In the photo: Sister Lucia (in the photo with John Paul II)
In 2000, the Catholic Church published the content of the so-called third prophecy of Our Lady, received by three children near the Portuguese town of Fatima in October 1917. However, many experts question the reliability of the text published by the Vatican
It all began on May 13, 1917 in the village of Cova de Iria in the vicinity of Fatima, where the Mother of God appeared in the rays of bright light to two girls, Jacinte and Lucia, and the boy Francisco, who was driving a flock of sheep into the pasture. “Under the oak tree we saw the most beautiful lady we have ever seen,” wrote Lucia later. The Virgin was dressed in a long white dress and looked like a very young girl. In her hands she held a pearl rosary and a chain with a cross.
- Where did you come from? - asked Lucia, who came to her senses first.
“I came from heaven,” replied the Virgo.
- What for? - the girl asked with childlike spontaneity.
“I want you to come here on the thirteenth of every month. In October, I will tell you who I am and what I need from you, - answered the Mother of God and, after walking a few steps, disappeared into the sunlight …
At first the children decided not to tell anyone about this meeting, but the youngest, Jacinta, opened up to her mother. On the same day, rumors of the appearance of the Holy Virgin spread throughout the village. The guys were laughed at. However, when June 13 came around, many people came to the oak tree. The three children began to pray, looking in front of them, and their expressions changed all the time. Suddenly Lucia held out her hand and exclaimed:
- Here she is! There she is!
Looking in that direction, people saw only a white cloud.
Later, the children said that at first a mysterious fire burned in front of them and the voice of the Mother of God was heard. She told them to come back to this place in a month. Then only Lucia heard the voice. The Virgin Mary told her that she would soon take Francisco with Jacinta.
“You’ll have to stay here for a long time and learn to read and write,” added the saint.
Lucia asked through her tears:
- Dear lady, will I stay here alone?
“No, my child, I will never leave you. My immaculate heart will always be your refuge and show the way to our Lord.
“And then we saw her,” Lucia writes in her notes. She held out her hand, surrounded by radiance, and in her palm was a heart pierced with thorns. We realized that this is her immaculate heart, saddened by the sins of humanity and praying for their redemption."
Promises Fulfilled
Rumors of the vision at Fatima spread throughout Portugal. Every 13th, more and more people gathered near the oak tree. But the Mother of God was still seen by only three children. They asked the Holy Virgin to perform a miracle so that people would be convinced of their truthfulness. She agreed, promising to perform a miracle in October.
Prior to this event, Lucia received two prophecies from the Mother of God. The first
is that if people do not change their moral positions and begin to worship the Lord sincerely and everywhere, then soon after the end of the First World War, another terrible war will begin. The second prophecy read: if Russia does not accept Christ in her heart, she will commit many sins, spread them throughout the world and persecute the Church.
As October 13 approached, tensions grew throughout Portugal. On the night before, one of the most ferocious storms in the history of the country broke out, bringing with it the strongest cold. Despite this, over 100 thousand people gathered in the vicinity of Fatima.
Time passed, but nothing happened. The huge crowd murmured in displeasure. The parents of Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco began to fear for the lives of their children, but they were completely calm.
Soon after noon, light spilled over the crowd, which again only three children saw. The appeared Mother of God addressed them with the following words:
- People should live differently
- better, and ask for forgiveness for sins. Do not offend our Lord anymore, he is so much offended.
Then the children were shown Christ in crimson robes and the holy family, and in conclusion, a vision passed before Lucia's eyes, which, in fact, is considered the Third Prophecy of the Mother of God of Fatima.
When the Virgo disappeared in the sky, to the amazement of the crowd, something extraordinary began to happen. The sun turned pale and eventually turned into a silvery disk, from which iridescent rays radiated in all directions. Suddenly the disc began to rush across the sky. Having described three circles, he suddenly zigzags to the ground, and people fell on their faces in horror.
Then the disk returned to the sky, began to flare up, the rainbow rays disappeared - and the daylight took on its normal appearance. The "dance of the sun" lasted about ten minutes. Everyone saw it: believers and unbelievers, peasants and townspeople, people of science and ignoramuses, ingenuous witnesses and professional journalists … after strong hurricanes.
On that day, many of those who came to Fatima were healed, as promised by the Virgin Mary. Her other promises were fulfilled: in 1919, during a terrible Spanish epidemic, Francisco died, and in 1920 - Jacinta. Lucia became a nun and dedicated herself to serving God.
Are Earthlings warned of an alien invasion?
The existence of the third prophecy became known only in 1944, when Sister Lucia told about her vision to Pope Pius XII. At the same time, the nun insisted that her secret be revealed no earlier than 1960.
In 1959, the Pope and his cardinals discussed the issue of publishing the recordings of Sister Lucia, but they agreed that the time was not yet ripe.
Only in June 2000, the Vatican published part of the notes and some letters to Lucia, where she says: “We saw a bishop dressed in a white robe. He was followed by many other bishops, priests and laity. They all climbed a high mountain, on top of which a large cross was erected. Their path ran through the destroyed city strewn with corpses. Reaching the top of the mountain, the Pope knelt before the cross. At that moment, soldiers appeared and shot the holy father, and with him many bishops, priests and laity."
The Vatican claims that the prophecy is about an attempt on the life of Pope John Paul II, which took place on May 13, 1981. However, the media ask the question: why was it necessary to create a veil of secrecy over this event? Moreover, the Pope recovered from the assassination attempt and
continued to live long afterwards … There is an opinion that the published text was revised or does not correspond at all to the original text of Sister Lucia, which the Vatican continues to keep with seven seals. Even Catholic priests have expressed doubts about this. The most active among them was the Canadian bishop Nicholas Gruner, who called on the Vatican to open access to Sister Lucia's manuscripts. However, in 2002, Gruner was severely beaten in Fatima, after which he received an order from the Vatican to return to his Canadian diocese and behave more calmly.
In 1984, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (future Pope Benedict XVI), who read the letters of Sister Lucia, hinted that the famous third prophecy of Fatima concerns the danger hanging over the Christian Church and the whole world. This hint was recalled after the publication of the text and found that Ratzinger's interpretation is more convincing than the version about the assassination of the Pope. The famous Italian historian Domenico del Rio believes that the third prophecy refers to the third world war. Another opinion from Radio Liberty columnist Giovanni Bensi, an expert on religious issues:
“This is a classic example of prophecy,” says Bensi. - It is always apocalyptic, catastrophic. But when in the world there were no destroyed cities and mountains of corpses ?! Unfortunately, this is a permanent element in human history. The Church must have waited so long before publishing this document because everyone would be disappointed.
In April 2001, Cardinal Carrado Balducci attended a conference of Italian ufologists dedicated to the third prophecy of Fatima. He said that the published text omitted details that could shed light on the meaning of the prophecy. So, in the text of Lucia, it is said about certain "big black boats" that flew over the destroyed city and emitted bright white rays. The soldiers who shot at the priests were very tall and clad in stone armor. On the cross, to which the procession was heading, Lucia noticed the shadow of the crucified man, during the execution of the procession she stood out more clearly.
At the first minute, Lucia decided that it was Christ, but looking closer, she saw that the crucified one was laughing, and his eyes sparkled with a terrible fire.
The cardinal's words created a sensation. Most ufologists agreed that we are talking here about an alien invasion, which would turn into a disaster for the Earth. This, by the way, is consistent with the latest interpretations of Nostradamus's quatrains dedicated to the events of the 21st century.