Fatima Articles and Talks

How we can help the Holy Souls in November? November is the month of the Holy Souls and so this is an important time during which to remember our own loved ones, and more generally the souls in Purgatory. Regarding purgatory in the Catechism we find this passage: “The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the ... the tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire” (1031). Jesus certainly spoke about hell as a place of fire, of eternal punishment, (e.g. Mark 9: 43, 47; Luke 16:19-31), and the Church has traditionally seen purgatory as a lesser form of punishment—since unlike hell it will end—but still, according to some of the saints, an extremely painful experience, to the extent that the pains of purgatory surpass anything we could experience on earth. Thus, we should live our lives with the aim of entering heaven when we die. In any event, we can help the souls in purgatory particularly in November, but also at any time of the year, by visiting a cemetery and praying for particular souls, either vocally or mentally, so as to gain a partial indulgence on their behalf. And to go further, a Plenary Indulgence may be gained between 1st and 8th November, applicable to the Holy Souls only, by visiting a cemetery and praying there for the dead, even if the prayer is only mental, and then fulfilling the conditions required, which are Confession, (up to eight days before or afterwards), Holy Communion, and prayer for the intentions of the Pope (one Our Father and one Hail Mary).

Fr Lawrence Lew spoke powerfully about the redemptive value of suffering. His talk was both inspiring and illuminating, reminding us that our sufferings, when united with Christ’s Passion, become a powerful form of sacrifice. As Fr Lawrence said: “Suffering without love is hell. Suffering with love is a sacrifice which transforms and unites us with Christ on the Cross.”

The connection between the request for Consecration, and the First Saturdays of Reparation in the Fatima Message, stating how each of them lean on the other Some background on Fatima’s historical context Our Lady appeared in Fatima, whilst the world was ravaged by an ongoing 4th year of War. Millions had needlessly perished, and the endless slaughter seemed unstoppable. Pope Benedict XV (1914-1922) had worked tirelessly to try to end the war diplomatically, but was ignored on every side. He labeled World War 1 as “the suicide of civilised Europe.” Russia suffered devastating defeats, which led to revolution by militant atheists, whose avowed aim was for world domination under communism. From March to November 1917, the Russian revolution annihilated the Czar, and all resistance, to the launch of the Soviet totalitarian State. The age of the greatest number of martyrs in the history of the Church was inaugurated. Pope Benedict XV promulgated a special Novena of Rosaries in Rome to plead the intercession of Our Lady Queen of Peace. It started on May 5th, 1917, entreating her for the end of the war. Nine days later on May 13th, Our Lady appeared in Fatima as if directly answering the Holy Fathers pleadings for peace. Heaven had listened, where no one else would! At the same time in Rome, Eugenio Pacelli was consecrated Bishop who would become Pope Pius XII in 1939. This Pope throughout his pontificate paid close attention to the message brought by the Mother of God. Our Lady appeared in Fatima, and asked that the Rosary be prayed daily for the end of the war, and for peace. She asked that sacrifices be made for the conversion of sinners, and to help spread devotion to her Immaculate Heart. Later she asked for two crucial things which she indicated would obtain the peace of the World, and the conversion of Russia - so that Russia would not continue to spread its errors throughout the world, annihilating nations, persecuting Christians, crucifying the Church, and causing much suffering to the Holy Father. Two crucial Requests as an antidote for War, and for the prevention of the spread of Communism! The message of Fatima highlights for us that Russia cannot be converted, nor can there be peace in the world, without Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and establishment of devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary through the practice of the First Saturdays of Reparation. 1On July 13th 1917 Our Lady gave insight into the meaning of the need for reparation to her Immaculate Heart when she said: “Sacrifice yourselves for sinners, and say many times especially when you make some sacrifice: O Jesus, it is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.” As Our Blessed Mother said these words, she extended and opened her hands, as she had done during the two previous months, and showed the three young shepherds the terrifying vision of Hell. Lucia speaks: “The rays of light seemed to penetrate the earth, and we saw as it were a sea of fire. Plunged in this fire were demons and souls in human form, like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, floating about in the conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames that issued from within themselves together with great clouds of smoke now falling back on every side like sparks in huge fires, without weight or equilibrium, amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear. (It might have been this sight which caused me to cry out, as people say they heard me.) The demons could be distinguished by their terrifying and repellent likeness to frightful and unknown animals, black and transparent like burning coals.” Our Lady then said with great sadness: “You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace. The war is going to end; but if people do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out during the pontificate of Pius XI. When you see a night illumined by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign given you by God that he is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father.” “To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the Consecration to my Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated. In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me and she will be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world.” 2The Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays, and the Collegial Consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart, led by the Holy Father in communion with all the Bishops of the world are the two crucial requests! One remains unheard, unpracticed and is hardly known - the First Saturdays of Reparation! If the Requests go unheeded! Our Lady foretold what might unfold if people did not convert and return to God - the tyranny of communism, that Russia would spread her evils throughout the world, that another War (World War II) could break out, that the good would be martyred, and that the Church would experience severe persecution. Russia it seemed was used as a symbol for all those who tried, and still try to eradicate God, through what ever atheistic systems and philosophies they can, to destroy the values of faith, the sanctity of marriage and family, and the sanctity of life from the moment of conception to natural death. Our Lord himself in 1936, said to Lucia, “If they do not wish to heed my request, as like the King of France, they will repent and do it, but it will be late. Russia will have already spread her errors throughout the world, provoking wars and persecutions of the Church. The Holy Father will have much to suffer.” The Light of Fatima and the Message Fatima is a light illuminating the darkness of our times. Its strong light has shone, since its dawning to the three little shepherd children in 1916/1917, and then onwards through the mission of Sr. Lucia in 1925 and 1929, and beyond to the present day. Fatima is a witness to faith. It is a mystical grace, which at our invitation, has the power to draw us into the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, and an experience of