In all world religions, there are many miraculous stories that form the basis of beliefs. Fatima, which has an important place especially among Catholic Christians, is the focus of these miracles. Fatima is not only a geographically small city located in the Qurem region of Portugal, but also a sacred pilgrimage center where Christian beliefs deepen.
Fatima on the stage of history 13 May and 13 October 1917 It was alleged that three children were killed between With the meetings of Virgin Mary beginning and extending to the present day mystic It is at the center of an adventure. These events mark the moment when children named Jacinta, Francisco and Lucia encounter a white woman in bright clothes appearing in the sky in the small Portuguese town of Fatima.
Initially Vatican These events, which were rejected by the U.S., were accepted as having a common experience by many people as a result of detailed investigations and interviews with individuals. Fatima, a holy pilgrimage center for Catholic Christians became like that. This mystical story opens the doors to a center of faith full of prophecies and miracles that is beyond its time and arouses curiosity even today.
Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima
Temple of Virgin MaryIt is one of the most sacred places in the Fatima region of Portugal. This temple, which is only 20-25 minutes away from Lisbon, contains a story that started with three little shepherds seeing the Virgin Mary in the region. The temple is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and was completed and opened to visitors in 1953. This sacred place, which hosts millions of tourists every year, has become an important tourist and religious attraction of the Fatima region.
The Temple of Virgin Mary, located in the Fatima region, was built in 1953. The construction process of the building started in 1917. Legend of Virgin MaryIt is based on . The temple follows this event and reflects the deep devotion and respect for the Virgin Mary. Visitors flock here to have a spiritual experience in this holy place and to pray to the Virgin Mary.
The oldest building inside the temple is built in 1919. Chapel of Apparitionsis. Inside the chapel there are the graves of two shepherd children. There is also a holy Basilica of the Virgin Mary built in Neo-Baroque style within the temple, this basilica was built between 1928 and 1951. The basilica has an impressive bell tower and is 65 meters high. There is a huge statue of the Virgin Mary at the main entrance and four statues of saints in the corners. Opposite the Basilica of Our Lady, there is the Holy Trinity Basilica, which has a simpler style, and was built in 2007.
The Mysterious Virgin Mary Incident in Fatima
On May 13, 1917An extraordinary event that would deeply affect world history took place in Fatima, Portugal. In the town of Fatima, three little shepherd boys – Lucia (10 years old), Jacinta (7 years old) and Francisco (9 years old) – They encountered an unexpected event. When the rain started, the children took shelter under an oak tree to graze their sheep, and experienced a frightening moment when lightning struck the tree.
After this incident, a female figure in white appears and is identified with the rosary in her hand. Virgin Mary An image thought to be true appears before the children. After this frightening moment, Virgin Mary tells the children “not to be afraid” and orders a church to be built in the area.
The children return to their villages and tell the clergy about this incident. Initially, the clergy are skeptical of the children’s story, and the incident sparks nationwide controversy. However, children telling the event they experienced one by one and expressing the same thing independently of each other does not mean that the event is a real reality. miracle It leads them to accept that it is.
Virgin Mary continues to appear to children on the 13th day of each month throughout 1917. During these appearances, Virgin Mary advises them to pray, recite the rosary, and confess to be purified from sins. He also makes various prophecies to children. In his third appearance on July 13, 1917, Virgin Mary reveals three secrets about the future. Each of these secrets contains important prophecies.
The events reached their climax on October 13, 1917, in front of the eyes of a crowd of 70 thousand people gathered in the Fatima region. Suddenly the sky is covered with dark clouds, a heavy downpour begins and people are drenched. Then, the sun begins to vibrate in a disc shape and emit colorful lights. The sun begins to rotate like a giant firework and surrounds the environment with the riot of light it emits. This miraculous event continues for 12 minutes and can be watched from anywhere within a 40 kilometer radius.
This event, witnessed by thousands of people, is described as the Virgin Mary being seen by no one other than children, but what happened was an incredible experience. After this incident Fatima is considered sacred by the Catholic Church and this region becomes a center of pilgrimage. Sermons are constantly given here and visitors are given the opportunity to pray.
While talking to the children, the white-dressed woman stated that she would take two of them with her. In line with this promise, Francisco died in 1919 and Jacinta in 1920. Lucia remained the protagonist of the events and spent the rest of her life in a Vatican-controlled convent. She did not talk to anyone without the permission of the church.
The Secrets Virgin Mary Gave to Children
It is claimed that Jacinta Marto, Francisco Marto and their cousin Lucia do Santos saw the Virgin Mary several times between May 13 and October 13, 1917. The children, who were 7, 9 and 10 years old respectively at that time, saw the children dressed in white appearing in the field. A series of messages from the Virgin Mary to them They said they had delivered it.
