Barna av Fátima - en betimelig historie

Book Reveals Previously Unpublished Testimony About Visionaries

ROME, APR 18 (ZENIT.org).- On May 13, the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, John Paul II will beatify Francisco and Jacinta Martos, the two little shepherds who, together with their cousin Lucia dos Santos, 93, now a contemplative nun, saw the Virgin and received heavenly messages in 1917.

Much has been written on the events at Fatima, and there has been great speculation about the so-called "third secret." In fact, few know the depth of the content of this mysterious experience that seems to cover most of the great events of the 20th century. To help in its reconstruction, the book "Reportage of Fatima," has been published by Ancora, but to date it is only available in Italian. It is written by a father/son team of journalists, Renzo and Roberto Allegri. The writers collected important testimonies in Portugal, making the story of the little shepherds very timely.

As is well known, the apparitions began on May 13, 1917, and were repeated on the 13 of every month until October of the same year. The 3 children said they saw "a Lady dressed in white" who left them with a profound sense of peace. Nobody believed them. They were confined and isolated because of their insistence in repeating the story.

The best known of the apparitions, that of July 13, is the one of the famous "secret": a message that the "Lady" confided to the 3 children, forbidding them to disclose it. Only a few years later, Lucia received permission to reveal the message, following two new apparitions in the convent of Tuy, Spain. In 1927, the "Lady" told her she could give the first two parts of the message to the Church; in 1941, she gave permission for the last part to be made known, the famous "third secret," but only to the Pope.

Of the Fatima message, therefore, we only know the first two parts. The first is the revelation of Hell. The second warned that the First World War was about to end, but that an "even worse" one would follow, announced as "a night illuminated by an unknown light." The Blessed Mother called for the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate heart. Those seeking an interpretation of this revelation have found it in the great aurora borealis that illuminated the whole sky of Europe on the night of January 24-25, 1938, more than a month before the Nazi invasion of Austria.

As regards the consecration of Russia to "the Immaculate Heart of Mary," the request was not completed for almost 60 years. It was John Paul II who responded in 1984 in St. Peter's. Seven years later, the Soviet flag in the Kremlin, symbol of religious persecution, was lowered.

There would not have been so much talk about Fatima but for the fact that during the last apparition on October 13, 1917, an event occurred which made the visionaries' story "credible." On that day, some 70,000 people, including police and military of the security service, as well as special reporters from anti-religious newspapers like "O Seculo" and "O Dia," having arrived to demolish the "superstition," returned converted, as they witnessed the famous "dance of the sun," a phenomenon that lasted several minutes, which was not registered by the astronomical observatories, but was seen for dozens of kilometers away, even by distinguished figures like poet Alfonso Lopez Vieira.

These are the facts, and Renzo and Roberto Allegri narrate them with simplicity and precision, enriching them with important testimonies. The first, is that of Fr. José dos Santos Valinho, 73, a Salesian priest and nephew of Lucia. This is accompanied by the testimony of Maria Emilia Santos, a woman who was cured on February 20, 1989 after 22 years of being bed-ridden with paralysis. Her cure is the miracle the Church has recognized for the beatification of Francisco and Jacinta. The interview with João Martos, brother of the two visionaries, is also important. At 94, he tells how for 2 years he did not believe in the story of his two siblings. But he changed his mind when Francisco and Jacinta became ill and died. The 3 visionaries had said immediately after the apparitions that the "Lady" had told them that Francisco and Jacinta would die soon, while Lucia would remain "a long time on earth."

These are stories of apparitions, miracles, and children who offer their lives for the conversion of sinners. It all seems incomprehensible, even absurd to the ears of non-believers. But it is very much in line with the opposite perspective, which is that of the Gospel, where the blessed are the last and where truth is revealed to the pure and simple of heart.

Zenit - The World Seen From Rome