the love of God. Fatima is at the same time prophetic, and a warning, a call to people to turn from sin, to change and to convert, and to embrace God in His loving Will. Fatima points to future events, but encouragingly demonstrates that our response to the calls of the Angel of Peace, Our Blessed Lady and Our Divine Lord through prayer, confession of sin, penance, reparation for sin, and consecrations to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, have the spiritual power to mitigate or even bring to naught the punishments which in justice are due because of the sin of the world. Fatima is an outpouring of God’s love and mercy for all people. Some of the first words of the Angel of Peace (1916) were, “The Hearts of Jesus and Mary have designs of mercy on you.” The Fatima Message is also presenting us with the Peace Plan of Heaven! Praying for the Salvation of Souls Jesus and Mary are pleading with us to pray for the salvation of souls, to save them from the fires of hell. What matters for all of us is Eternal Life … the destiny which Our Lord and Our Lady desire for each person. As the Catechism of Christian Doctrine (1985) said: What must you do to save your soul? To save my soul I must worship God by Faith, Hope and Charity; that is, I must believe in him, I must hope in him, and I must love him with my whole heart.” On August 19th 1917 Our Blessed Lady said: “Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners; for many souls go to hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and to pray for them.” The Fatima Message teaches us how prepare for Eternal Life, and to plead for the salvation of those who do not believe, do not adore, and do not love God. Our Lady’s motherly concern in Fatima echoed the Catechism of the Catholic Church which states: “The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs. The affirmations of Scared Scripture and the teachings of the Church on the subject of hell are a call to the responsibility incumbent upon man to make use of his freedom in view of his eternal destiny.” (CCC1036-1036) The request for the First Saturdays of Reparation Our Lady often appeared holding Her Heart which was encircled by piercing thorns. This demonstrated that Our Blessed Lady is outraged, and that she is seeking reparation. Reparation for sin is due in justice to God and neighbour. The more serious the sin, the greater the need for reparation. Yes, we go and confess our sins in the Sacrament of Confession. We are then given a penance. Reparation compliments the penance. Ven. Archbishop Fulton Sheen once gave this helpful analogy: Imagine a woodblock with a nail in it. When you go to Confession your sin is confessed and removed. Like the sin the nail is removed … yet what remains is the hole representing the wounds of sin! The wounds which need to be healed by acts of reparation. Think of a festering wound! It is no good placing a sticking plaster over it, and failing to treat it! Septicaemia is likely to follow, with death close at hand! The wound needs close attention paid to it, cleaning, purifying, and the prescription of medications to totally heal it. Like physical symptoms sin often leaves behind a trail, and we need to do something about it. Various acts of Reparation are our spiritual antidotes, 4and spiritual medications so that the wounds of our sin might be healed from their roots. Hence, Our Blessed Mother in Fatima asked us for a monthly Confession and acts of Reparation. They are a means to re evaluate our catholic practice and witness. A monthly confession helps all of us to examine our consciences in a more profound way. At the core of the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is the call to Penance, Penance, Penance, and Reparation, Reparation, Reparation, which preceded the request for the Consecration of Russia. In July 1917 Our Lady said: “Sacrifice yourselves for sinners, and say many times especially when you make some sacrifice; “O Jesus, it is for love of you, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.” Practice of the First Saturdays of Reparation - Heaven’s Peace Plan! Heaven's Peace Plan – 5 Days that have the potential to change you and bring peace to the World! Are you willing to help change the WORLD? Heaven's Peace Plan for the Church, Families and Nations was presented to us through the Messages of Our Lady of Fatima. It is a humble and peaceful plea - to pray the Rosary daily and to practice monthly the First Saturdays of Reparation. The Rosary and the First Saturdays are the great desire of both the Hearts of Jesus and Mary for these dangerous times. Heaven is pleading with sinful earth through these requests! Heaven's Peace Plan is seemingly so simple - so simple that most in the Church have missed it! The devotion can be done individually or communally. If done communally with others, it gives a powerful witness of faith to the rest of the Church. Sr. Lucia strongly stated in 1939: “War or Peace in the world depends on the celebration of this devotion (the First Saturdays), and the Consecration to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary connected to it …” On the First Saturday of every month – we are invited to undertake … 4 practices with 1 Great Intention. Each First Saturday we are asked to: 1. Go to Confession (on the day, or as soon as possible before or after) 2. Receive Holy Communion as a Communion of Reparation (in a state of grace) 3. Pray the daily Rosary 4. Meditate for 15 minutes on the Rosary Scriptures whilst keeping Our Lady company. All with the intention of making Reparation for sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and which are so offensive to God. The First Saturday Apparition On December 10th, 1925, Jesus and Mary came to Lucia when she was a postulant in the Dorothean Convent in Pontevedra, Spain. Lucia had only joined the convent on October 26th 2025, just 6 weeks before. Lucia described it thus: “It was December 10, 1925. I was in my room, when suddenly the room lit up and it was the light of my dear Mother in Heaven who came with the Child Jesus a luminous cloud. Our Lady as if wanting to install courage, rested her hand on my shoulder, and as she did so, showed me her Immaculate Heart encircled by thorns, which she was holding in her other hand.” The child Jesus said, “Have compassion on the Heart of your Most Holy Mother covered with the thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment, and there is no one to make an act of Reparation to remove them." Then Our Lady said , “Look, My daughter, at My Heart surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce me at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You, at least, try to console me, and say that I promise to assist at the hour of death, with all the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary and keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to me.” Lucia further added: “After this grace, how could I take myself away from the least sacrifice that God asks of me to console the Heart of my beloved Mother in Heaven, happy that Mary depletes the bitter drops of the Chalice.” The First Saturdays are crucial and integral to the PEACE plan of Heaven. This message requesting the First Saturdays is the great Crown of the June 13th and July 13th messages given in Fatima in 1917 to Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco in which Our Lady said she would come to ask for the Consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. Immediately following the apparitions at Pontevedra, Sr. Lucia communicated Our Lady’s request to her confessor and to the Bishop of Leiria (Fátima), so that the devotion could be approved by the Church, which only happened officially in 1939. Lucia’s main concern was to have the devotion approved by the Church, and once the Church approved it, she left it to the Church to further spread it, although she would speak about it to the people she would meet privately. And then as if this was not enough! On February 