By Jim Fritz at The Defender
There have been many articles,
pamphlets, books and even a movie about Our Lady of Fatima; however, I would
like to mention just one aspect which I find very pertinent to the people of
today and especially to our young people. This pertains to the first of the
three secrets; i.e., the Vision of Hell.
The 100th anniversary of the “Miracle of the
Sun” is on October 13th of this year; therefore, I have been doing a
lot of reading about the many, many aspects of this remarkable event. The most
noteworthy element is the huge number of people who witnessed the miracle.
Usually, when we read of miracles happening, they are witnessed by a handful of
devout Catholics. This miracle was witnessed by a crowd of at least 50,000 to
70,000 people, and some estimate the number even higher. In addition the crowd
included not only many skeptics but those who had previously ridiculed the
upcoming miracle in secular newspapers.
How did the crowd become so
large? It looks like Our Blessed Mother planned it that way. She started out in
the spring of 1917 with three children reporting apparitions of an angel, then
on May 13, 1917, there appeared apparitions of the Virgin Mary
at the
Cova da Iria in Fatima, Portugal. These visions occurred on the 13th
of each month following, with the crowds growing larger each month. The children
described the vision as "The Lady more brilliant than the Sun." Only the
children (Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco) could see and hear the Virgin Mary
although the others saw an apparition. The children reported to all that on
October 13 the Lady would reveal her identity and perform a miracle "so that all
may believe." Newspapers reported the prophecies, and more and more people began
visiting the area.
The children’s accounts were true but controversial,
drawing intense criticism from both local secular and religious authorities. A
provincial administrator briefly took the children into custody and even
emotionally tortured them because he believed the prophecies were
politically motivated. He told them they would be boiled in oil if they did not
tell him they were lying. They were willing to die rather than claim they were
lying. Read more
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