The miracle at Fatima

Today is the anniversary of the miracle of the sun. On 13 October 1917, an estimated crowd of 70,000 people in the fields near Fatima, Portugal watched the rain stop, the clouds part, and the sun (still a glowing disc, but now visible to the naked eye) radiate colors, shimmer and spin, and dance around the sky in a zig-zag pattern for about 10 minutes. At last, the sun appeared to fall straight toward the crowd, frightening all; but then the sun returned to its normal place and appearance. When it was all over, the people were stunned. Witnesses also found that the muddy ground all around them and their rain-soaked clothes had dried up .

The people had come out in response to a claim by three children, 8-year-old Lucia Santos and her cousins Francesco and Jacinta Marto, that a Lady had appeared to them there on the 13th of July, August, and September. The children reported that the Lady had promised them that at mid-day on October 13th in the Cova da Iria the Lady would reveal her identity to the children and perform a miracle "so that all may believe."

There have been detractors, of course. It has been suggested that the miracle was a mass hallucination, yet the fact that an unspecified "miracle" had been predicted in advance, the abrupt beginning and end of the alleged miracle of the sun, the varied nature of the observers including both skeptics and believers alike, the sheer numbers of people present, and the lack of any causative factor, all reasonably preclude the theory of a mass hallucination. Also, the activity of the sun was reported as visible by those up to 18 kilometers away and apart from the crowds, which precludes the theory of a collective hallucination or mass hysteria.

Others have suggested that meteorological factors explain the alleged miracle. However, this may account for the opaque look and the shimmer and colors of the sun, but it certainly cannot account for the sun dancing around the sky and then appearing to fall toward the crowd.

Some Protestants have suggested the people really did see a "miracle," but that it was actually a trick of the devil rather than the work of God. However, I would suggest that explanation attributes far too much power to Satan. Besides, why would the devil go through all that just to inspire some people to believe in God and to deepen the faith of others?

And, of course, some have suggested the whole thing was a monthly visit of space aliens followed by a crowd witnessing the flying saucer. But then the question has to be addressed: Why would space aliens come all the way over here just to talk to a few children about religion?

For a detailed account by Father John de Marchi, including eyewitness testimony, click here. For information about what the children said that Mary told them, click here. For Fulton Sheen's essay about how the miracle at Fatima might providentially relate to Islam, click here. For information about Fatima Zahra, the daughter of Muhammed, click here.