15th 1926 Jesus himself appears to Lucia when she was bringing out the rubbish, and strongly rebukes her for not promoting the First Saturdays. Lucia infers that she had previously met him some days before. Poor Lucia, who was a postulant, and not exactly free to actively action the request. In all Jesus came three times asking for this devotion to be spread. This is remarkable! And yet 100 years on … we in the Church have hardly started this great work! Jesus might ask us … “And have you spread through the world what our heavenly Mother requested of you?” Why would we not want to practice, and spread the First Saturdays? A Day of Reparation, each month in every parish throughout the Church – would transform the Church and Nations, and be the means of the sanctification and salvation of millions. First Saturdays may be done individually, communally or in small groups as long as all the requirements are fulfilled. It is so humble a request – that most of us have managed to overlook it! 100 years ago on December 10th 1925 Jesus and Mary both requested them of us. Why 5 Saturdays? Our Lord revealed to Sister Lucia that the Devotion was in reparation for the five offences and blasphemies spoken against the Immaculate Heart of Mary: 1. Blasphemies against Her Immaculate Conception. 2. Blasphemies against Her Virginity. 7 3. Blasphemies against Her Divine Maternity, refusing, at the same time to receive Her as the Mother of mankind. 4. Blasphemies of those who publicly seek to sow in the hearts of children indifference, disrespect and even hate for this Immaculate Mother. 5. Blasphemies and offences of those who revile Her directly in Her Sacred Images. We have only to look at the various news channels, social media channels and the like to see how widespread these blasphemies have become in our own times. Sadly, daily, in countries like England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France, Canada, Spain, America, Australia, Nigeria & many parts of Africa, many parts of South America, Asia, India, Pakistan, the Middle East, we hear of churches being burnt to the ground, dreadful sacrileges being committed, statues being smashed, and peoples being murdered and terrorised in the most brutal of ways just because they are Christian. Never in history have such outrages and sacrileges been committed on such a massive scale. Never in history has the Blessed Sacrament been so outraged, as so few catholics believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Most Holy Eucharist, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. Never has there been such open disrespect in our Catholic Churches. In St. Peter’s, Rome, it seems that sacrileges and abominations occur. Recently a man urinated on the actual altar under the Baldachinno. This is totally shocking, outrageous, blasphemous, and sacrilegious. These types of outrages are becoming common place. Yet as catholics, are we outraged into reparation? The First Saturdays are the forgotten part of the Fatima message, and the most important for the peace of the world and for the salvation of souls. Jesus and Mary gave to us all, and to Holy Church, a monthly means of prayer of Reparation for the sins of the world, and a call for us to make a monthly confession and Communion of Reparation. Our prayer, fasting and sacrifice give the grace to awaken faith, repentance, hope and charity in those who do not believe, do not adore and do not know God. Prayer together with sacrifice offered to God for love of Him and neighbour is redemptive. Reparation is about putting love where there has been a hurt. Do we love enough to put Heaven’s humble plea into action? Do we believe that our participation in the First Saturdays can help change the world and bring peace? Jesus on the Cross made reparation for all our sins and reconciled us with the Father, but we too have to cooperate with this redeeming work on behalf of souls. This is what the request for the Five First Saturdays is all about - so let us get to work! A timely reminder! It seems that St. Carlo Acutis (1991-2006), and Our Lady of Fatima have a fascinating connection. St Carlo had a great love for the Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin Mary. He was a great devotee of Fatima, and of praying the daily Rosary. In the final year of his young life in 2006, St. Carlo was on pilgrimage in Fatima, and had a vision of the three young seers. St. Francisco especially asked Carlo for prayers of Reparation, and acts of sacrifice for sacrilege of the Eucharist, whilst Venerable Sr. Lucy reiterated the importance of the Five First Saturdays of Reparation, and expressly connected them to the world’s destiny. Carlo died from leukaemia in 2006 and was canonised by Pope Leo XIV in September 2025. Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary Consecrating ourselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary is at the very centre of the Fatima Message, and serves to strengthen the foundation of our spiritual response of Reparation as requested in the angelic visitations, the visitations of Our Blessed Mother, and finally in the post Fatima visitations to Sr. Lucia as an adult, by both Our Divine Lord Jesus and his Holy Mother Mary. Consecration and Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary makes complete our devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Our Lady told the children that to save souls from hell, “God wants to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate Heart.” Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary already existed in the world before the Fatima apparitions but was little understood. What Jesus and Mary emphasised through the Fatima messages was the importance of ‘establishing in the world’ devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In other words to build up the practice of the devotion already present, and make it integral and visible, at the heart of the spiritual life of the Church in every parish. What exactly is an Act of Consecration? An Act of Consecration is a supernatural event. The origin and source of the Act of Consecration is in the spiritual authority of the Bishops before Almighty God. An Act of Consecration is a cry for help, the recognition of fault, and an appeal for mercy for a new beginning. An Act of Consecration means to set aside an individual, a family, a country, a parish, a school or a diocese for God’s purposes. An Act of Consecration 9means that we want to become Holy! A Consecration involves a conscious and total renunciation of sin. The better an Act of Consecration is prepared for with confession, repentance and reparation, by the faithful and clergy, the more fruitful it will be spiritually speaking. God is greatly pleased with such Acts of Consecration. The Highest form of Consecration is of the entire Church and the World, when the Pope undertakes it in communion with the Bishops. This is what Our Blessed Mother asked for in Fatima, and which took place on March 25th 1984 at the request of St. John Paul II. Catholics need to awaken and become holy - for this will give the evangelical witness which will win our peoples, nations and world to Christ! We have the task of daily giving to Our Blessed Lady and her Divine Son JESUS - our lives, and beloved Church, more beautiful and resplendent than they ever were before! Over the centuries these Acts of Consecration have been seen and witnessed as heroic Acts of Faith, often during times of great persecution, war and National upheaval. Throughout history we have witnessed extraordinary graces of intervention in their aftermath. Some people only see these Acts of Consecration as ‘devotions of the little ones (the anawim), of not much importance’ – they are not! They have been carried out by Popes, Cardinals, Bishops, Priests and Laity throughout the rich and complex history of the Catholic Church in all the nations where she is present. So please HEAR this, and not confuse it with just another devotional request! Fatima, and Acts of Consecrations to the Immaculate Heart of Mary by successive Popes Pope Pius XI supported the propagation of the First Saturdays. He inaugurated the Feast of Christ the King to counter anti-Christian regimes. Interestingly, on December 14th 1927, Pope Pius declared St. Therese of Lisieux Patroness of the Missions, while also naming her as Patroness of all the works for the conversion of Russia. Sr. Lucia’s pleas to him were not going unheard! On October 31st, 1942, Pius XII spoke to the Portuguese peoples. This radio broadcast ended with a Consecration of the World to the Immaculate Heart of Mary which was repeated in Rome on December 8th 1942, Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. 