Historical Nonfiction

On Friday May 13, 1917 the first apparition of the Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children (one, named Lucy, was especially important). While tending sheep in the fields outside the village of Fatima in Portugal, the children reported seeing a woman dressed in white and “brighter than the sun, shedding rays of light clearer and stronger than a crystal ball filled with the most sparkling water and pierced by the burning rays of the sun.” She asked them to return to the spot at the same time every 13th of the month for the next six months. In total there were six apparitions of the Virgin Mary from May 13 to October 13, 1917. After the first apparition, the children returned with hundreds of believers. The crowds could not see the apparition, only Lucy who passed on her message.

On October 13, 1917, during the final visitation, there occurred “The Miracle of the Sun.” This time, Lucy had reported that the Virgin Mary would show herself to the crowd. Almost 30,000 came and saw unusual affects on and of the sun. There was a brief period of rain, then the clouds broke, and when the sun reappeared it was seen as an opaque, spinning disc giving off many colors. Some claimed that it zigzagged through the sky, and others claimed their clothes miraculously dried.