Carmel of St Joseph
We start the day with Mass at this Cloistered convent. Fr John gave a great homily making a key point that while Fatima is a very special place we have the same Jesus and Mary back home. So if you are not a traveler. Fear not! You don’t have to fly across the ocean to connect with them.
So why this place? This pilgrimage?
To simply say Mary appeared to 3 kids in 1917 doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of Fatima. A lot happened. Including the Miracle of the Sun seen by 70,000 people! The sun danced in the sky spinning around. In bright colors for 10 minutes. People thought they were going to die. And many non believers converted. And the lukewarm Christians grew more faithful.
So over the next week we’re going to walk through allllll that happened around the Fatima apparitions and even learn about some others!
Today we start in Aljustrel, the village where the children were born.
Aljustrel
We tour their houses and see where they kept their sheep then walk the same path they did. This is where it’s going to feel messy explaining it all. There’s a lot. Too much to write about so I’ll hit the highlights only.
Here’s the Marto house:
Mary appeared in the doorway I’m standing in to tell Francisco she’d take him to heaven in a few days.
Here’s the Santos house:
Lucia’s house.
Quick story: The kids would play a game where the loser had to kiss their uncle. Lucia said, “no I will kiss the cross of Jesus.”
Pictured is that crucifix.
Also note on museum signage: projections! I haven’t seen this before. I like that it keeps the integrity of the structure and would be easier to update. I haven’t designed museum signage…yet!
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These were normal kids.
Lucia Santos (youngest of 6) and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto (youngest of 9) had a herd of sheep they took care of. They’d herd the sheep to water and grazing each day.
Jacinta was the baby of the family. A spoiled little girl. She danced and sang. If she got upset she’d run to a corner and wait for someone to come console her. Typical 6 year old. This is important to note because she changes in a radical way.
They prayed the rosary fast so they could get back to their games while herding the sheep. Our Father, Hail Mary, Hail Mary, Hail Mary… not praying the full prayer.
Then the apparitions begin. And their hearts change.
Spring, 1916: First apparition of the Angel
The Angel of Peace appeared to 9-year-old Lucia Dos Santos and her cousins, Francisco and Jacinta Marto age 8 and 6. The Angel demonstrated to the children the fervent, attentive, and composed manner in which we should all pray, and the reverence we should show toward God in prayer teaching them this prayer:
“My God I believe, I adore, I hope and I love You. I ask pardon of those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love You.”
This is the place of the first and third apparitions:
Summer, 1916: Second apparition of the Angel
Behind Lucia’s house at the well, The Angel appeared to the children, who were playing, and urged them to pray. The angel said “I am the guardian Angel of Portugal. Offer all that you do to the Most High as prayers and sacrifices.”
Jacinta had a vision of the Pope on his knees with face in hands crying. People were throwing stones at him and shouting ugly words. Jacinta had an affection for the Holy Father after that saying we must pray for him.
This is that place:
Fall, 1916: Third apparition of the Angel
In his third and final apparition to the children, the Angel gave them Holy Communion, and demonstrated the proper way to receive Our Lord in the Eucharist: all three children knelt to receive Communion, and Lucy was given the Sacred Host on the tongue and the Angel shared the Blood of the Chalice between Francisco and Jacinta.
They learned another prayer:
“Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly, and offer you the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for all the outrages, sacrileges, and indifference with which He is offended. And through the infinite merits of his Most Sacred Heart and of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg the conversion of poor sinners.”
This was the same place the first apparition occurred.
APPARITIONS OF OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY
May 13, 1917
Our Lady appears to the three children at the Cova da Iria and asks that they return for five more months in succession, on the 13th day, at the same hour. She promises to take them to Heaven and she asks them to pray the rosary every day.
It was just holmoak trees and grazing land then. Now there’s a chapel and lots of room for the thousands (or millions) of pilgrims that come each year.
On the way home that day Lucia tells the others they shouldn’t tell anyone about this. But 6 year olds aren’t good with secrets. Jacinta spills the beans. She tells her mom they saw the most beautiful lady!