10 On July 7th, 1952, Pius XII through his Apostolic Letter “Sacro Vergente Anno” to the Russian peoples - (“In the Sacred Year that is ending”) consecrated Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, hoping for their salvation amidst the hostility of the Soviet regime towards religion. The Consecration came at the end of the letter, and the Pope addressed them as Dearest Russian Peoples. Consecration of the peoples of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary - Pope Pius XII. “We, therefore, so that Ours and your prayers are answered more easily, and to give you a singular attestation of Our particular benevolence, as a few years ago we consecrated the whole world to the Immaculate Heart of the virgin Mother of God, so now, in a way very special, we consecrate all the peoples of Russia to the same Immaculate Heart. In the sure confidence that with the most powerful patronage of the Virgin Mary, the vows will happily come true as soon as possible, that We, that you, and all good people work for a true peace, for a fraternal harmony and due freedom for all, and in the first place to the Church; so that, through the prayer that We raise together with you and with all Christians, the saving kingdom of Christ, which is "the kingdom of truth and life, the kingdom of holiness and grace, the kingdom of justice, love and peace", triumphs in every part of the earth and is firmly established. And with suppliant invocation we pray to the same most clement Mother, so that she may assist each one of you in the present calamities and obtain from her divine Son that light which comes from Heaven, and implore for your souls that virtue and that strength, by which, sustained by divine grace, may you victoriously overcome every impiety and error. Amen.” Rome, at Saint Peter's, July 7, 1952, the feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius, XIV Year of Our Pontificate. PIO PP. XII Pope St. John XXIII, formerly Cardinal Angelo Roncalli, visited Fatima in 1956 as Patriarch of Venice. As Pope he decided not to reveal the third secret of Fatima in 1960 as the message had instructed. The Pope stated it was "advisable to preserve the mystery”. Pope Paul VI towards the end of the Second Vatican Council on November 21st 1964 referred to the consecration which Pope Pius XII had made, in reference to Fatima. He then announced that he would present the Shrine in Fatima with a Golden Rose (Nov 21st 1964). Sr. Lucia made it clear at these times that Our Lady’s requests had not been satisfied or fulfilled. 11 Pope St. John Paul II was the Holy Father who finally fulfilled what Our Blessed Lady asked for. The assassination attempt on his life on May 13th 1981, prompted him, whilst in hospital to request to read the document containing the secret of Fatima. As he reflected he realised that Our Lady of Fatima had saved him on the very anniversary of the first apparition. On May 13th 1982, Pope John Paul II went to Fatima to give thanks to Our Lady for saving his life, and to make the Act of Consecration. The Pope had asked to speak with Sr. Lucia before this but was not able to, in order to try to understand more fully Our Lady’s actual request. Only afterwards was the Pope able to speak with Sr. Lucia, and discovered that he had not fulfilled all that was necessary for the Consecration to be accepted. In the light of this 20 minute conversation, the Pope on December 8th, 1983, Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, wrote a letter to all the Bishops of the Catholic Church inviting them to make the Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, with him, from wherever they might find themselves on March 25th (1984) Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. Pope John Paul II made the solemn Act of Consecration before the renowned image of Our Lady of Fatima, which was sent to Rome at his own personal request. The statue was placed near the papal altar directly above the tomb of St. Peter. This is the only time a full collegial Act of Consecration has ever taken place in the history of the Catholic Church. This was the moment of grace which Heaven fully accepted. Sr. Lucia endorsed this with gratitude, and thanksgiving. When I watched the video of this Act of Consecration, I was moved by the spiritual power of it, in the person of Pope John Paul II. His entire person, eyes, heart and soul were fixated upon Our Lady of Fatima, and his vestments flowed gently in the wind, perhaps symbolising a forthcoming movement of the Holy Spirit, which will break forth upon the world, through the Motherly and powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Pope John Paul II followed this momentous Act of Consecration by making a dramatic gesture of gratitude, for Our Lady saving his life. He offered the bullet which had targeted him, and shot him to the Bishop of Fatima, who had it embedded in the Crown of Our Lady of Fatima. It was the final jewel and most precious jewel in the crown, which fitted perfectly in its centre and heart. The Third Secret of Fatima was published by the Vatican on June 26, 2000, also during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II. The Vatican released the full text, which Sr. Lúcia dos Santos, the surviving visionary, affirmed was the complete vision, she had, under obedience, written down in 1944. It was published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. It contained the 12full text of the vision, a handwritten version by Sr. Lúcia, and a theological commentary by Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI). Pope Benedict XVI consecrated the world's priests to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Fatima, Portugal, on May 12, 2010 and, granted a Golden Rose to Our Lady of Fatima as a tribute of gratitude. Pope Benedict XVI said when praying before the Statue of Our Lady of Fatima: “It is a profound consolation to know that you are crowned not only with the silver and gold of our joys and hopes, but also with the ‘bullet’ of our anxieties and sufferings.” Pope Francis led a renewal of the Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on both October 13th 2013, and March 25, 2022, a spiritual plea for peace amid the war between Russia and Ukraine. The act was intended as a gesture of the universal Church, asking for an end to the violence by entrusting humanity to the Queen of Peace. The Pope also called on communities to annually renew this consecration on that same date. Pope Francis presented a Golden Rose to Our Lady of Fatima during his visit to the shrine on May 13, 2017 to mark the centenary of the apparitions. Pope Leo XIV recently presented with love and devotion a Golden Rose to Our Lady of Fatima on Saturday October 11th 2025, amidst Jubilee celebrations of Marian Spirituality. Like St. John Paul II he asked that the statue of Our Lady of Fatima be brought to Rome for this spiritually important occasion. His Holiness led a special vigil of Prayer and Rosary for Peace from St. Peter’s. Then on Sunday October 12th during the closing Mass of the Marian Spirituality Jubilee, His Holiness solemnly Entrusted/ Consecrated the World, all of Humanity, especially your children who are tormented by the scourge of war, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It is curious that the