Our Lady of Fatima

Between May 13 and October 13, 1917, three shepherd children — Lucia dos Santos (age 10), Francisco Marto (age 9), and Jacinta Marto (age 7) — received six apparitions of the Blessed Virgin at the Cova da Iria. The Virgin entrusted them with three secrets and asked for prayer, penance, and the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart. The apparitions culminated on October 13, 1917, with the Miracle of the Sun: approximately 70,000 people gathered at the Cova, including journalists from secular newspapers, and witnessed the sun appear to dance, spin, and plunge toward the earth before returning to its normal position. The event was reported by multiple newspapers, including the anti-clerical O Seculo, whose reporter Avelino de Almeida wrote a detailed eyewitness account. Francisco and Jacinta died in the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic and were canonized by Pope Francis in 2017. Lucia became a Carmelite nun and died in 2005.