I recently watched the movie, “Fatima,” which is the true story of three shepherd children who witnessed visions of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Cova da Iria, near Fatima, Portugal, between May 13, 1917 and October 13, 1917. Although Portugal’s borders were not over-run by other countries during WWI, many of its young men fought and died with those countries to prove their manhood. At the time, Portugal was trying to overcome its third world status by changing its government without the power of the Catholic Church.
After Lucia dos Santos, Francisco Marto, and Jacinta Marto, ages 10, 9, and 7, had their first vision, the Virgin Mary asked them to return on the same date for the next six months. She also told them not to tell anyone what they had seen, but as children often do, they couldn’t keep their secret. Rumors and stories spread throughout the country, and soon, people were arriving to pray with the children or to have them heal their relatives.
On the final day, October 13, 1917, around 70,000 people crowded around the three children to await the visit of the Blessed Mother. She revealed three secrets to the children; the crowd stood by waiting for the children’s interpretation of what Mary said. The first secret was a vision of Hell where all who do not repent of their sins go. Mary said that people everywhere must believe in God and pray so that He would not be offended by their behaviors. They must repent. The second secret was that WWI would end but another world war would occur during Pope Pius XI’s reign if man continued to offend God and Russia was not converted to Christianity. Russia was not converted and the spread of Communism was seen throughout Europe. Lucia was told not to reveal the third secret, but when she became seriously ill in 1943 with influenza and pleurisy, the Bishop ordered her to write it down and give it to him. The Blessed Mother said that in the 20th century, Christians would be persecuted, and there would be an assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II on May 13, 1981. Also on that last day, the crowd witnessed “the Miracle of the Sun,” which caused many to have their own visions of what God looked like. The scientific anomaly occurred for ten minutes and caused many in the crowd to temporarily lose their sight.
Jacinta and Francisco Marto died in the influenza epidemic of 1918 which killed millions throughout Europe. They became saints of the Catholic Church in 2017. Lucia became a nun in the Carmel of Saint Theresa in Coimbra, and she died in 2005. Her canonization was begun in 2008. A Marian Shrine was erected at the sight of the visions, called “Our Lady of Fatima.”
This story illustrated the power of faith and prayer in the difficult times of WWI, but it also reverberates with those who pray often for God to intercede in our problems today. Adults often say that children cannot possibly understand the power of visions, but these three children showed a faith more powerful than all of the world’s adult population at the time. If we continue to offend God with our lack of love, kindness, honor, and integrity, global troubles will continue to destroy the very gift He gave us when He created the world. We must pray, diligently and daily, for peace and love to be central to our very souls. In the hearts of our children and the souls of our nations, we will find the hand of God. When we see the world through the eyes of our children, we will see a more sweeter, gentler, perfect, and beautiful earth. That is why the Blessed Virgin Mother came to three children, so that the world would stop, look, listen, and change its behaviors to be more Christ-like. All we have to do is believe in our Heavenly Father.
Anna Hartt