catholic media made nothing of this, and if they did, they called it a prayer to Our Lady??? Very strange! Within days of this taking place, the historic Peace Plan for the Middle East was inaugurated, and signed on October 13th 2025, the very anniversary of Our Lady’s last appearance in Fatima to the three young shepherd children. A sign to us all that Our Blessed Mother is powerfully at work for the salvation of souls, and for the peace of the world, and that perhaps the practice of the First Saturdays is beginning to have an impact. How do the requests for Consecration and Reparation lean on one another? The fullness of the grace of an Act of Consecration is realised when the solemn Act of Consecration is fully prepared for by repentance, confession of sin, and prayers, fasting and sacrifices of reparation. We, the catholic 13faithful of today, need to take seriously the call of the Gospel for a radical personal, communal and national repentance and reparation for our own sins and those of our families, peoples and nations. We, the lay faithful and our bishops and priests need to rediscover this basic call! For it is only when we Catholics awaken and become holy that we can HOPE for the Conversion of Nations. The graces of an Act of Consecration lean on the fruitfulness of the response of individual, and communal acts of Reparation. An Act of Consecration on its own will not bring the graces from HEAVEN for which we all long for - the peace of Nations and the salvation of souls. Peace in the world lies initially in the sanctification of the priests and laity of the Catholic Church, where we grow in Faith, Hope and Charity. As we grow in love so the cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance will take root, paving the way for empowerment in the Holy Spirit for apostolic action and evangelisation. The work and initiation of this great movement of repentance and reparation will happen when the Church finally endorses, and publicly proclaims the practice of the First Saturdays of Reparation. The world again stands on the brink of war - will you ENACT the Peace Plan of Heaven for the peace of the world? – It is in your hands! Fr. Donald Calloway, leaves us with this stark warning, as he relayed the following! ‘War is your fault’ My fellow Marian, Fr. Seraphim Michalenko, sometimes tells a story that a priest ministering in Japan shared with him in Rome. This priest was at an international gathering of Christians from across the world, attended by foreign dignitaries. The ambassador from Japan approached the priest and verified that the priest served in Japan, and was a Catholic priest, and then said: “War is your fault.” The priest was surprised and asked what the ambassador meant. The ambassador said, “You Catholics, all of you - we do not have peace in the world. It is your fault”. The priest said, “Ambassador, why do you blame us?” The ambassador said, “I’ve read about this. The Lady came to you at Fatima, right? That’s what you believe? She told you what to do to secure peace in the world. Well, there’s no peace in the world, so obviously you Catholics haven’t done it.” The priest had to acknowledge that the ambassador was correct, but still tried to protest, saying, “Isn’t peace everyone’s responsibility?” The ambassador was vehement. “No, she came to you Catholics. Not to Buddhists. Not to Hindus. She came to you, and it is your responsibility.” 14That ambassador had more faith than a lot of Catholics! But he’s right - Our Lady came and asked for specific things at Fatima. If we had listened to her, and did what she had asked, there would be peace in the world! Imagine if we had listened …. what a different world we would live in today! The Holiness of catholics in the Church matters Finally let us look at, and unpack the deeper meaning of the Prayers of Reparation given by the Angel of Portugal to Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco before the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima began: My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love You! I ask pardon of You for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope, and do not love You. Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly. I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifference by which He is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart, and of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You the conversion of poor sinners. The Angel spoke of indifference! It matters how we behave in Church, and give witness to our Faith. It matters how we enter Church, and place our fingers in the Holy Water Stoop, and then make the sign of the Cross. Do we do it with loving intention, witnessing to our faith in Jesus Christ, the Most Holy Trinity? Do we genuflect with love, and reverence to the Blessed Sacrament? Do we genuflect with intention and care? As we enter into one of the benches do we immediately begin to commune with Jesus, or do we attract the attention of people we know ,and begin to chat, and disturb those endeavouring to commune with the Lord? How sad it must be for the Lord to see so many parish churches full of chattering people, treating our churches as if they are concert halls or council chambers? So many Catholics seem to have forgotten that Our Divine Lord dwells silently in the Blessed Sacrament awaiting our love, prayers and adoration. Need I say more! How do we receive Holy Communion? Are we approaching Holy Communion with faith, reverence and love whether on the tongue or in the hand as a throne? Are we receiving Jesus with reverence and love? After we have received Jesus, do we make the sign of the Cross? Do we return to our kneelers and deeply commune with Him? 15 And then we look at the outrages and actual sacrileges of the Holy Eucharist which so offend Our Lord. Receiving Holy Communion in a state of unconfessed serious sin, and sadly actual attacks on the Holy Eucharist, carelessness in handling the sacred Body and Blood of Christ, thefts of the Sacred Species, and sadly so much more ….. The prayers of Reparation of the Angel of Fatima are more needed today than when they were first uttered by the Angel in 1916. We would do well to meditate on these prayers often and pray them. It matters what witness we give in our churches to children and young people. It matters what witness we give in our churches to fellow catholics and to non believers! Why is it that so many people, especially young people in our churches, do not know how to genuflect, make the sign of the Cross, receive Holy Communion with reverence, or even know the basic prayers? The monthly First Saturdays of Reparation are a monthly means to bring this all before the Lord, and his Holy Mother in Reparation. They are a means to revaluate our catholic practice and witness. Pope St. John Paul II fulfilled Our Lady’s request for the Consecration of Russia on March 25th 1984. Pope Benedict XIV, Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV have all made significant Acts of Consecration since, in times of Global crisis. The Pope’s have done their part, and continue doing their part! We need to do ours through the practice of the First Saturdays! Lucia when petitioning Pope John Paul II about the Consecration, wrote in 1982: “I humbly lament and beseech the Consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in union with all the bishops of the world. So that this consecration is a bond of union of all the members of the Mystical Body of Christ, who with Mary, the Mother of Christ and Our Mother, offer to the Lord to complete the work of Redemption of the world.” This is beautiful, and invites us all to renew daily, this bond of union of all members of the Mystical Body of Christ with the Pope and Bishops of the world. We are in this together with Mary our Co Redemptrix who will obtain from God, the Conversion of Russia, and that of the whole world through the Reparation of the First Saturdays, and the graces obtained through the Collegial Act of Consecration of March 25th 1984, and other Acts of Consecration both before and after. Take note again! - the fragile peace accord for the Middle East was signed on the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima - October 13th 2025! Perhaps a sign that the graces of our First Saturdays are at work? Pray the Rosary daily for Peace & practice the First Saturdays of Reparation. The Peace of the World depends upon your response! Antonia Moffat October 2025 Background Reading 1. A Pathway Under the Gaze of Mary - Biography of Sister Maria Lucia of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart by the Carmel of Coimbra. 