantly less bright than normal, and cast multicolored lights across the landscape, the shadows on the landscape, the people, and the surrounding clouds^[2]. The sun was then reported to have careened towards the earth in a zigzag pattern^[2], frightening some of those present who thought it meant the end of the world^[3]. Witnesses reported that the ground and their previously wet clothes became completely dry^[4].

Estimates of the number of witnesses range from "thirty to forty thousand" by Avelino de Almeida, writing for the Portuguese newspaper O Século^[5], to one hundred thousand, estimated by Dr. Joseph Garrett, Professor of Natural Sciences at Coimbra University^[6], both of whom were present that day^[7].

The miracle was attributed by believers to Our Lady of Fatima, an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to three young shepherd children in 1917, as having been predicted in advance by the three children on 13 July ^[8], 19 August ^[9], and 13 September ^[10] 1917. The children reported that the Lady had promised them that at mid-day on 13 October in the Cova da Iria the Lady would reveal her identity to the children^[11] and provide a miracle "so that all may believe."^[12]

According to witness reports, the miracle of the sun lasted approximately ten minutes^[13]. The three shepherd children, in addition to reporting seeing the actions of the sun that day^[14], also reported seeing a panorama of visions, including those of Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and of Saint Joseph blessing the people^[15].

The most widely-cited descriptions of the events reported at Fatima are taken from the writings of John De Marchi, an Italian Catholic priest and researcher. De Marchi spent seven years in Fatima, from 1943 to 1950, conducting original research and interviewing the principals at undisturbed length^[16]. In The Immaculate Heart, published in 1952, De Marchi reports that, "[t]heir ranks (those present on 13 October) included believers and non-believers, pious old ladies and scoffing young men. Hundreds, from these mixed categories, have given formal testimony. Reports do vary; impressions are in minor details confused, but none to our knowledge has directly denied the visible prodigy of the sun."^[17]

A photostatic copy of a page from Ilustracao Portugueza, October 29, 1917, showing the crowd looking at the Miracle of the Sun during the Fatima apparitions.

Some of the witness statements follow below. They are taken from John De Marchi's several books on the matter.

• "Before the astonished eyes of the crowd, whose aspect was biblical as they stood bare-headed, eagerly searching the sky, the sun trembled, made sudden incredible movements outside all cosmic laws — the sun 'danced' according to the typical expression of the people." ― Avelino de Almeida^[18], writing for O Século (Portugal's most widely-circulated^[19] and influential newspaper, which was pro-government and anti-clerical at the time^[18] Almeida's previous articles had been to satirize the previously reported events at Fatima)^[20]. However, Almeida had not abandoned the Catholic faith^[21].

• "The sun, at one moment surrounded with scarlet flame, at another aureoled in yellow and deep purple, seemed to be in an exceeding fast and whirling movement, at times appearing to be loosened from the sky and to be approaching the earth, strongly radiating heat." ― Dr. Domingos Pinto Coelho, writing for the newspaper Ordem^[22].

• "…The silver sun, enveloped in the same gauzy grey light, was seen to whirl and turn in the circle of broken clouds… The light turned a beautiful blue, as if it had come through the stained-glass windows of a cathedral, and spread itself over the people who knelt with outstretched hands… people wept and prayed with uncovered heads, in the presence of a miracle they had awaited. The seconds seemed like hours, so vivid were they." ― Reporter for the Lisbon newspaper O Dia^[23].

• "The sun's disc did not remain immobile. This was not the sparkling of a heavenly body, for it spun round on itself in a mad whirl, when suddenly a clamor was heard from all the people. The sun, whirling, seemed to loosen itself from the firmament and advance threateningly upon the earth as if to crush us with its huge fiery weight. The sensation during those moments was terrible." ― Dr. Almeida Garrett, Professor of Natural Sciences at Coimbra University^[24].

• "As if like a bolt from the blue, the clouds were wrenched apart, and the sun at its zenith appeared in all its splendor. It began to revolve vertiginously on its axis, like the most magnificent firewheel that could be imagined, taking on all the colors of the rainbow and sending forth multi-colored flashes of light, producing the most astounding effect. This sublime and incomparable spectacle, which was repeated three distinct times, lasted for about ten minutes. The immense multitude, overcome by the evidence of such a tremendous prodigy, threw themselves on their knees." ― Dr. Formigão, a professor at the seminary at Santarem, and a priest^[24].

