13 June 1917

Several times I questioned the seer Jacinta, who always confirmed to me that she saw a Lady at the Cova da Iria on the thirteenth of each month from May to October nineteen hundred and seventeen, except on the thirteenth of August, when she was at the house of the municipal administrator^*, but that in that month she saw Her on the following Sunday – the nineteenth – at the place called Valinho, where she was called by her brother João at Lúcia's request.

She said that she saw a very beautiful Lady, all dressed in white, in a garment with little gold cords, with a veil or mantle over her head, the size of F. – she points to a girl of average height, about fourteen years old – and that she had some very white beads hanging from her hands, held between the forefinger and thumb of both hands, which she held up at her waist and parted to about the width of her shoulders when she spoke to Lúcia.

When She spoke to Lúcia, she heard a very gentle, pious voice, but she does not remember hearing anything said except that they – the seers – would go to Heaven. In the several times I questioned her she never contradicted herself on essentials, although on incidental matters there were some contradictions, real or apparent. On one occasion – 21 August – I went to her parents' house with five ladies – Dona Maria de Jesus Raposo, of Torres Novas, and others from the Quinta da Cardiga – one of whom, about fifteen years of age, was dressed in white. On reaching the parents' house I called out... Jacinta came; she was alone, and on seeing the unexpected visitors she was embarrassed, as is natural in a child of the people, and in one who a few days earlier had been returned to her parents after being abducted. After a few words of encouragement, I said to her:

– Look, Jacinta, see whether it was one of these ladies you saw at the Cova da Iria, or whether there is one here who looks like the one you saw there.

She raises her little eyes, runs her gaze over all of them, from head to foot, and says:

– It wasn't any of these... the other one is much more beautiful.

I point out to her the one dressed in white, saying to her:

– Then wasn't it this Lady, dressed in white, so beautiful, that you saw up there?!

This Lady, she answered, is very beautiful, but She whom I saw there is much more beautiful.

We went to Lúcia's parents' house and, on finding her, I asked her the same question and got the same answer. Nor could I get her to reveal the secret to me; she only said that it – the secret – was not bad for them, the seers. She also said that the Lady appeared to her three more times: once on the day of the Ascension of the Lord, in the church during Mass, when she taught her to say the beads; another time, at night, above the trapdoor of the loft while the family was asleep; and once more under (or, if I am not mistaken, on top of) a table, without saying anything to her, until she, Jacinta, said to her mother: Look... don't you see the Lady I saw up there, there underneath?!... Look!!! As the mother herself stated to me.

Soon after the thirteenth of June the girl Lúcia appeared before me at the parish residence, accompanied by her mother. I proceeded to question Lúcia, who told me that on the thirteenth of the current month of June, at about one o'clock in the afternoon, she went with her cousins Francisco and Jacinta to the Cova da Iria. When they got there she said the rosary with the people who were present. When the rosary was finished, the people were about to say the Litany^*, and she, who had already seen the flash of lightning, said to them: don't begin, there's no time now.

That she goes closer to the holm-oak shrub and sees the Lady arrive, coming from the east. And she asks her:

– Well, what is it you want of me?
And the Lady answered:
– I want to tell you to come back here on the thirteenth of each month and to learn to read, so that I can tell you what I want.
– Then you want nothing more of me?
– I want nothing more of you.
And at once she began to rise and disappeared.

Lúcia says that she waited for a while, and during this time she was praying the rosary^*; when they were about to pray the litany^* she said: don't start, there's no time now — there were many people there — because she had already seen the lightning flash. She went to the holm-oak shrub with the people who were present; on arriving she made a bow, bending one knee, and at the same moment the Lady arrived, coming in an oblique line from the east, and Lúcia asked:

– Well then, what do you want of me?

– “I want to tell you to come back here on the 13th and to learn to read so that I can tell you what I want of you.”

– Then don't you want anything else?

– I want nothing more.

The dress was: a white mantle which reached from the head to the bottom of the skirt; it was gilded from the waist down, with cords running across and from top to bottom, and at the edges the gold was closer together. The skirt was all white and gilded with cords lengthwise and crosswise, but it reached only to the knee; a white jacket, not gilded, with only two or three cords at the cuffs; she had no shoes, she had white stockings, not gilded; round her neck she had a gold cord with a medal at the ends; she had her hands raised; in her ears she had some very tiny studs, very close to the ears; she parted her hands when she spoke; her eyes were black; she was of medium height.

On 14 July 1917 Jacinta, aged 7, daughter of Manuel Pedro Marto, came before me; questioned about the vision, she said:

That she had seen a small woman 4 times, once in her house at night and three times at the Cova da Iria at midday; she says she was the size of Albina, daughter of António Rosa of Casa Velha²; at home she saw her at the edge of the attic trapdoor, not saying anything; her mother and brothers and sisters were asleep and it was night; at the Cova da Iria she saw her standing on top of a holm-oak shrub³; she was dressed in white stockings and clothes all of gold; she wore no shoes; the skirt was white and all gold and came down to her knees; the gold was in cords running across, and on the cords in little points; a white jacket all of gold; a mantle over her head, white and all gold; her hands were raised to her waist and they opened, parting when she spoke to Lúcia; she did not hear her say anything, she heard her speak (now she says yes, now she says no); she did not hear her say how many times she would come here; as she left, the sky opened and her feet were left caught in it, with her body already hidden; she heard a very pious voice and remembers only hearing that we (they) were going to heaven; she says she saw lightning, but now she says it was once, now more than once, now before, now after; she had some white beads in her hands, held between the thumb and forefinger of both hands; she did not see earrings; she wore a thin gold chain around her neck.