2. Inside the Light - Understanding the Message of Fatima by Sr. Angela de Fatima Coelho - Postulator for Venerable, Servant of God Sr. Lucia dos Santos, & previously for both St. Jacinta and St. Francisco. 3. Fatima and the First Saturdays - Communal First Saturdays publication 4. The Message of Fatima - by Sr. Lucia 5. Numerous other books by Sr. Lucia, various priests and WAF publications. I highly recommend the reading of the above books. Daily Prayer in preparation of the Centennial of the apparition of the Infant Jesus and His Virgin Mother (December 10th 1925) to the Venerable Servant of God Lucia dos Santos O Virgin Mother of God and my dearest Mother, Our Lady of Fatima of the Most Holy Rosary, I gaze upon your Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart pierced with so many thorns by the ingratitude and grievous sins of your children. I am deeply and forever sorry for how my sins have offended your Divine Son and you, His sinless Mother. With a humble and contrite heart, I wish to make reparation for the offences - great and small - given to your Heart by the sins of your children. In your maternal love, you have taught me, through your daughter, the Venerable Servant of God Lucia dos Santos, the way to make reparation for sins by the First Saturdays Devotion. On the occasion of the 100th Anniversary of your apparition, together with the Infant Jesus, to the Venerable Servant of God, on December 10, 1925, I pledge to observe the First Saturday of the month in heartfelt reparation for sins by the sacramental confession of my sins, by the worthy reception of Holy Communion, by the recitation of five decades of the Rosary, and by keeping company with you for fifteen minutes while meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary. Please intercede for me that my practice of the First Saturdays Devotion may redound to the salvation of many souls and to peace in the world. Help me also to bring your message of the First Saturdays Devotion to others. In obedience to your maternal counsel, may the Church throughout the world offer to you this loving act of humble and contrite hearts in sincere reparation for sins committed. I give my heart completely to your Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart and, with you, I rest my heart forever in the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. With all my heart, I offer this prayer in Him Who alone is my salvation. Amen. Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke - September 8th 2025 - Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary 17 Act of Entrustment to the Blessed Virgin Mary by Pope Leo XIV on occasion of the closing Mass in St. Peter's Square for the Jubilee of Marian Spirituality October 12th 2025 Holy Virgin, Mother of Christ our Hope, your caring presence in this Year of Grace accompanies and consoles us and gives us, in the dark nights of history, the certainty that in Christ evil is overcome and every person is redeemed by his love. Perfect disciple of the Lord, you have treasured all things of God in your heart. Teach us to listen to the word of God and to understand it interiorly so that we may walk confidently on the path of holiness. To your Immaculate Heart we entrust the whole world and all of humanity, especially your children who are tormented by the scourge of war. Advocate of grace, advise us on the path of reconciliation and forgiveness, do not fail to intercede for us, in joy and in sorrow, and obtain for us the gift of peace that we earnestly implore. Mother of the Church, welcome us kindly, so that under your mantle, we may find refuge, and be helped by your maternal aid in the trials of life. With you, Immaculate Virgin, we magnify the Lord, recognising at every moment the great works of his love. Holy Virgin, Mother assumed into Heaven, Queen of Peace, Lady of the Immaculate Heart, pray for us!

St Carlo Acutis’ Hidden Fatima Vision In the light of some new information which has emerged concerning St Carlo Acutis, it is noteworthy that he died on 12th October 2006, in Monza, Italy, at the age of 15, due to acute myeloid leukaemia. He was officially pronounced dead at 6:45 pm in the evening, and so he died on the vigil of the anniversary of the Fatima miracle of the Sun, which took place on 13 October 1917. This is significant, especially since according to accounts shared by those close to him and confirmed in recent devotional discussions, he reportedly had a vision involving the three Fatima children and Our Lady during a pilgrimage to Fatima about a year before his death. This vision emphasized the importance of the First Saturday Devotion – and Our Lady’s message to Carlo was to promote the devotion widely as a powerful means to bring peace to the world and protect Christianity from difficult times caused by disobedience. Carlo was deeply influenced by the Fatima message, especially regarding the reality of hell and the call to reparatory prayer and sacrifice to save souls and the world. The vision apparently included imagery of Our Lady placing her Immaculate Heart into Carlo, symbolising his close spiritual union with her and the mission he was given to spread the Devotion. To sum up, this hidden vision in particular encourages the faithful to seriously practice the Five First Saturdays Devotion to help bring about a spiritual renewal and peace in the world. You can see the WAF Blue Army video about this here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6R529sAmTDk

Some Unique Aspects of Fatima by Timothy Tindal-Robertson, © August 2025 The message revealed by the Blessed Virgin at Fatima is distinct from all other Marian apparitions by virtue of the following unique aspects which it alone possesses. 1). Continuing Association with the Papacy The most important feature of the apparitions is that Our Lady came to Fatima in direct response to an urgent appeal to heaven from Pope Benedict XV. Thereby, as I have shown in my CTS booklet, Message of Fatima in the Life of the Church and Teaching of the Popes, 1917-1997 , her intervention began an association with the papacy which has steadily increased in the reigns of succeeding popes. But the most significant advances of all in the papal acceptance of Our Lady’s message have taken place in the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, culminating in the Holy Year 2000, when Fatima attained its highest ever papal recognition through three unprecedented initiatives of the Holy Father, as I have recounted in detail in my CTS booklet, Fatima in the Third Millennium , issued in 2001. Firstly, on 13 th May 2000 Pope John Paul II travelled to Fatima to beatify two of the three little shepherds chosen to receive Our Lady’s message, Francisco and Jacinta; secondly, at his direction the text of the third part of the secret was released by Cardinal Ratzinger, together with his Theological Commentary, on 26 th June; and finally, on 8 th October John Paul II made his unprecedented Act of Entrustment of the Third Millennium to Mary Most Holy, during the Jubilee Mass of the Bishops, attended by around 1500 Bishops, and in the presence of the well known statue of Our Lady, which at his request had been specially brought to St Peter’s from the Sanctuary of Fatima. Has the Mother of God ever made such a touching intervention, in direct response to an urgent plea from the Chief Shepherd