• "I feel incapable of describing what I saw. I looked fixedly at the sun, which seemed pale and did not hurt my eyes. Looking like a ball of snow, revolving on itself, it suddenly seemed to come down in a zig-zag, menacing the earth. Terrified, I ran and hid myself among the people, who were weeping and expecting the end of the world at any moment." ― Rev. Joaquim Lourenco, describing his boyhood experience in Alburitel, eighteen kilometers from Fatima^[25].

• "On that day of October 13, 1917, without remembering the predictions of the children, I was enchanted by a remarkable spectacle in the sky of a kind I had never seen before. I saw it from this veranda…” ― Portuguese poet Afonso Lopes Vieira^[26].

While De Marchi's states that "Reports do vary; impressions are in minor details confused", Kevin McClure states that he had never seen such a collection of contradictory accounts of a case in any of the research he had done in the previous ten years^[27].

No scientific accounts exist of any unusual solar or astronomic activity during the time the sun was reported to have "danced", and there are no witness reports of any unusual solar phenomenon further than forty miles out from Cova da Iria^[28].

It has been alleged that the fact that an unspecified "miracle" had been predicted in advance, the abrupt beginning and end of the alleged miracle of the sun, the varied nature of the observers as including both skeptics and believers alike, the sheer numbers of people present, and the lack of any causative factor, all reasonably preclude the theory of a mass hallucination^[29]. That the activity of the sun was reported as visible by those up to 18 kilometers away, also precludes the theory of a collective hallucination or mass hysteria^[29].

Visionaries claimed that the apparition now known as Our Lady of Fatima had promised in July, August, and September, that a miracle would occur on 13 October 1917 "so that all may believe". Pio Scatizzi, S.J. describes events of Fatima and concludes

The ... solar phenomena were not observed in any observatory. Impossible that they should escape notice of so many astronomers and indeed the other inhabitants of the hemisphere… there is no question of an astronomical or meteorological event phenomenon …Either all the observers in Fatima were collectively deceived and erred in their testimony, or we must suppose an extra-natural intervention^[30].

This miraculous even was not confined in time and space as Pope Pius XII himself witnessed the miracle of the sun from the Vatican gardens in a heavenly confirmation of the momentous decision he had made in proclaiming a dogma ex cathedra.^[41].

Here's what Time magazine has to say:

Millions of Roman Catholics revere a spot near Fátima, in Portugal, as the scene of a miraculous appearance of the Virgin Mary. In Fátima last week stood Federico Cardinal Tedeschini, archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. To gathered pilgrims he brought momentous news.

On three successive days, Oct. 30, Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, 1950, said the Cardinal, the miraculous vision of Fátima was repeated for Pope Pius XII: "The Holy Father turned his gaze from the Vatican gardens toward the sun, and there was renewed for his eyes the miracle of this valley." Nov. 1 was the day the Pope proclaimed the dogma of the bodily ascension of the Virgin Mary into Heaven.

The Apparition of Our Lady in Fatima

The Fatima Visionaries, Jacinta and Franciso Marto and Lucia Santos

The Feast of Our Lady of Fatima is around the corner and this year marks the 90th anniversary of the final apparition on the 13th of October 1917. My parish will be celebrating with rosary before Mass and procession and Benediction after.

To honour the event, here's the first part of an article on the Marian apparition at Fatima from the 13th of May through to the final apparition on the 13th of October which also witnessed the Miracle of the Sun, seen by crowds estimated from between 40,000 to 100,000 people comprising believers, skeptics, atheists, communists and the like. The article is written in an easy and readable style. For a more scholarly description, please click here.

The 2nd part, recounting the Miracle of the Sun will be posted tomorrow.

THE STORY OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA

By

Brother Ernest, C.S.C.

