05/13/2026
The Feast of Our Lady of Fatima - Weds., May 13th - a moment for all people not only the devout, but also the weary, uncertain, or lost, to look again at a real moment in world history from May 13, 1917, when Mary appeared to three poor children and entrusted them to share a message deeply rooted in the Gospel: be mindful in prayer (especially the Rosary) and seek and show mercy.
Be certain, Fatima is not a call to fear but a call to hope and peace.
Fatima urges us to aim for greatness that leads to heaven: to stop offending God, to offer ourselves to Him, and to pray for peace and conversion so that human suffering is met by the light of Christ.
On this day in 1917, the Blessed Mother chose to appear to Lúcia Santos, a young Portuguese girl, and her two younger cousins, Jacinta and Francisco Marto, as they were out tending their sheep outside their village in Fatima, Portugal. Lucia, who was 10 but the eldest of the trio would often kneel in the open fields and pray the Rosary.
History has recorded it was about noon when a flash of light caught the children’s attention. They said they saw a “brilliant” figure over the trees. The vision told them to pray for the conversion of sinners and an end to the war (World War I), and she would come back every month, on the 13th. As foretold apparitions happened again on June 13 and July 13. However, the children were prohibited to return to the Cova da Iria, where the previous appearances were, but when they returned on August 19, again the image appeared. Famously on September 13, the vision requested recitation of the Rosary for an end to the world war. It was on October 13, the "Lady" identified herself as "Our Lady of the Rosary" and again called for prayer and penance.
Take time to pray the rosary to the Blessed Mother with requests for the world and the conversion of sinners.
Find great resources for how to pray the Rosary, printables, Catholic apps, websites, how to make a Rosary, and more. Check it out at: https://faithinwv.org/resources/
Art: Our Lady of Fatima Statue (Vatican Gardens) by American artist Frederick Shrady,
commissioned in 1982, by Pope John Paul II