of all the faithful, at a dire moment in 1917 when the raging inferno of the First World War had descended to new depths of horror, with the prolonged rain and the introduction of deadly gas weapons ? Having been rebuffed in all his attempts to negotiate peace, Pope Benedict XV sent out a pastoral letter to the whole Catholic world, dated 5 th May 1917, in which he urged all to pray fervently to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for peace, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, “Mother of mercy and omnipotent by grace”. At the same time the Pope directed that the invocation “Queen of Peace, pray for us” should be added to the Litany of Loreto. Eight days later, the Blessed Virgin appeared to the three shepherd children at Fatima, and the last words in her first apparition constitute a direct response to the urgent plea of Benedict XV: “Pray the Rosary every day, in order to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war”. Providentially, at the very moment the Blessed Virgin was appearing at Fatima, the future Pope Pius XII was being consecrated Bishop. He became known as “the Pope of Fatima” because he was the first pope to consecrate the whole human race to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, on 31 st October 1942. The unique nature of the papal association with Fatima is commemorated in the painting which hangs above the high altar in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary at Fatima, in which are depicted the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome, and Popes Pius XII, John XXIII and Paul VI. 2). Fatima mentioned three times in the Second Vatican Council As a private revelation which one is not obliged to believe, but which is highly commended, Fatima is unique in being mentioned three times by Pope Paul VI in the Second Vatican Council. The Pope addressed the Council Fathers on 21 November 1964, at the end of the third session, when the Council approved the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, whose final chapter 8 is entitled “The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, in the mystery of Christ and the Church”. In his address, Paul VI considered it “particularly opportune” to recall Pius XII’s consecration of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary; bearing that in mind, he announced that he was sending a special mission to carry the Golden Rose to Fatima; and he ended by proclaiming, “to your Immaculate Heart, O Mary, we finally commend the entire human race” (cf. Message of Fatima , p. 59). 3). Fatima the richest ever supernatural manifestation of Our Lady In a message to all the world’s priests on 13 May 1963, Cardinal Larraona, speaking as Pope John XXIII’s legate at Fatima, declared that Our Lady’s message contains “inexhaustible treasures and spiritual riches … Fatima is a living realisation of the Gospel ... indeed, never has there been a supernatural manifestation of Our Lady of such rich spiritual content as that of Fatima, nor has any recognised apparition given us a message so clear, so maternal, so profound”. Pope John Paul II said that the Church has accepted the message of Fatima because it contains the “truth and call of the Gospel itself: ‘repent and believe in the Gospel’ (Mk 1:15) ... The appeal of the Lady of the message of Fatima is so deeply rooted in the Gospel and the whole of Tradition that the Church feels that the message imposes a commitment on her” (Homily at Fatima, 13 May 1982). It is “the true Gospel of Christ, presented anew to our generation” (General Audience, 17 May 2000). 4). Parallel papal consecrations, to the Sacred Heart (1899,) and the Immaculate Heart (1984) The Blessed Virgin’s request for the Pope to consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart, in a certain way parallels Our Lord’s request in June 1897, to Sister Mary of the Divine Heart (the Countess Droste zu Vischering), in which Jesus asked the Pope to consecrate the world to His Sacred Heart. Pope Leo XIII said this act, which he carried out on 11 June 1899, was “the greatest act of my pontificate”. John Paul II fulfilled Our Lady’s request, when he consecrated the world including Russia to her Immaculate Heart at St. Peter’s, Rome on 25 th March 1984, in the presence of the venerated statue from Fatima. On 17 November 2001, Sister Lucia confirmed to Archbishop Bertone that this act “was accepted in heaven”. As a result of Our Lady’s intervention, the dire persecution ceased which the Church had suffered from Marxist atheist persecution in Central and Eastern Europe (see my book Fatima, Russia & John Paul II ), and those countries have experienced the resurrection of the Church. 5). Fatima a unique prophetic warning of and spiritual remedy for current evils The message of Fatima is unique in containing a prophecy which constituted a warning of as well as a specific spiritual remedy for the most grave evils to have afflicted the 20 th century, namely: the two World Wars, and the spirit of the rejection and denial of God (the “errors of Russia”). These errors continue to threaten the Church, especially in the once-Christian West, through secularism, materialism, and the increasingly grave violations of the sanctity of human life and the family. The extent of the problem is such that “today as never before, humanity stands at a crossroads”, the Pope stated, in his Act of Entrustment of October 2000, and European culture “gives the impression of silent apostasy” in which people have everything and “live as if God does not exist” ( Ecclesia in Europa , 9). It is “because its message announces many of the later events and conditions them on the response to its appeals” that Fatima “is certainly one of the greatest .. signs of the times”, the Pope wrote to the Bishop of Leiria-Fatima on 1 October 1997. “Private revelations approved by the Church … help us understand the signs of the times and to respond to them rightly in faith”, Cardinal Ratzinger explained in his Theological Commentary issued on 26 th June 2000. By his teaching and acts, John Paul II has lived Our Lady’s message. Heaven is now awaiting the response of all people of good to follow the Pope’s example, and evangelise themselves and their communities through prayer, penance, offering up the sacrifices encountered in fulfilling one’s daily duties, amendment of life, daily recitation of the Rosary (according to the sublime teaching in John Paul II’s Rosarium Virginis Mariae of 16 Oct. 2002), and the Five First Saturdays Eucharistic communion of reparation for sin. The Blessed Virgin promised that “in the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph … and a of peace will be granted to the world … if my requests are heeded”. As the Pope said, on returning to Rome after beatifying Francisco and Jacinta at Fatima on 13 May 2000, “let us receive the light that comes from Fatima, let us be guided by Mary. May her Immaculate Heart be our refuge and the way that leads us to Christ”. Francisco and Jacinta, two young shepherd children who were chosen by heaven to receive, live and convey the message of Fatima to the Church, responded to Our Lady’s requests with such fidelity and commitment that John Paul II declared them Blessed in heaven. They were canonised by Pope Francis at Fatima on 13 May 2017. May Mary’s Immaculate Heart obtain for us the grace to respond, “Yes, we are willing”, just as they did. 6). Francisco and Jacinta as youngest non-martyr Saints Finally, Francisco and Jacinta are the first children in the history of the Church who became saints in the normal course of their family life, and not through martyrdom. And that Pope John Paul II said they became saints through their heroic fidelity and commitment in fulfilling the requests of Our Lady, and not because of the exceptional supernatural manifestations that they experienced. Their lives are a demonstration that the message of Fatima is meant for the family, and that to live it will bring about sanctification for all.