Imprimatur
Most Rev. Leo A. Pursley, D.D.
Bishop of Fort Wayne
1957

On a hot May day in 1917, three little shepherds were watching their sheep in a hollow in the mountains of Portugal called Cova da Iria. The sky above them was a clear blue. Not the smallest cloud could be seen anywhere. The sun beat straight down, for it was noon. Then a familiar sound was heard. The bell in the village church was ringing for the Angelus. Location of Fatima Lucia Santos (age 10, pictured in the middle) and her two cousins: Francisco (age 9) and Jacinta Marto (age 7) holding their rosaries. Fatima, Portugal 1917 A.D. The three children: Jacinta, a girl of seven; Francisco, her brother, a lad of nine; and Lucia, a girl of ten, at once knelt and began to say the rosary together. But this was such a beautiful day, and the children did not want to take the time to say the rosary as they should. So they simply said: “Our Father, Hail Mary, Hail Mary, Hail Mary, Glory be.” Then they were ready for the first decade. It took them just about two minutes to finish the whole rosary in this new style! Suddenly, there was a great flash of light, brighter than lightning. The children looked up and all around them. “Might be a big storm coming. Let’s get the sheep together and go home,” said Francisco. The girls agreed, and soon they and the sheep were scampering down the slope towards home. When they reached the foot of the hill they saw a second great flash. It was brighter than the first. They stopped; very much afraid. “Look!” said Lucia, pointing toward a little oak tree. There they saw a beautiful young lady. She was dressed in a white gown, gathered together at the neck by a gold cord. Over her head draped a fine white veil. The children were about to run when they heard a sweet voice say: “Be not afraid! I am not going to hurt you.” Then the shepherds drew near. They noticed the lovely lady had her hands joined as in prayer, and a pearl rosary fell from her fingers. “Where did you come from?” Asked Lucia. “I came from heaven.” Our Lady of Fatima, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary “And why did you come here?” “I came to ask you to come here for six successive months, on the thirteenth of each month, at this same time. In October I shall tell you who I am and what it is I wish.” Lucia then asked the lady if they would go to heaven. They were happy when she told them they would. “Children, always say the rosary with devotion.” said the lady, and then she left them. “We must not tell anyone about the lady. No one will believe us.” Said Lucia. To this the others agreed. Then they got their sheep together and went home, even though it was much too early. Our Lady's words to Jacinta Marto shortly before the little seer died: "More souls go to Hell because of sins of the flesh than for any other reason." and "Certain fashions will be introduced that will offend Our Divine Lord very much." But Jacinta thought her mother would punish her for coming home, so she told about the lady! “You are lying to me!” Shouted the mother. Mrs. Marto, Jacinta’s mother, ran at once to Lucia’s home and reported all the children had told her. Lucia had not said a word to her mother, who seemed stunned at the story. “Tell me, Lucia, are my children lying?” “No, they are not. It’s all true!” “Don’t you say another word about this, Lucia,” said her mother as she ran out the door. Lucia’s mother, Maria, hurried to the pastor and told him the story. He tried to calm her, but the woman insisted her daughter was lying to her. She then hurried home and gave Lucia a sound thrashing. But that did not change Lucia’s mind. The Three Children made Heroic Sacrifices and Penances to Help Save Poor Souls from going to Hell. June 13 was a fair day, but the children did not care about that. It was the day the lady promised to come to see them again, and so they went to the appointed spot. There were about sixty other people waiting. The children knelt down and began to say the rosary. When it was finished, they stood and brushed the dust from their clothes.”The lady is coming!” cried Lucia and ran down the hill to the little oak. The others followed. Yes, it was the lady. She was dressed just the same, and she seemed pleased to see them. “What do you want me to do?” begged Lucia. Lucia Santos became a Carmelite nun and devoted her entire life to spreading Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, as Our Lady of Fatima requested. “I want you to come here on the thirteenth of next month; to recite the rosary every day.” Then she added something the children had never heard before. “After the Gloria Patri of each decade, you will say, ‘O my Jesus, forgive us our sins! Deliver us from the fires of hell! Have pity on the souls in purgatory, especially the most abandoned’.” “I want to ask you to take us to heaven,” said Lucia pleadingly. “Francisco and Jacinta I will soon take. You must remain. Jesus wants you to make me known and loved. He wants to establish in the world the devotion to my Immaculate Heart.” Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco at the Cova da Iria On July 13, the children were again waiting for the lady. This time there were about five thousand others waiting too. The lady told the children that she would work a great miracle in October so that all would believe she had appeared there. She also showed them a vision of hell, and it was so terrible that the children said they would have died of fear if the lady had not told them they were to go to heaven. The Terrifying Vision of Hell Our Lady told the Children, "Sacrifice yourselves for sinners and say many times, especially when you make some sacrifice: `O Jesus, it is for Thy love, for the conversion of sinners and in reparation for sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary." Lucia Santos then narrates what happened next: “She opened Her hands once more, as She had done the two previous months. The rays [of light] appeared to penetrate the earth, and we saw, as it were, a vast sea of fire. Plunged in this fire, we saw the demons and the souls [of the damned]. The latter were like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, having human forms. They were floating about in that conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames which issued from within themselves, together with great clouds of smoke. Now they fell back on every side like sparks in huge fires, without weight or equilibrium, amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fright (it must have been this sight which caused me to cry out, as people say they heard me). The demons were distinguished [from the souls of the damned] by their terrifying and repellent likeness to frightful and unknown animals, black and transparent like burning coals. That vision only lasted for a moment, thanks to our good Heavenly Mother, Who at the first apparition had promised to take us to Heaven. Without that, I think that we would have died of terror and fear." Our Lady then gravely spoke these words: "You see Hell, where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them God wishes to establish in the world the devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If they do what I will tell you, many souls will be saved, and there will be peace... But if they do not stop offending God... He is going to punish the world for its crimes by means of war, of hunger, and of persecution of the Church and of the Holy Father." Our Lady of Fatima showed the Children a Horrific Vision of the Souls of the Damned in Hell being Tormented by Frightful Demons Picture of the three children of Fatima, immediately after seeing the vision of Hell. Our Lady [right after the vision] said to the Children: "... if [people] do not stop offending God... He is going to punish the world for its crimes by means of war, of hunger, and of persecution of the Church and of the Holy Father." Sister Lucia tells Fr. Fuentes in an 1957 interview, that we are in the last times: Sister Lucia to Fr. Fuentes, December 1957: "... she [The Blessed Virgin] told me that the devil is in the mood for engaging in a decisive battle against the Virgin. And a decisive battle is the final battle where one side will be victorious and the other side will suffer defeat. Hence from now on we must choose sides. Either we are for God or we are for the devil. There is no other possibility." “If people do what I tell you, many will be saved, and peace will come. I promise to help at the hour of death with the graces for their salvation, those who on the first Saturday of five consecutive months shall confess and receive Holy Communion, say five decades of the rosary and keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on one or more mysteries of the rosary with the intention of making reparation to me,” said the beautiful lady as she began to glide away toward the east. Now the administrator of the town began to turn against the children. He was not a good man. He had no use for religion or the Church. He made the parents of Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco bring them to court. There he tried his best to make them tell him a secret the lady had told each of them when she appeared to them in July. When they would not tell him, he got very angry and sent them away! But on the morning of August 13, Arturo, the Administrator, came to the Marto cottage in a fine carriage. “I want you to ride with me to the miracle,” Arturo said, trying to be pleasant. “We can very easily walk,” Lucia told him. Francisco Marto 1908-1919 (pictured in the middle) said: "How beautiful God is, how beautiful! But He is sad because of the sins of men. I want to console Him, I want to suffer for love of Him." “You must stop at the priest’s house first, and you will be late for the lady unless you ride with me,” Arturo insisted. The children finally accepted the ride, and they all set out for the priest’s house. When they were finished there and were back in the carriage, the Administrator drove off with them to his home instead of to the Cova! Once the ugly man had the children in his own house he told them he would have them boiled in a vat of oil. He called the jailer to take Jacinta first. And after a few minutes he came back and asked who would be next. It was then Francisco’s turn. That left Lucia alone. “I’ll never tell you,” said Lucia. “Away with her!” shouted Arturo. Lucia was shoved into an empty room. But there, kneeling in prayer, were little Jacinta and Francisco! They had not been boiled as the jailer said they had! On August 15, the children were back home, safe and sound. They had been kept away over the thirteenth so they could not see the lady on that day. But they still believed in her. After Mass on the Sunday following, Lucia, Francisco and his brother John took the sheep out to the pasture. Suddenly Lucia felt the lady was coming. She sent John in haste to get Jacinta. Scarcely had she arrived then the lady appeared. “Go to the Cova da Iria on the thirteenth of next month. Pray very hard. Make many sacrifices for sinners.” Then the lady was gone. On September 13, 1917 A.D. 30,000 people came to the Cova to see what would occur. One month later, on October 13th, more than twice as many (70,000) would assemble to view a promised miracle. On September 13, more than 30,000 people were crowded into the Cova to see what would happen. Suddenly a white globe was seen moving through the sky toward them. Then a thin white vapor began to form above the little oak, and white flowers began to fall from the clear blue sky. The lady appeared to the children. All saw Lucia’s lips move, but no one heard a word she said!

