World Youth Day 2023

Today we arrived in Fatima. I will admit, I knew very little about this town before arriving. Upon our arrival we visited the Sanctuary which is home to 2 Basilicas and 1 incredible story.

The story of the Our Lady of Fátima miracle begins on May 13, 1917. Three peasant children, Francisco, Jacinta, and Lucia were tending to their family’s sheep. The children under 10 years old were blessed with the presence of the Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus. In Portugal, she is also known as Fátima. The children saw this beautiful woman, dressed in white and standing above a bush. The Virgin Mary told the children that world peace would occur if they spread the godly message of prayer.

She visited the young children on the 13th for the next six months. She revealed to the children three secrets. The children were told to make sacrifices to save sinners. They were tight cords around their wrists and did not drink water on hot days. Lucia told the villagers that Mary asked them to say the Rosary every day in order to keep world peace.

News of the apparitions spread throughout the village, some believing the children and some not so much. The Blessed Virgin Mary promised the children that one day a prophecy would occur that would show the village people that they were being truthful. These events culminated in the sixth final apparition “Miracle of the Sun”.

In 2017, Pope Francis went on to officially recognize the Miracle of the Sun and even canonized two of the children, Francisco Marto and Jacinta Marto, over 100 years after their death. This means that Pope Francis made the children officially saints!
Lucia, the cousin of Jacinta and Francisco Marto passed away in 2005 and is being considered for possible beatification. This is the step right before sainthood and essentially signifies that she is blessed in heaven. However, this process could only legally start in 2010, at least five years after her death, and is not yet finished. Pope Francis has visited the shrine of Our Lady of Fatima multiple times.Leer más