On October 13, 1917, while thousands of pilgrims were in Fátima (Portugal), the so-called “miracle of the sun” occurred, in which the sun could be seen moving, doing a kind of “dance.”
The event lasted about three minutes, and happened after the last appearance of the Virgin Mary to the little shepherds Jacinta, Francisco and Lucía.
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After heavy rain, the clouds opened and revealed the sun, which, according to witnesses, looked like a silver disc.
Then, its rays took on different colors and the star seemed to fall on the thousands of people, who had fallen to their knees.
The Portuguese newspaper journalist The CenturyAvelino de Almeida, estimated that, at the time of the miracle, there were about 40 thousand people in the place, but the professor of natural sciences at the University of Coimbra, Joseph Garrett, estimated that the witnesses were about 100 thousand.
In addition to the miracle of the sun, the little shepherds said they saw images of Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph blessing the crowd.
The Virgin presented herself as the Lady of the Rosary.
Currently, every October 13, the novena to Saint John Paul II, the Pope to whom the third secret of Fatima refers, also begins.
Abel Camasca
Journalist graduated from the Communication Sciences degree at the University of Lima. Part of the ACI Prensa journalistic team since 2014. Between 2016 and 2022 I was in charge of the production of the television program EWTN Noticias and Más que Noticias, a World Catholic Radio program. I usually write articles about the lives of saints.