Fatima
A town in Portugal,
where, between May and October, 1917, our Lady appeared on the 13th
day of 6 consecutive months to three children, Jacinta, Francisco,
and Lucia, referring to herself as "The Lady of the Rosary". Our
Lady told the children to do penance and make sacrifices for
sinners, and to say the Rosary every day, in addition to foretelling
future events in the Church, popularly known as the "three secrets
of Fatima".
The 3 children publicly
foretold a miracle would take place on October 13, 1917 as told by Our
Lady. At the exact time and location the children foretold, over 70,000
came and witnessed a "miracle of the sun", lasting some 20
minutes long, which attests to the
authenticity of the apparitions. Spectators of all beliefs attested to
the miracle in the newspaper the following day and the apparitions and
miracle have been well researched and documented since. The Catholic
Church has also investigated and approved of the apparitions as
authentic. Below we see Pope Pius XII openly speaking of Our Lady of
Fatima in his encyclicals.
Church
Teaching:
- Without
doubt God will shower upon the noble nation of Portugal the
liberality of His blessings as he did at its birth. And the
Blessed Virgin Mary of the Rosary, who is venerated at
Fatima and is the same great Mother of God who obtained a
great victory at Lepanto, will be with you with her powerful
protection. Also with you will be St. Francis Xavier, the
Patron of the Missions and a sort of adopted son of your
country, and Blessed John de Brito, together with the
resplendent phalanx of the other Portuguese saints of the
missions
Encyclical On the Eighth Centenary of the Independence of
Portugal by Pope Pius XII on June 13, 1940
- It is well
known that we have taken advantage of every opportunity --
through personal audiences and radio broadcasts -- to exhort
Our children in Christ to a strong and tender love, as
becomes children, for Our most gracious and exalted Mother.
On this point it is particularly fitting to call to mind the
radio message which We addressed to the people of Portugal,
when the miraculous image of the Virgin Mary which is
venerated at Fatima was being crowned with a golden
diadem.[3] We Ourselves called this the heralding of the
"sovereignty" of Mary
Encyclical On Proclaiming the Queenship of Mary by Pope
Pius XII, October 11, 1954
Summary
While we as Catholics
are not bound by the Catholic Church to believe in the apparitions and
miracle at Fatima, assent would normally be expected of a Catholic based
on the discernment of the Church and its judgment that this apparition is
"worthy of belief", and based on the miracle witnessed by
nearly 70,000 people on the day the children foretold it would occur. If
we also consider that Jacinta Marto's body (one of the three Fatima
children) was also discovered incorrupt many years after her death, this
also attests to the truthfulness of this apparition.
All Popes from Pope
Pius XII and afterward have openly spoken about the miracle of Fatima,
especially about the "Third Secret" of Fatima, given to Sister Lucy in
1917 and due to be released to the public in 1960. This shows their
belief in this apparition as well. The "Third Secret"
was read in private by Pope John XXIII in 1960 as expected, though he chose not to
release the secret to the public. All Popes since that time have also
chosen not to release the third secret either, to the surprise of
the entire world. Much evidence points to this secret having to do with
a great apostasy in the Catholic Church since 1960.
See the booklet, "The
Third Secret of Fatima" by Brother Michael of the Holy Trinity, C.R.C.,
for full details.
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