On Saint Anthony's day (13 June). On this day there was a feast at Fátima which Lúcia's mother (and I do not know whether Francisco's and Jacinta's too) wanted them to attend, but in obedience to what the Lady had recommended to them the month before, they left the feast to go to the place of the apparition, where they met some people unknown to them and only some 3 or 4 they knew. At more or less the same hour as the month before, the same vision appears to them in the same way, and this time she told them to keep going there in the following months; to learn to read; and she told them a secret, which she forbade them to reveal to anyone whatsoever. – Some days later, being near the place of the apparition with their flock, the three of them thought of going to pray the rosary at the place of the apparition, but for that it was necessary either to leave the flock, with the risk of its going and damaging the nearby crops, or for at least one of them to stay on guard and not go to pray the rosary; they decided all to go and pray the rosary and leave the flock, which immediately went into a field of maize, cabbages, chickling peas and other vegetables. A woman who was nearby, seeing the sheep in that field, calls the shepherds, who did not answer her, so she herself went to turn the sheep out, but as soon as she turned her back they went straight back in. The rosary over, the three went to their flock, to turn it out of the place where it was and see the damage it had done, but great was their amazement when they saw that nothing had been damaged. This was confirmed by the owner himself, who, being told that the flock had been in his field, went the next day to see what damage there was, and found that it had done him no damage at all.

Without delay I began to question him about what he had seen and heard since the month of May last at the Cova da Iria on the thirteenth of each month during the time of the apparition.

Between him and me the following short dialogue took place:

- What have you seen at the Cova da Iria these last months?
- I have seen Our Lady.
- Where does she appear?
- On top of a holm-oak shrub.
- Does she appear suddenly or do you see her coming from somewhere?
- I see her coming from the side where the sun rises and placing herself on the holm-oak shrub.
- Does she come slowly or quickly?
- She always comes quickly.
- Do you hear what she says to Lucia?
- I don't hear.
- Have you ever spoken with the Lady? Has she ever addressed a word to you?
- No, I have never asked her anything; she speaks only with Lucia.
- Whom does she look at, at you and Jacinta too or only at Lucia?
- She looks at all three; but she looks longer at Lucia.
- Has she ever wept or smiled?
- Neither one thing nor the other; she is always serious.
- How is she dressed?
- She has a long dress and over it a mantle that covers her head and comes down to the bottom of the dress.
- What is the colour of the dress and the mantle?
- It is white, the dress having gold stripes.
- What is the Lady's attitude?

– That of someone praying. She has her hands joined at the height of her breast.

– Does she carry anything in her hands?

– She carries, between the palm and the back of her right hand, some beads that hang down over her dress.

– And what does she have on her ears?

– Her ears can't be seen, because they are covered by the mantle.

– What colour are the beads?

– They are white too.

– Is the Lady pretty?

– Yes, she is.

– Prettier than that girl you see there?

– Prettier.

– But there are ladies much prettier than that girl...

– She is prettier than anyone I have ever seen.

The questioning of Francisco concluded, I called Jacinta aside, who was playing in the street with other children, had her sit on a little stool beside me and subjected her too to an interrogation, succeeding in obtaining from her answers as complete and detailed as her brother's.

– Have you seen Our Lady on the thirteenth of each month since May?

– I have.

– Where does she come from?

– She comes from Heaven, from the side of the sun.

– How is she dressed?

– She has a white dress, trimmed with gold, and on her head a mantle, also white.

– What colour is her hair?

– Her hair can't be seen; it is covered by the mantle.

– Does she wear earrings?

– I don't know, because her ears can't be seen either

– What is the position of her hands?

– Her hands are joined at the height of her breast, with the fingers turned upwards.

– Are the beads in her right hand or her left?

To this question the child first answers that they were in the right hand, but then, owing to a deliberate and captious insistence on my part, she appears perplexed and confused, not knowing how to say precisely which of her own hands corresponded to the hand in which the Apparition held the rosary.

– What was it that Our Lady recommended to Lucia most earnestly?

– She told us to pray the rosary^* every day.

– And do you pray it?

– I pray it every day with Francisco and Lucia.

What have you seen at the Cova da Iria in recent months?
- I have seen Our Lady.
- Where does she appear?
- On top of a holm-oak shrub
- Does she appear suddenly or do you see her come from somewhere?

– I see her come from the side where the sun rises and settle on the holm-oak shrub.

– Does she come slowly or quickly?

– She always comes quickly.

– Do you hear what she says to Lúcia?

– I don't.

