The Feast of Our Lady of Fatima is marked on May 13. It is the feast celebrating the apparition of Blessed Mary to three Portuguese shepherd children on this day in 1917.

This day reminds us that our merciful Mother, Blessed Mary, affirms to us that Her Son, Lord Jesus Christ, has already won for us an eternal victory. In 1917, near the end of World War I, a miraculous event happened in the quaint little city of Fatima, Portugal.

It is the Miracle of Fatima, also known as the Miracle of the Sun, which happened between May and October of 1917. Three shepherd children, Lucia Santos and her cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto, reported visions of the luminous lady, Blessed Mary. She appeared to the children in the Cova da Iria fields outside the hamlet of Aljustrel near Fatima, Portugal. She appeared to them on the 13th day of each month at approximately noon, for six straight months.

Her message to those three shepherd children, the war-torn world of the 20th century and the world today is quite simple: "Pray". Most especially, people need to pray the rosary everyday specifically offering prayers for peace in the world and for conversion of hearts to God. It is important to pray the rosary today for our troubled world, for an end to the suffering attributed to the coronavirus, and for the salvation of souls.

In reaction to the dangers lurking in the offing, and with regards to the health risk and the ramifications of social problems, His Holiness Pope Francis on Thursday, April 22, invited Catholics and Marian Shrines around the world to dedicate the month of May 2021 to a marathon of prayer for an end to the Covid-19 pandemic.

 The initiative involves 30 Marian shrines from various parts of the world which encourages the faithful, families, and communities to recite the Rosary to pray for an end to the pandemic.

‘Fatima’ movie finally comes to theaters

The movie “Fatima” has finally opened nationwide on big screens. It is the ideal movie for Catholics who are seeking hope during the current pandemic as it brings us closer to understanding the reality of the miraculous apparitions and relating them to our current time and making us closer to our faith.

The “Fatima” is an impressive film that tells the story of the “Blessed Mother” who came from Heaven to give a helping hand to a deviating world and to tell her children exactly why they need to resort to Lord Jesus in order to restore global peace and love.

While the Blessed Mother’s appearance at Fatima and the “Miracle of the Sun” happened 104 years ago, the film’s appeal stretches across boundaries with the Fatima devotees, people of various faiths and denominations who will definitely find something to consider in this film.

Among the implications of the Apparitions of Fatima  is that Blessed Mary wants to continue to communicate with Her children and consequently to the Church and that She wants to tell the world that She cares for all humans and that She is always available to meet their needs by healing the sick, satisfying the needy, and caring for the hopeless. What is needed is to approach Her with prayers as is the loving mother of all humans.

Pope Francis prayed imploring Blessed Mary’s intercession to heal the sick.

He said in the prayer":

O Mary, you shine continuously on our journey as a sign of salvation and hope.

We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick.

At the foot of the Cross you participated in Jesus’ pain, with steadfast faith.

You, Salvation of the Roman People, know what we need.

We are certain that you will provide, so that,

as you did at Cana of Galilee,

joy and feasting might return after this moment of trial.

Help us, Mother of Divine Love,

to conform ourselves to the Father’s will and to do what Jesus tells us: He who took our sufferings upon Himself, and bore our sorrows to bring us, through the Cross, to the joy of the Resurrection. Amen.

We seek refuge under your protection, O Holy Mother of God.

Do not despise our pleas – we who are put to the test – and deliver us from every danger, O glorious and blessed Virgin.