Lucia Santos

Lucia dos Santos was a central figure in the reported Marian apparitions that occurred in Fátima, Portugal, starting in 1917. Alongside her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto, she claimed to have witnessed multiple appearances of the Virgin Mary. These events, which began with an angel's visitation in 1916, were declared worthy of belief by the Bishop of Leiria in 1930. The apparitions, particularly the one on May 13, 1917, involved messages about prayer, sacrifice, and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, with promises of peace and the end of the Great War.

The children reported that the Virgin Mary revealed secrets, including visions of hell and prophecies concerning future global conflicts and the persecution of the Church. These secrets, along with the alleged Miracle of the Sun witnessed by thousands on October 13, 1917, contributed to the widespread fame and controversy surrounding the Fátima events. Lucia dos Santos later documented these experiences in her memoirs, which played a significant role in the dissemination of the Fátima message and the subsequent veneration of Our Lady of Fátima, including canonical coronation and the elevation of the Sanctuary to a minor basilica.

Lucia dos Santos, along with her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto, reported experiencing a series of apparitions in Fátima, Portugal, beginning in 1916 with an angel and continuing with the Virgin Mary from May to October 1917. These apparitions, occurring at Cova da Iria, were described by the children as involving a figure more brilliant than the sun. The messages conveyed urged daily prayer of the Rosary for world peace and an end to the ongoing Great War, alongside calls for personal sacrifice and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The children were instructed to return to the site monthly, with promises of further revelations and a miracle.

During the reported apparitions, Lucia dos Santos claimed the Virgin Mary entrusted three secrets to the children. These secrets included a vision of hell, prophecies about the end of the war, and dire warnings of a more devastating conflict if people continued to offend God. Specific prophecies alluded to a "night illuminated by an unknown light" as a sign of divine punishment through war and hunger, and the need for the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary to avert these calamities. The third secret was intended to be revealed later by the Catholic Church.

The events at Fátima, including the claims of apparitions and miracles, faced initial skepticism and opposition from secular and religious authorities, with the children briefly detained. However, on October 13, 1930, the Bishop of Leiria declared the events worthy of belief. The venerated image of Our Lady of Fátima received canonical coronation in 1946, and the Sanctuary was later elevated to the status of a minor basilica. Lucia dos Santos's published memoirs in the 1930s were instrumental in spreading the Fátima message and its esoteric elements, including prophecies and eschatological revelations.

“Do not be afraid. I will do you no harm. I am from Heaven. I came to ask you to come here on the thirteenth day for six months at this same time, and then I will tell you who I am and what I want. And afterwards, I will return here a seventh time. Yes, you [Lúcia] will [go to heaven]. She [Jacinta] also [will go to heaven]. Yes [Francisco will go to heaven], but first he must say many rosaries. Would you like to offer yourselves to God to accept all the sufferings which He may send to you in reparation for the countless sins by which He is offended and in supplication for the conversion of sinners? Then you will have much to suffer, but the grace of God will be your comfort.”

“I want you to come on the thirteenth day of next month and to pray the Rosary every day and I want you to learn to read. If she [sick woman] is converted, she will be cured within a year. Yes, I will take Francisco and Jacinta soon [to heaven], but you must remain on earth for some time. Jesus wishes to use you to make me better known and loved. He wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. No, my child [you will not be alone], and would that make you suffer? Do not be disheartened. My Immaculate Heart will never abandon you, but will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God.”

“I want you to come on the thirteenth day of next month and to continue to pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, in order to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war for she alone can help. Continue to come here every month. In October I will tell you who I am and what I want. And I will perform a miracle so that everyone may see and believe. Sacrifice yourselves for sinners and say often, especially when you make some sacrifice, 'O my Jesus, this is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the offenses committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.' [A vision of hell] You saw Hell where the souls of poor sinners go. In order to save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If people do what I ask, many souls will be saved and there will be peace. The war is going to end. But if people do not stop offending God, another, even worse one will begin in the reign of Pius XI. When you shall see a night illuminated by an unknown light know that this is the great sign that God gives you that He is going to punish the world for its many crimes by means of war, hunger, and persecution of the Church and the Holy Father. To prevent it, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the Communion of reparation on the first Saturdays. If people attend to my requests, Russia will be converted and the world will have peace. If not, she [Russia] will scatter her errors throughout the world, provoking wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, and various nations will be destroyed. In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me; it will be converted, and a certain period of peace will be granted to the world. In Portugal the dogmas of the Faith will always be kept. [A vision of the Pope suffering and being martyred] Do not tell this to anyone. Francisco ... yes, you may tell him" [Lúcia and Jacinta both saw and heard Our Lady but Francisco only saw the apparitions]. When you say the Rosary, say after each mystery: O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need.”

“Pray, pray a great deal and make many sacrifices, for many souls go to Hell because they have no one to make sacrifices and to pray for”