Our Lady of Fatima

Who is Our Lady of Fatima?

Our Lady of Fatima is Mary, the Mother of Jesus. In 1917, she appeared to three shepherd children in the village of Fatima, Portugal, and introduced herself as “Our Lady of the Rosary.” The Church celebrates her on 13 May, the day of the first apparition.

The story of Fatima

In 1917, the world was at war. In the village of Fatima there were three shepherd children: Lúcia, 10 years old, and her two cousins, Francisco, 8, and Jacinta, 7. At noon on 13 May, while they were looking after their sheep in the field of Cova da Iria, they saw a very beautiful Lady, brighter than the sun, standing above a small oak tree. She asked them to pray the Rosary every day for peace in the world.

The Lady asked the children to come back on the 13th of each month. From May to October, Our Lady appeared six times; in August, the children were held back by some people, so she appeared a few days later in a place nearby. Some people did not believe and made fun of the children, but they kept on telling what they had seen.

According to Sister Lúcia’s memoirs, the children learned to pray and make more sacrifices: some days they gave their lunch to poor children, offering it to God for sinners.

On 13 October 1917, tens of thousands of people came in the rain. Our Lady told them that she was “Our Lady of the Rosary.” Many people there that day said they saw the sun move in an extraordinary way, so it is called “the miracle of the sun.”

A few years later, Francisco and Jacinta fell ill and died while they were still very young. Lúcia later became a Carmelite nun and lived until 2005. In 1930, the Bishop of the Diocese of Leiria declared the apparitions worthy of belief. On 13 May 2017, Pope Francis canonized Francisco and Jacinta at Fatima.

Why does the Church celebrate?

Fatima is a private revelation that the Church has recognized as worthy of belief. It adds nothing new to the faith, but it reminds us of what the Gospel already teaches: pray, repent and love. Through three little children, Our Lady shows that God uses even the smallest people to do great things.

A lesson for you

• Pray the Rosary every day, even just one decade, for peace in your family and in the world.
• Offer God a small sacrifice: give a friend something you like, do your chores without complaining.
• When people make fun of you for living a good life, be brave like the three children of Fatima.