Here is the true story of the apparitions at Fatima. It took place about 100 years ago, in 1917, during World War I. And this story unfolded in the small village of Fatima in Portugal, right next to Spain.
Fatima’s Village
That morning, May 13, 1917, three children were tending their small flock of sheep in the countryside near Fatima.
There was Lúcia, who was 10 years old, her cousin Francisco, who was 9, and Francisco’s little sister, Jacinta, who was 7. The three children were playing in the grass, but around noon, they stopped playing… to pray the Rosary.
A Bright Light
Suddenly they saw a bright light streak across the sky, like a flash of lightning. They were afraid there might be a storm, so they began to round up their sheep to head home.
That’s when they see a Lady “more radiant than the sun” appear above a small green tree. The children are very surprised, but the Lady is so beautiful—she is marvelous, dressed all in white, with a very gentle face and a gaze full of love. Rays of magnificent light emanate from the Lady, illuminating everything around her. And she speaks to them.
The Beautiful Lady Speaks to the Children
With a beautiful smile, she says to them:
– Don’t be afraid.
Lucy then asks her:
– “Where do you come from?”
– “I come from Heaven,” replies the Lady.
Lucie continues: “Will I go to Heaven?” “Yes, you will,” says the Lady. “And Francisco and Jacinta?” “They will go too, but Francisco will first have to say many Rosaries.”
Then the beautiful Lady said to them:
“And I have come to ask you to return here for six consecutive months, on the 13th of each month. I ask you to pray the Rosary every day; pray that the war will end and that peace will come to the world.”
The children promised to pray, and the beautiful Lady ascended toward heaven…and disappeared.
Three Secrets about the World and the Future…
The children are so happy to have seen the beautiful Lady that they pray the Rosary every day! They have come to understand who this wonderful Lady is: she is the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. Ever since they saw her, they have felt immense joy in their hearts—a joy they had never felt before.
Every month, on the 13th, Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta return to the same spot, near the little green tree. And every time, the Virgin Mary—so beautiful and so gentle—appears to them! She asks them to be good, generous, and full of love, just as God is full of love. She tells them to pray the Rosary every day. And she also gives them secrets… three important secrets about the world and the future… and they don’t tell anyone. They will have to reveal these secrets much later, when the Virgin Mary asks them to.
The First Secret
But I can tell you the first secret now. The children received this secret on July 13, 1917.
On that day, when the Virgin Mary appeared, she opened her hands, and a dazzling ray of light came forth from them and seemed to split the earth open.
And there, in the depths of the earth, the children see… Hell: like an ocean of fire, and in that fire are the souls of those who have rejected God. These souls have human forms, but they are transparent and dark, and they are hurled by the flames in all directions. They cry out in pain and despair, while demons torment them.
Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta are terrified by this vision, but fortunately it does not last long. The Virgin Mary says to them:
“You have just seen the hell where many souls end up who do not want to go to God. To save them, I will come to ask you for some very important things. In the meantime, pray a lot and offer sacrifices often to keep souls from going to hell…”
From that day on, the children prayed a lot, whenever they had a free moment. And they offered many sacrifices to God: for example, they often gave their snacks or even their meals to children poorer than themselves. They agreed to do difficult things without complaining. When people hurt them, they did not retaliate. And they offered all of this to prevent souls from going to hell; they wanted everyone to be able to come with them to the immense happiness of Paradise!
The Prison
On the 13th of every month, more and more people gathered with the three children near the green tree to witness the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but no one could see her—only the three children. So many adults didn’t believe them and accused them of lying. Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta were punished and even put in prison.
They were locked up with the prisoners and were afraid. The prison warden came to get them and told them they would be plunged into boiling oil… unless they admitted they lied. The three children cried, but they said they did not lie, that the beautiful Lady really exists—even if it meant they had to die in boiling oil… Fortunately, they were released from prison and could go home! So they did something wonderful: they forgave those who hurt them!
The Last Apparition and the Miracle of the Sun
Five months passed, and now came the final apparition of the Virgin Mary. On that day, October 13, 1917, a huge crowd gathered with the three children around the little green tree. There were 50,000 people there! Some came to pray, others to criticize or mock, and there were also journalists taking photos… And in fact, we still have those photos and the articles the journalists wrote—they are proof that all of this really happened.
That day, it was pouring rain without stopping; the ground had turned to mud, and people were soaked to the bone. Then, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared and said to the three children:
“I would like a chapel to be built here in my honor. I am Our Lady of the Rosary. Tell people to pray the Rosary every day.”
Then she added that a miracle was going to happen so that everyone would have proof that the children weren’t lying. Just as she said this, the dark clouds suddenly parted and the sun appeared: then it began to spin across the sky, spinning very fast, and it shot out rays of every color—red, blue, green, and purple. The landscape constantly changed color, and so did the crowd.
Suddenly, the sun began to hurtle toward the earth at breakneck speed, as if it were about to crash. Everyone screamed; they were terrified, believing it was the end of the world. Many fell to their knees and asked God for forgiveness… Then the sun rose back into the sky, spinning and spinning again.
Then, all at once, everything stopped. The sun had returned to its place, motionless. At that very moment, the people realized that their clothes, which had been soaked, had become completely dry—they dried in just a few minutes. Now everyone had proof that the Virgin Mary truly appeared to the children. And many people began to believe in God. Even those who had come to mock her now knew that God existed. They remained free to accept His love or to reject it, but they could no longer say that He did not exist…
The War Ends
And now, thanks to the prayers of three children and the crowd praying with them, World War I was coming to an end.