On May 13, 1917, in the town of Cova da Iria, in Fatima (Portugal), three shepherd children —Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco— were taking shelter from the rain when they saw a white light among the trees. It was a woman dressed in white, with a rosary in her hands. Thus began a series of six Marian apparitions that the Catholic Church recognizes as the miracle of Fatima, and which today, May 13, 2022, turns 105 years old.
The sanctuary and its significance
On the very site of the apparitions stands the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima, whose construction began in 1928. It was consecrated on October 7, 1953, and the following year, the Holy See granted it the title of minor basilica during the pontificate of Pius XII. Millions of pilgrims have visited this site to strengthen their faith in the Virgin Mary and in the Church.
The prophecies of Fatima
The apparitions were accompanied by revelations that the Virgin communicated to the shepherd children. One of them announced the triumph of the Russian Revolution in 1917 and its consequences for the Church. Another prophecy warned of a second world war, in a context where Europe was already suffering the Great War (1914-1918). The third prophecy anticipated the attack on Pope John Paul II in St. Peter’s Square on May 13, 1981, exactly 64 years after the first apparition. The pontiff himself attributed his survival to the intercession of the Virgin, and in 1984 he donated the bullet that was removed from him to the sanctuary of Fatima, where it can now be seen set in the crown of Mary.
Echoes in Colombia
In the late 1950s, Manuel Mosquera Garcés, three times Minister of State and considered the most influential Afro-Colombian of the mid-20th century, spoke some words before an image of the Virgin of Fatima brought to the country. In his speech, the religious fervor of this politician emerged, whom Mariano Ospina Pérez described as «a fervent Catholic, doctrinaire and militant conservative; educator and professor; pure writer, eloquent speaker, of pleasant manner as well as great civil courage.»
Original source: www.senalmemoria.co (published on May 13, 2022)
Photo: Humphrey M on Unsplash