Tomorrow, the story continues with the miracle of the Sun, witnessed by an estimated crowd of 40,000 to 100,000 people. Stay tuned.

Blessed Jacinta and Francisco Marto, the Visionaries of Fatima

In the Jubilee year, the beatification of Jacinta and Francisco, the two little shepherds of Fatima, Portugal, was a landmark event. These two children, aged 10 and 11, are the youngest non-martyrs ever to be beatified in the history of the Catholic Church, proving that no matter how young you are, you can still become a saint.

Francisco Marto was born in Fatima, Portugal, on June 11, 1908, and his sister Jacinta was born on March 11th, 1910. The brother and sister were not much alike; Francisco had a calm personality and loved nature and music, while Jacinta was more active and playful.

The house of Francisco and Jacinta Marto

Beginning at a young age, the two children accompanied their cousin Lucia Santo to the fields each day to watch the families' sheep. One day in 1916, they saw an Angel, who told them he was the angel of peace and the guardian angel of Portugal. The angel taught the amazed children a prayer to say in reparation for sins: "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!" The angel appeared to the children three times in all, reminding them to pray and make sacrifices. During the third visit, the angel appeared holding a chalice and a host, and taught them another prayer: "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 indifference with which He Himself is offended. And, through the infinite merits of His most Sacred Heart, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You the conversion of poor sinners." He gave Lucia, who was the only one who had made her first Communion, the host, and gave Jacinta and Francisco the blood in the chalice to drink. These apparitions filled the children with a sense of peace and the presence of God, preparing them for the apparitions of Mary which were soon to take place.

The first apparition of Our Lady took place on May 13, 1817, an event which would change their lives forever. In this first of the several apparitions at Fatima, Our Lady asked the children to say the Rosary and to make sacrifices, offering them for the conversion of sinners.

Seven-year-old Jacinta especially took this request very seriously, even though it had earlier been her idea to save time in reciting the Rosary by only saying the first two words of every prayer! She was particularly struck by the Blessed Virgin's request to pray for sinners, especially after seeing the vision of Hell which Mary showed to the three children.

Francisco was affected by the vision in a different way; he saw how sad Jesus and Mary were, and how much they were offended by sins, and his great desire was to console them. The children began to make sacrifices for sinners, and in reparation for the sins which wounded the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Sometimes they gave their lunch to beggars, going without food themselves; they refrained from drinking water on hot days; they offered up their daily crosses; they wore little ropes around their waist until Our Lady told them not to; they prayed often, alone, or together.

In October of 1918, Francisco and Jacinta became seriously ill with the Spanish flu. Our Lady appeared to the two children and told them she was coming soon to take them to Heaven: Francisco first, and then Jacinta later.

Francisco, who had longed for Heaven, was thrilled at the thought of being able to see Jesus and Mary forever. In his last illness, he continually made the sacrifice of taking any medicine or food which was given him, no matter whether he liked it or not, without complaining. As his illness progressed, he could no longer say his prayers out loud, but he continued to pray "with his heart." At Francisco's request, the parish priest came to give him his first Communion, which he had not yet received. It would be his last Communion - Francisco died peacefully the next day, April 14, 1919.The room where Francisco Marto died.

Poor little Jacinta, who was still extremely ill, missed her brother greatly. At the same time, she was suffering from an abcess on her chest. Despite her sufferings, she continued to make sacrifices and offer her pain to God for her dearest intention - the conversion of sinners. She was ready to suffer anything to save souls from Hell. Eventually Jacinta was transferred to a hospital in Lisbon, but her condition did not improve, despite a painful operation. Our Lady continued to console Jacinta with her presence, and on February 20, 1920, the little girl died in the hospital, attended only by a nurse.

Jacinta's bedroom

The lives of Jacinta and Francisco teach us that even young children can become saints. In 1999, the Vatican accepted a miracle for the beatification of the two children. They were beatified on May 13th, 2000, the 83rd anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady at Fatima.

The tombs of Francisco (above) and Jacinta (below) in the Basilica at Fatima.

Blessed Jacinta and Francisco, PRAY FOR US!
Source.

Lucia de Jesus dos Santos was born in Aljustrel, a village in the parish of Fátima, Portugal, on March 22, 1907, and baptized a few days later on March 30. Her parents were Antonio and Maria Rosa dos Santos. She was the youngest of seven children, six girls and a boy. At age 6 she received her First Holy Communion. By 8 she was occupied with the tending of the family's sheep, accompanied by other boys and girls of the village.

