Mary In Fatima

In May of 1917, in the tiny village of Fatima, Portugal, three young children; nine year old Lucia, seven year old Francisco and six year old Hacinta saw an angel they came to know as Michael. Initially he introduced himself as the guardian angel of Portugal. He had come to tell them that they would soon be meeting the Mother Mary. When the day came, a beautiful young female being appeared before them and identified Herself as Blessed Virgin.
Between May and October, The Divine Mother appeared to the children many more times; giving them prophecies and advice for the people in the village. Early on in these visits, She told them that two of would die soon and one would live for a long time. Not long after the visions ceased, Francisco and Hacinta became victims of the influenza that took millions of lives in 1918. Lucia is still alive today, living the cloistered life of a nun.
Because the children were constantly being questioned by local authorities and other people in the village about the validity of their visions, they implored Mary several times to let the people know She was really there. Eventually, She promised to perform a great miracle for everyone to see in October. She also pledged to deliver three secrets to the children during the miracle.
On October 13, 1917, exactly five months after the original vision, more than 80,000 people jammed the small village of Fatima, awaiting the promised event. In the crowd were many non-believers and journalists. Before the Blessed Virgin appeared, it was a cloudy, rainy day. Then, toward the afternoon, the children went into a trance, the clouds parted and someone said, “look at the sun!”
News reports described the spectacle as a mysterious solar occurrence. The faithful called it the vision of the dancing sun. Some of the witnesses saw the sun spinning wildly on its axis, emitting white, blue and green sparks along with great rays of light. Others reported seeing it becoming larger, as if it were falling toward the Earth. Still more people saw the sun spiral down to the horizon and back up again two or three times. Everyone dropped to their knees in reverence. Many doubters asked for forgiveness.[1]
[1] “San Sebastian de Garabandal” Produced by Michael Tubberty, M. F. J. Productions, Avondale, Auckland, New Zealand, 1997.