The Fatima Seers, Francisco and Jacinta died within a few years of the apparitions, as Our Lady had prophesied. Lucia, who became a Carmelite Sister, died in February 2005, on the 13th day of the month.
The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, appeared to three shepherd children, Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta, near the town of Fatima, Portugal from May to October 1917 on the 13th day of each month. Saying she had been sent by God with a message for all mankind, the Blessed Virgin promised the world would be at peace if her requests for prayer, reparation, and consecration were obeyed.
Conversely, Our Lady warned that further chastisements such as war, hunger, and persecution of the Church would come if the world persisted in its disobedience to God’s will. She prophesied that Russia would spread its “errors” of atheism throughout the earth and be the cause for the annihilation of nations. The Virgin said this at a time when Russia was still a Christian nation, on the eve of the Communist uprising that would take place in the month following her final apparition. This apparition was marked as well by the Miracle of the Sun, a phenomenon witnessed by more than 70,000 people, including journalists and skeptics, and even by many not present at Fatima.
The Virgin repeatedly stressed the importance of praying the Rosary daily, of wearing the Brown Scapular of Mount Carmel, and of carrying out acts of penance. She also requested the public consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart.
Part of Our Lady’s message involved a “secret,” which she confided to the children in 1917. The first part of the secret was a terrifying vision of hell. The second part was a prediction of the Second World War. The third part involved the prediction of the assassination attempt against Pope John Paul the Great, which would take place on May 13, 1981, the anniversary of the first Fatima apparition. The Pope miraculously survived the ordeal and went on to visit his assailant in prison to offer his forgiveness.