While Jacinta and Francisco died in the flu epidemic a few years later, Lucia dos SantosHe played an important role in carrying the message of the Virgin Mary to the world. Lucia dos Santos had written down the “3 secrets” that the Virgin Mary revealed to them. The first two secrets were published in 1942, but the third secret was sealed and sent to the Vatican.
first secret, It involved the Virgin Mary showing images of hell. second secret His opinion was that the First World War would end in 1917, but “a bigger war would begin during the reign of Pope Pio XI.” It was stated that this prophecy included a call for “Russia to be converted” for world peace, and that otherwise Russia would spread its mistakes around the world, fueling wars and persecution of the Church.
These statements do indeed coincide with the outbreak of World War II during the reign of Pope Pio XI, who served from 1922 to 1939, but some commentators argue that Lucia dos Santos may have published it after the war began. It is argued that statements about Russia were used by the Catholic Church to gather support against communism.
The Third Controversial Secret
third secret, It was the most mysterious of the prophecies written by Lucia dos Santos in 1944 and created a great controversy. This secret was first sealed to the Catholic Church authorities in Portugal and then to the Vatican in 1957. It is known that Lucia demanded that this secret be disclosed in 1960, but the Vatican kept this secret secret for many years. This situation, 3. Your secret is the end of the world or life outside Earth It led to various speculations such as.
The third secret was only revealed in 2000 at the request of then Pope Giovanni Paolo II. The Pope believed that the 3rd secret was a prophecy that concerned him and the secret contained a prophecy that a pope would be killed. 2. Giovanni Paolo, this prophecy Mehmet Ali AgcaHe thought that he predicted that he would shoot him on May 13, 1981. The fact that May 13, the date the Pope was shot, coincided with the day when the Virgin Mary first appeared to the children of Fatima, was used as an element to support this thesis.
The Pope interpreted his failure to die as the intervention of the Virgin Mary. A bullet used in the assassination attempt is still in Fatima Placed in the crown of the statue of the Virgin Mary There are.
However, when it was revealed years later, these secrets were not actually secrets given by Mary; Discussions about whether the church revealed a different secret at its own request are still ongoing. According to some authors, the real The secrets are related to the troubles the church will experience. It was not revealed for the sake of the church and instead, secrets in line with the church ideology were revealed.
“The Secret of Fatima” According to Helmuth Hoffman, who wrote a book about it, what Vatican Prime Minister Cardinal Sodano initially let slip “world tragedyCould the phrase “” refer to this secret? Hoffman also mentions the possibility that Fatima’s third secret is about the ‘pope at the end of history’.
Today, in the Catholic world, this last secret is “3. “World War II and the end of the Catholic Church”There is a majority opinion that it refers to. However The 3rd secret is also open to different interpretations, such as the dissolution of the Crusader union, the end of the Papal order and the Vatican, the destruction of Israel, and the beginning of the apocalyptic wars.
This issue is dangerous both theologically, politically and ideologically. Mahdi and Messiah‘s return, AntichristAnti-Christ, apocalypse wars, Melheme-i Kübra, Armageddon, Gog-Magog, Gog Magog, Dabbetül Arzthe discovery of the Safe Deposit Box, the belief in the “Messiah” and the “doomsday”it’s all about this topic.
According to the aforementioned prophecy, today’s pope will die soon and this event will be the beginning of the apocalypse and the return of Christ. It is predicted that a great war will break out and that today’s Christian world and the Jews will first lose all their power and power. It is thought that the Messiah will then come and save them.
Declaration of Fatima as a Pilgrimage Center
Fatima’s remarkable story was not initially accepted by the Vatican, but as a result of detailed examinations and interviews with individuals, it was accepted that people had a common experience. In the first stage, it was thought that a collective hallucination occurred because people went with expectations and stared at the sun for a long time. However, the fact that every individual present described the same event was strong evidence that the individuals were not mistaken.
This situation is really He convinced the Vatican to accept that it was a miracle.. Following this acceptance, Fatima was accepted as a sacred place for Catholic Christians and pilgrimage center became like that.
There is a large wooden pilgrimage sign between the old and new church. To perform their pilgrimage, Catholics crawl about 300 meters towards the old church on a long white line. It is believed that in this ritual, their sins will be forgiven. When they reach the old church, they pray, make wishes and throw their candles into the fire, which means a sacred offering for them.
The Fatima region is one of the pioneers of the regions visited for pilgrimage in the world today. People visit this region for pilgrimage to find peace and hope. However, it has a different structure from other pilgrimage centers in terms of the formation process of the Fatima pilgrimage and the messages it gives.
Pope Francis, leader of the Catholic Church, declared two Portuguese children to whom the Virgin Mary allegedly appeared as saints on the centenary of the event. The Pope beatified the brothers Jacinta and Francisco Marto at a ceremony held in Fatima, Portugal.
Lucia dos Santos, the third of the children who allegedly saw the Virgin Mary in the ‘Secret of Fatima’ belief, died in 2005 at the age of 97. The process for the canonization of Lucia dos Santos started in 2008 and requires a certain period of time to be completed.
