The Secret of Fatima
On July 13, 1917, the Virgin Mary entrusted a Secret to the three little visionaries of the apparitions of Fatima: Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta. Fatima is located in Portugal, where a series of six Marian apparitions took place, on the 13th of each month, from May to October 1917.
The Facts
On July 13, 1917, Our Lady revealed a Secret to the children, which immediately sparked great interest from both civil and religious authorities. The children were interrogated by the governor, who tried to make them reveal the Secret. He even went so far as to imprison them, threatening to plunge them into boiling water if they did not disclose the Secret. In vain—the children were released a few days later, ready to die rather than reveal a single word.
The Secret is divided into three parts, the first two of which were revealed to the public on August 31, 1941. The first part contains no words from the Virgin; it is a vision the children had on July 13: a vision of Hell (see Lucia's description). In the second part, the Virgin announces the end of World War I and the arrival of a second, worse war: "The war will end. But if people do not cease offending God, under the reign of Pius XI, another worse one will begin." (see the full text). Our Lady asks that Russia be consecrated to her Immaculate Heart and that the devotion of the reparatory Communion of the First Saturdays of the month be established worldwide.
The Fate of the Secret
From Sister Lucia to the Bishop of Leiria
In 1946, the visionary Lucia had become a nun at the convent of Coimbra. She was forbidden to communicate with the outside world, except for her family members. In 1943, she offered the Bishop of Leiria the opportunity to learn about the Third Part of the Secret, often called the Third Secret. He refused and preferred to wait, as did Pius XII, who also chose to wait before learning the Secret. However, the Virgin had explicitly requested that the Secret be revealed to the world by 1960 at the latest. Sister Lucia nevertheless handed over the text of the Secret, sealed in an envelope, to her bishop. But the Secret would pass through the hands of the popes before the Bishop of Leiria could read it.
Pius XII
In 1957, the Vatican suddenly demanded all of Sister Lucia's writings, including the Secret.
John XXIII
On February 8, 1960, during the pontificate of John XXIII, in an anonymous press release, the Vatican declared: "it is likely that the Secret of Fatima will never be made public." In response to this announcement, the Bishop of Leiria, Mgr Da Silva, organized a large gathering in Fatima on October 13, attended by 600,000 people, but the Vatican remained inflexible. A year later, in 1961, the Virgin appeared in Garabandal, Spain, where it seems She continued what She had begun in Fatima.
Paul VI
On May 13, 1967, for the 50th anniversary of the apparitions, Pope Paul VI visited Fatima, but he did not grant an audience to Sister Lucia.
John Paul I
In 1978, Cardinal Albino Luciani became Pope John Paul I. He had already met Sister Lucia and declared: "If I live, I will return to Fatima to consecrate the world and especially the peoples of Russia to the Holy Virgin, according to the instructions given to Sister Lucia." After 33 days of pontificate, he died under suspicious circumstances.
John Paul II
John Paul II was elected and entrusted his pontificate to the protection of the Virgin, but he decided not to reveal the Third Secret. On May 13, 1981, the anniversary of the Fatima apparitions, at the exact hour of the apparitions, the Polish pope was shot at close range by two bullets and miraculously escaped death. On his hospital bed, he asked for the entire Fatima dossier, including the Secret, to be brought to him. Deeply moved, he realized that the Virgin's requests had not been fulfilled. John Paul II attempted twice to perform the consecration requested by the Virgin, in 1982 and 1984, but without ever mentioning Russia. A month after the assassination attempt, on June 24, 1981, the apparitions of Medjugorje began, where, once again, the Virgin seemed to continue Her work.
On May 13, 2000, during the beatification of Francisco and Jacinta in Fatima, Cardinal Sodano announced that the Vatican was preparing to reveal the Secret of Fatima. He partially revealed the Secret, indicating that it concerned the past, particularly the assassination attempt on John Paul II. It was a vision given to the children by the Virgin, which required textual explanation to be understood. However, a few minutes later, the pope gave a different speech, presenting Our Lady of Fatima as the Woman of the Apocalypse, announcing that the worst was yet to come and that the times of tribulation foretold in the Apocalypse were pre-announced at Fatima.