Just over a century ago, between May and October 1917, Our Lady appeared at Fátima in Portugal, at the height of World War I – as Europe was tearing itself apart in a fratricidal struggle – with a message of peace and salvation for all. In our own time, we can see that we live in a world where peace is still at a premium; particularly in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia we have a situation reminiscent of the worst aspects of the terrible trench warfare of the First World War. Eight years after her apparitions to the children of Fátima – Jacinta and Francisco Marto, and Lucia dos Santos – the Blessed Virgin appeared to the eldest of them, Sr Lucia, while she was a postulant in the Dorothean convent at Pontevedra in Spain. 10 December 1925, she fully revealed the Five First Saturdays devotion associated with the Fátima message. The centenary of this apparition is being celebrated this year by the World Apostolate of Fátima (WAF) in England & Wales, which is part of a worldwide organisation which is the officially approved Fátima body in the Church. The Apostolate is arranging for two Fatima statues, and relics of Saints Jacinta and Francisco Marto, to visit all the cathedrals in England and Wales between May of this year and October 2026, in a repeat of what happened in 2017, the Fátima centenary year. The Five First Saturdays is a monthly devotion, to be done over five consecutive months, which involves the recitation the rosary with a 15-minute mediation, plus Confession and Holy Communion, with the intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary afflicted by the sins of mankind. In return, Our Lady promised to those who complete the devotion assistance at the hour of death with all the graces necessary for salvation – that is a promise of heaven. This devotion is a very important part of the Fátima message, not least because it was linked by the Blessed Virgin to the conversion of Russia during her July 1917 apparition, when the children were given the Secret of Fátima in three parts. In this centenary year of the First Saturdays devotion, the current world situation has become increasingly more serious and worrying, and so a renewed promotion of the Fátima Message, with its promise of the conversion of Russia, the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and an era of peace, has become an even more urgent necessity. As regards Russia and its conversion, this is especially so, given the current aggression in Ukraine, which is also a threat to Europe as a whole, but particularly Eastern Europe. The situation is further complicated with what looks like less American involvement in Europe. At the same time, more countries, for example Iran and North Korea, are striving to develop their nuclear-weapons programmes. The Holy Land and the lands around it are seeing renewed bloodshed, and the China/Taiwan stand-off is an ever-present worry – and this is to say nothing of the continuing humanitarian crises, and the increasing persecution of Christians worldwide. If this seems alarmist or exaggerated, then it is sobering to recall that during her July 1917 apparition, Our Lady spoke of the danger of various nations being annihilated. On 13 July 1917, she requested, “the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the Communion of reparation on the First Saturdays.” The first part of her request was fulfilled when Pope St John Paul II consecrated Russia collegially with the bishops of the world on 25 March 1984; thereafter the Soviet Union and its Communist ideology collapsed from within. It now remains for the Church to fulfil the second part of Our Lady’s request – the promotion of the Five First Saturdays devotion. Then she will fulfil her promise, that “Russia will be converted and a period of peace will be granted to the world.” That is why the Five First Saturdays devotion is so important and why the centenary is being celebrated this year. In this centenary year of the First Saturdays devotion, humanity is entering a more precarious, indeed perilous era, and thus the Fátima Message must surely assume a much greater importance for the Church and the world. As individuals we can do very little to ameliorate the global problems we are now facing in a direct way, but at Fátima, Our Lady gave us the means to bring about real and lasting change in the world, and peace, and that is through the power of prayer to change minds and hearts. The Centenary of the Five First Saturdays devotion is an opportunity to present the Fátima message anew, through increased commitment to prayer and devotion. The World Apostolate of Fátima in England and Wales, through its programme of visits of the Fátima statues and relics to all the cathedrals in England and Wales is leading the way. Donal Anthony Foley is a committee member for the World Apostolate of Fátima (WAF) in England & Wales .

Prayer is the mainstay of the Christian and Catholic life and so it isn’t surprising to see how, once the Fatima children had experienced the awesomeness and power of the angel of Fatima and the beauty and goodness of Our Lady, they increasingly devoted their lives to prayer. We can learn some important lessons from this and from the Fatima message, generally, for our own prayer lives. The Angel of Portugal, or Angel of Peace, as he identified himself, appeared to the three seers during the summer of 1916, when they were playing on the stone slabs of the well at the bottom of the garden belonging to Lucia’s parents. “What are you doing?” he asked. “Pray, pray very much! The most holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary have designs of mercy on you. Offer prayers and sacrifices constantly to the Most High.” That the angel should have spoken to the children in this way is highly significant. He had previously appeared to them in the spring and invited them to pray with him as follows: “My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love You! I ask pardon of You for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love You!” – telling them that the Hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to their supplications. He appeared again in the fall and taught them a prayer of adoration of reparation for sins against the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, known as The Angel Prayer. Sister Lucia tells us, “His words engraved themselves so deeply on our minds that we could never forget them. From then on, we used to spend long periods of time, prostrate like the Angel, repeating his words, until sometimes we fell, exhausted.” Later on, during the apparitions of Our Lady, she too, was insistent on the great importance of prayer, calling them to pray the Rosary every day, and relating that Francisco must pray “many Rosaries” before he would be called home to heaven. Following their kidnapping by the local mayor on August 13, 1917, the Blessed Virgin implored, “Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for sinners; for many souls go to hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and pray for them.” From all of this, we can deduce that their vocation was so exalted that a complete dedication to prayer was demanded of them and that this ought to come before everything else. Sister Lucia later wrote that the Blessed Virgin was not just speaking to three little children. Surely, we who seek to follow in the footsteps of the seers, need to make prayer much more the center of our lives. Prayer Makes A Difference When the Blessed Virgin appeared in Belgium in the early 1930s, at Beauraing and Banneux, the message she delivered then also focused on the importance of prayer. During the apparitions, she told the children at Beauraing to “pray, pray very much,” and to “pray always,” while at Banneux, she told the seer to “pray much.” This was in the context of the rise of Nazism in neighboring Germany, with all the terrible evils that it would bring down on the world. It can be difficult to pray, at times, even when we are in a calm and recollected mood – it becomes much more difficult if we are disturbed by a spirit of fear or discontent at what is going on around us or in the news, or on social media. Somehow, we have to be so focused on prayer that it acts as a rock in our lives and prevents the currents of discontent which swirl around us from overwhelming us. The reality is that rather than neglecting prayer we need to realize that, following the teaching of Our Lady, our prayers and sacrifices really do matter and really do make a difference, and also that they enable us to remain steadfast in the Faith, regardless of what is happening in the world. If, as she repeatedly reminded us at Fatima, the Rosary has the power to stop wars and bring about peace, then praying it devoutly can certainly help us to deal with the lesser problems that we have to deal with in everyday life. Sister Lucia is reported to have said, “The Most Holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given new efficacy in the recitation of the Holy Rosary. She has given this efficacy to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families … that cannot be solved by the Rosary.” It’s very easy to get caught up in the idea that the “end times” are upon us, or just around the corner. But Our Lady promised at Fatima that in the end her Immaculate Heart would triumph and that a period of peace would be granted to the world. Therefore, despite the chaos that flares up in our modern world periodically, we are, in a deeper sense, moving onward towards a time of peace, and we ought to concentrate on that rather than on the transitory events of each day. The Fatima seers are our models regarding prayer, and we too must allow ourselves to be led deeper into prayer by the Blessed Virgin, and particularly the prayer of the Rosary. If we do that, we will be truly living the message of Fatima. Donal Anthony Foley