On this day, Portugal celebrates the Day of the Mother of God of Fatima.
According to legend, on May 13, 1917, after Sunday mass, three little shepherdesses Jacinta, Francisco and Lucia from the town of Cova da Iria, near the small Portuguese town of Fatima, were herding their sheep not far from home. Suddenly lightning flashed and they decided that a thunderstorm was starting. It was necessary to hide the sheep somewhere.
At that moment, the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to them, which, according to them, sparkled brighter than the sun. When the children told the adults about this, no one believed them, but the miracle was repeated on the 13th of each subsequent month until October. The last, sixth phenomenon was on October 13, 1917, and it was already observed by 70 thousand people.
And all this huge crowd had Fatima's Solar Miracle: the sun «danced» across the sky in circles, and then became completely dark for a few minutes before it returned to its place, although scientists of the time did not register any anomalies. And the next day the news spread throughout Portugal that several cripples from those who saw the Mother of God were miraculously healed…
When a temple was built on the site of the phenomenon in 1944, sick and crippled people began to come to it from all over Portugal. Parishioners bring parts of the body made of wax to a specially designated place next to the basilica in the hope of healing. According to Catholic tradition, the pilgrim must make the path to the temple and back on his knees.
The Catholic Church points out the connection of some historical events with the dates of the apparitions of the Mother of God of Fatima. Thus, the attempt on the life of Pope John Paul II in 1981 occurred on the anniversary of her first appearance to Fatima, even an hour and minutes coincided.
Professor Crucitti, who operated on him, said that a 9-mm bullet pierced dad's body, bypassing all vital organs, as if an invisible hand was guiding it, and passed a few millimeters from the main aorta, the damage to which entails instant death.
«It was a real miracle and I know who to be grateful for it. One hand directed the pistol, and the other — changed the direction of the bullet», — this is how John Paul II himself commented on this fact.
On March 25, 1984, in St. Peter's Square in Rome, in front of the statue of the Mother of God brought from Fatima, John Paul II dedicated all humanity to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin — in fulfillment of the request of the Mother of God of Fatima.