The Secret Revealed by the Vatican
On June 26, 2000, the Vatican revealed the third part of the Secret. It is a vision the children had, accompanied by an explanation from Sister Lucia to help understand it.
The Text of the Third Part of the Secret Written by Sister Lucia
Here is the account: "After the two parts which I have already explained, at the left of Our Lady and a little above, we saw an Angel with a flaming sword in his left hand; flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they would set the world on fire; but they died out in contact with the splendor that Our Lady radiated towards him from her right hand: pointing to the earth with his right hand, the Angel cried out in a loud voice: 'Penance, Penance, Penance!' And we saw in an immense light that is God: 'something similar to how people appear in a mirror when they pass in front of it' a Bishop dressed in White 'we had the impression that it was the Holy Father.' Other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious going up a steep mountain, at the top of which there was a big Cross of rough-hewn trunks as of a cork-tree with the bark; before reaching there the Holy Father passed through a big city half in ruins and half trembling with halting step, afflicted with pain and sorrow, he prayed for the souls of the corpses he met on his way; having reached the top of the mountain, on his knees at the foot of the big Cross he was killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him, and in the same way there died one after another the other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious, and various lay people of different ranks and positions. Beneath the two arms of the Cross there were two Angels each with a crystal aspersorium in his hand, in which they gathered up the blood of the Martyrs and with it sprinkled the souls that were making their way to God."
Sister Lucia's Explanation to Pope John Paul II
In her letter of May 12, 1982, to Pope John Paul II, Sister Lucia provided a key to interpreting the third part of the Secret: "The third part of the Secret, which you are anxious to understand, is a symbolic revelation, referring to this part of the Message, conditioned by our response or lack of response to what the Message itself asks of us. Since we have not heeded this appeal of the Message, we see that it has been fulfilled, Russia has spread its errors throughout the world. And if we do not yet see the complete fulfillment of this prophecy, we see that we are heading towards it at a rapid pace."
The Mystery Remains
Many Questions Remain
The Vatican's publication of the Secret left many Catholics confused. Why was this vision hidden for so many years? Why was it not revealed in 1960, as the Virgin had urgently requested? What is it about this difficult-to-interpret vision that caused the Vatican so much trouble for 40 years? Many questions remain unanswered. The statements of bishops and cardinals often contradict each other, fueling further questions. For some, the Secret concerns the past; for others, it foretells future events.
The Apparitions of Akita and Cardinal Ratzinger
It was Cardinal Ratzinger, the future Benedict XVI, who, through his statements, partially lifted the veil on the mystery. In 1984, he said: "What the third secret contains is in line with sacred scripture and what is said in other apparitions of the Virgin."
In 1973, in Akita, Japan, Sister Agnes Sasagawa had three apparitions of the Virgin, who delivered an apocalyptic message. At the same time, the statue of Our Lady of All Nations, placed in the convent, wept 101 times over an 8-year period. When Bishop Ito of Akita entrusted the dossier to Cardinal Ratzinger for study, the latter replied that he would not send a commission to investigate the apparitions, as it was unnecessary because the message of Akita corresponds almost word for word to the Secret of Fatima. He confirmed that "the two messages of Fatima and Akita are essentially the same."
The Message of Akita, October 13, 1973
"As I told you, if men do not repent and do not amend their ways, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the flood, such as has never been seen before. Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead. The only weapons that will remain for you will be the Rosary and the Sign left by my Son. Each day, recite the prayers of the Rosary. With the Rosary, pray for the Pope, the Bishops, and the priests. The work of the devil will infiltrate even the Church, so that one will see Cardinals opposing Cardinals, and Bishops against other Bishops. The priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed by their confreres. The Church and altars will be vandalized. The Church will be full of those who accept compromises, and the demon will press many priests and consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord. The demon will rage especially against souls consecrated to God. The thought of the loss of so many souls is the cause of my sadness. If sins increase in number and gravity, there will be no longer any pardon for them."
Pray with Our Lady of Fatima for the Salvation of the World
Pray
for the conversion of the world.Respond to the requests of Our Lady of Fatima by
. Through this means, pray for the conversion of sinners.- revealed by the Virgin Mary to the three shepherd children, and every week, entrust to Mary all the intentions you carry in your heart!
