The apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima

Good morning everyone. Today is the 13th of May, and for the Catholic Church, the day to celebrate the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima. Between 13th of May and 13th of October 1917, three Portuguese children, Francisco, Jacinta, and Lucia received apparitions of our Lady near Fatima, a city in Portugal.

You may wonder, what is an apparition? If we check the dictionary, it means a remarkable or unexpected appearance of someone or something. In the Catholic Church, to be classified as a Marian apparition, meaning that to acknowledge a report of seeing Mother Mary, the person or group who claim to see Mother Mary must claim that they have seen her visually located in the environment. The church would not acknowledge any reports of claiming to hear her, or meeting her in any dreams or visions.

On the 13th of May 1917, the Blessed Virgin Mary came from heaven to earth and appeared in front of 3 children, and brought some messages to them. At that time, Mother Mary was wearing a white mantle edged with gold, which was like a loose cloak that has a gold trim. She was also holding a rosary in her hand. She spoke to the three children and asked them to make sacrifices, and to pray the Rosary every day to bring peace to the world and an end to the war. She also asked them to return to that spot on the thirteenth of each month for the next six months, as it was not the only appearance of Mother Mary.

A total of six apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary were reported and recognised by the Catholic Church. Though they did not intend to tell anyone about seeing Mother Mary, one of the children, Jacinta told her family about this unexpected encounter. Her mother spread the news to her neighbors as a joke and within one day, this story had become the talk of the town.

In the following months, these 3 children returned to the same spot to witness the apparitions of Mother Mary. Each time, she would ask them to say the Holy Rosary to obtain peace and the end of the war. She also revealed a vision of hell and told them a secret. Drawn by these three children’s reported apparitions, many people rushed to Fatima, hoping to witness a Marian apparition as well. However, the government intervened as it was perceived that these events were potentially disruptive to the stability of the country. The children were taken into custody before they could arrive at the same spot to witness another apparition.

One of the messages delivered by Mother Mary was the importance of praying daily for the sinners and to make sacrifices. At the time of her apparition, a lot of people were suffering during World War I. Many citizens had lost their loved ones and families were torn apart. Mother Mary hoped to tell the three children that many souls were perishing in hell because no one was praying or making sacrifices for them.

If we look at what is happening around the world now, we could observe that the situation bears an unfortunate similarity. Every day, when we watch the news, we learn that there are ongoing wars around the world, and political tension and hostility persist. Many people have suffered physical and mental harm due to aggression and selfishness. Though the message given by Mother Mary was intended for the circumstances a hundred years ago, the world now is still at a very critical stage in which we must continuously pray and seek for God’s guidance. May we remember the needs of our brothers and sisters around the world in our hearts, and pray for world peace together.

Ms Wu HY