100th Anniversary of Fatima Apparitions

June 13, 1917

Our Lady establishes devotion to her immaculate heart

About 50 people turned up at the Cova da Iria in Fatima on June 13, as the three children, Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta, assembled near the Holm oak tree where Mary had appeared on May 13. The children saw a flash of light, followed immediately by the apparition of Mary as she spoke to Lucia. She again asked them to pray the rosary every day, and she asked Lucia to learn to read and write. She then revealed some of the Lord’s plans for the three children. “I will take Jacinta and Francisco shortly, but you will stay here for some time to come,” she said to Lucia. “Jesus wants to use you to make me known and loved. He wishes to establish devotion to my Immaculate Heart throughout the world. I promise salvation to whoever embraces it. These souls will be dear to God, like flowers put by me to adorn his throne.” This last sentence is found in a letter written in 1927 by Sister Lucia to her confessor.

Lucia was sad at the first part of this reply, and asked: “Am I to stay here alone?” Mary replied: “No, my daughter. Are you suffering a great deal? Don’t lose heart. I will never forsake you. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God.”

One of the witnesses to this apparition, Maria Carreira, described how Lucia then cried out and pointed as Mary departed. She herself heard a noise like “a rocket a long way off,” and looked to see a small cloud a few inches over the tree rise and move slowly towards the east until it disappeared. The crowd of pilgrims then returned to Fatima, where they reported the amazing things they had seen; thus ensuring that there were between 2,000 and 3,000 people present for the July apparition.

The story of Fatima has been provided by the World Apostolate of Fatima, U.S.A., Our Lady’s Blue Army.