Word spreads.
June 13, 1917
About 50 people come to the Cova da Iria to witness the apparition.
Our Lady tells the children that God wants to establish in the world devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Only the 3 children can see her. Only the girls can hear her.
July 13, 1917
About 5,000 people come.
Our Lady shows the children a vision of hell and tells them that she will come back at a later date to ask for the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. She tells the children the Secret and promises to prove Her appearances with a miracle on October 13, 1917.
August 13, 1917
The children are kidnapped by the Mayor of Ourem (remember the country is under communist regime now) and miss their appointed meeting with Our Lady.
About 15,000 people come to the Cova and many witness supernatural phenomena indicating that Our Lady came nonetheless.
The mayor imprisoned and threatened to boil the children in oil if they didn’t tell him what Our Lady had said. He holds them several days and giving up releases them.
August 19, 1917
Our Lady visits the children in nearby Valinhos.
And again prophesizes the working of a miracle in October while telling the children to pray and make sacrifices for sinners as many souls go to hell because there is no one to pray and make sacrifices for them.
September 13, 1917
About 30,000 people come to the Cova.
Our Lady tells the children that in October, Our Lord will come, as well as Our Lady of Sorrows and Our Lady of Carmel. Also, Saint Joseph will appear with the Child Jesus to bless the world. She said to continue to pray the rosary every day.
October 13, 1917
It’s a rainy day. Like soak to the bone rainy. Around 70,000 show up for this miracle. Believers and atheists alike. It’s well documented in the papers.
At about noon the clouds part and sun comes out and “dances” in the sky. Many thought this was the end! The sun spun around in brilliant colors and looking directly at it didn’t hurt their eyes. This lasted about 10 minutes then it went back into its place in the sky. This is the Miracle of the Sun.
Our Lady announces: “People must amend their lives and ask pardon for their sins. They must not offend Our Lord any more for He is already too much offended.” She tells us to continue to pray the Rosary every day.
Francisco and Jacinto both die of the Spanish flu within a few years after. Mary appeared to both to take them to heaven.
December 10, 1925
Our Lord and Our Lady appeared to Sister Lucia who is now in Spain to relate the specific requirements for the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays.
June 13, 1929
In fulfillment of her promise at Fatima on July 13, 1917, Our Lady of Fatima appears to Sister Lucia at Tuy, Spain in the visible presence of the Most Holy Trinity and asks for the consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart.
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Ok that was a lot. And those are just the cliff notes! Join me for the next week and a half to uncover all the treasures of this significant event.
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We finish the day with a talk from Sr Angela who wrote an amazing book (I’m told): Inside the Light - Understanding the Message of Fatima.
The 13 years of apparitions (1916-2025) are more than just a historical event. They offer a path to becoming true disciples of Christ under Mary's guidance. It's important to remember that establishing devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is God's will, not simply Mary's.
This series of appparitions are approved by the Church. When the Church declares an apparition authentic, it affirms that God has spoken, and we are called to listen. Private revelation, therefore, isn't as optional as we might think.
Fatima encapsulates nearly all Catholic dogmas. Its prophetic significance is underscored by the fact that every pope has acknowledged its importance.
The core message of the apparitions is about God's nature, His love for us, and how He desires us to love Him in return.
The devil's greatest temptation is to make us believe that God doesn't love us because of our sins.
The "list of things to do" associated with the apparitions is a means of opening ourselves to God, improving our relationship with Him, and ultimately having a personal experience of Him. Sadly, many Catholics leave the Church during times of scandal precisely because they lack this personal connection with God.
Ultimately, we must share God's heart, which desires salvation for the entire world.
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We ended the night with a pizza party with the Alianca de Santa Maria, the fastest growing order of religious sisters in Portugal. They were founded to live and share the message of Fatima. And they’re all super young!
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Our tour guides are a prayer group, Luminaries of Holy Mary, connected to this order of sisters.
Here are 2 of our guides brothers Frank and Joe Spicer. Brothers as in siblings.
Their sister Mary is our other fearless leader!
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