The home of Lucia

It was while in the company of her cousins, Jacinta and Francisco Marti, that the first heavenly apparition occurred, that of the Angel of Portugal come to prepare the young trio for their mission and for an even greater visitor.

Lucia was 10 years old when on May 13, 1917, while tending the sheep in the Cova de Iria, a woman, who later identified herself as the Blessed Virgin Mary, appeared to the children. The apparition would continue monthly on the 13th of the month until October 1917 (save August, when imprisonment by the anti-clerical authorities prevented it). During each month's apparition, the Virgin encouraged prayer, especially the rosary, and sacrifice. She also communicated certain prophecies of the future (the end of World War I, the rise of error in Russia (communism) and its propagation throughout the world, the annihilation of nations, another war preceded by a heavenly sign if men did not convert, and the suffering and persecution of the good, especially the Holy Father).

On Oct. 13, 1930, the bishop of Leiria-Fátima, José Alves Correia da Silva, declared the apparitions of Fátima worthy of credibility and allowed public devotion to the Virgin under the title of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima.

After the prophesied death of Jacinta and Francisco, during the flu pandemic of 1919, Lucia alone remained to carry on the mission assigned by the "woman from heaven." At 14 she was admitted as a boarder to the school of the Sisters of St. Dorothy in Vilar, near Oporto in the north of Portugal. On Oct. 24, 1925, she entered the Institute of the Sisters of St. Dorothy as a postulant in the convent in Tuy, Spain, not far from the Portuguese border. During these years she would continue to receive private revelations explanatory of the message of Fátima. She made her first vows on Oct. 3, 1928, and her perpetual vows on Oct. 3, 1934, receiving the name Sister Mary of the Sorrowful Mother.

In 1946, seeking a more contemplative life, Lucia entered the Carmelite convent of St. Teresa in Coimbra, where she made her profession as a Discalced Carmelite on May 31, 1949. She took the name Sister Maria Lucia of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart.

In 1967, Sister Lucia traveled to Fatima to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the apparitions, presided over by Pope Paul VI. She went again in 1982, when Paul John Paul II came to the Shrine on 13 May to give thanks for the saving of his life during the assassination attempt of 13 May 1981, and again when the Pope came there in 1991, and finally in 2000, to beatify Jacinta and Francisco.

Over the years Sr. Lucia would write two books, Memoirs, recounting the events of Fatima in her own words, and Calls from the Message of Fatima, giving answers to the many questions about living the message of Fátima, which she has been asked over the years.

In the second apparition, that of June 13, Lucia asked the Lady, "Will you take us to heaven?" The Virgin responded,

Yes, I shall take Jacinta and Francisco soon, but you will remain a little longer, since Jesus wishes you to make me known and loved on earth. He wishes also for you to establish devotion in the world to my Immaculate Heart.

Sr. Lucia with Pope John Paul II

That mission came to an end on February 13, 2005, when after weeks of weakness Sr. Maria Lucia succumbed to the infirmities of old age. Her funeral Mass at the cathedral of Coimbra was presided over by the city's bishop, Most Reverend Antonio Cleto. She will lie in rest at the convent where she spent so many years, until a place is prepared for her body at the Basilica in Fátima, where Francisco and Jacinta are entombed.
Source.

The Basilica of Fatima

In this last post in the series commemorating the apparition of Our Lady in Fatima, I'm presenting some images of the Basilica and the surroundings of the Cova in Fatima.

An aerial view of the Basilica. The sward of green directly opposite the basilica no longer exists, being replaced by a squat, roundish new building which seats 9000 people.





The exterior of the Basilica. Pilgrims often walk the last few hundred metres on their knees in a sign of reparation for their sins.

Trendy folks and priests are not above showing a little humility either.



The interior of the Basilica. It does not look that large, from the inside.



The apse and the high altar, with a mosaic depicting the apparition.


The relief in the half dome of the apse shows the coronation of Our Lady in Heaven.


The sanctuary crucifix.



There's some nice stained glass too. I like the kids, the look so rustic and peasanty, so very authentic.






The tombs of Blessed Francisco and Jacinta Marto also lie inside the Basilica.





The Chapel of the Apparition is build directly over the spot of Our Lady's apparition to the children. Her statue on a raised pedestal marks the location of her appearance. The structure is the first one build at the site.



And finally, an image of a candle light procession in front of the Basilica.