– Have you ever spoken to the Lady? Has she ever spoken to you?

– No, I never asked her anything; she speaks only to Lúcia.

– Whom does she look at, at you and Jacinta too, or only at Lúcia?

– She looks at all three of us; but she looks longer at Lúcia.

Have you seen Our Lady on the 13th of each month since May?

– I have.

– Where does she come from?

– She comes from Heaven, from the side of the sun.

– How is she dressed?

– She has a white dress, trimmed with gold, and on her head she has a mantle, also white. Round her waist there is a golden ribbon that comes down to the hem of the dress.

– Does she wear boots or shoes?

– She wears neither boots nor shoes.

– So she has only stockings on?

– It looks as if she has stockings, but perhaps her feet are so white that they look as if they had stockings on.

– What colour is her hair?

– You can't see her hair, it is covered by the mantle.

– Does she wear earrings?

– I don't know, because you can't see her ears either.

– What is the position of her hands?

– Her hands are joined on her breast, with the fingers pointing upwards.

– Are the beads in her right hand or her left hand?

– .....

To this question the child at first answers that they were in her right hand, but then, owing to insistence on my part, she shows herself perplexed and confused, unable to say precisely which of her own hands corresponded to the hand with which the Lady held the Rosary.

- What did the Lady most earnestly recommend to Lúcia?
- She told us to pray the rosary^* every day.
- And do you pray it?
- I pray it every day with Francisco and Lúcia.

Is it true that Our Lady has appeared to you at the place called Cova da Iria?

– It is true.

– How many times has she appeared to you already?

– Five times, once each month.

– On what day of the month?

– Always on the thirteenth, except in the month of August, when I was arrested and taken to the town (Vila Nova de Ourém) by the administrator^*. That month I saw her only some days later, on the nineteenth, at the place called Valinhos.

– It is said that the Lady also appeared to you last year. What truth is there in this?

– Last year she never appeared to me (nor before May of this year); nor did I say that to anyone, because it was not true.

[…]

Where does she come from? From the east?
- I don't know; I don't see her come from anywhere; she appears over the holm-oak shrub, and it is when she withdraws that she goes off in the direction where the sun rises.
- How long does she stay? A long time or a short time?
- A short time.
- Long enough to say an Our Father and a Hail Mary, or more?
- More, quite a lot more, but not always the same length of time (perhaps not enough to pray the rosary).
- The first time you saw her, weren't you frightened?
- I was, so much so that I wanted to run away, with Jacinta and Francisco, but She told us not to be afraid, because she would not harm us. She said: "don't be afraid, for I won't harm you."
- How is she dressed?
- She has a white dress, which comes down to a little below the middle of the leg, and her head is covered by a mantle of the same colour and the same length as the dress.
- Has the dress no trimmings?
- On it, at the front, two golden cords can be seen, which come down from the neck and are joined by a tassel, also golden, at about the middle of the body.
- Does she have a belt or a ribbon?
- She doesn't.
- Does she wear earrings?
- She wears small yellow hoops.
- Which hand holds the beads?
- The right hand.
- Were they a five-decade rosary or a full rosary?
- I didn't notice properly.
- Did they end with a cross?
- They ended with a white cross, and the beads were white too. The chain was white too.
- Did you ever ask her who she was?
- I did, but she declared she would only say so on 13 October.
- Didn't you ask her where she came from?
- I asked where she was from, and she answered me that she was from Heaven.
- And when did you ask her that question?
- The second time, on the thirteenth of June.
- Did she ever smile or look sad?

- She never smiled nor looked sad, but was always serious.
- Did she urge you and your cousins to say any prayers?
- She urged us to pray the rosary in honour of Our Lady of the Rosary, in order to obtain peace for the world.
- Did she express a wish that many people should be present at the Cova da Iria on the thirteenth of each month?
- She said nothing about that.
- Is it true that she told you a secret, forbidding you to reveal it to anyone whatever?
- It is true.
- Does it concern only you or your companions too?
- All three of us.
- Can't you disclose it at least to your confessor?
(At this question she kept silent, seeming somewhat embarrassed, and I thought I should not insist by repeating the question).
- It is said that, to free yourself from the administrator's pestering on the day you were arrested, you told him something as if it were the secret when it was not, thus deceiving him, and afterwards boasted of having played that trick on him: is it true?
- It is not; the administrator really did want me to reveal the secret to him, but as I could not tell it to anyone, I did not tell him, even though he insisted with me a great deal to that end. What I did was to tell everything the Lady said to me, except the secret, and perhaps for that reason the administrator was left thinking that I had revealed the secret to him as well. I did not want to deceive him.
- Did the Lady tell you to learn to read?
- She did, yes, the second time she appeared.
- But if the Lady said she would take you to Heaven next October, what use would it be to you to learn to read?
- That is not true: the Lady never said she would take me to Heaven in October, and I never asserted that she had told me such a thing.
- What did the Lady declare should be done with the money the people leave at the Cova da Iria at the foot of the holm-oak shrub?
- She said we should put it on two litters^* and carry them to the parish church: Jacinta, two more girls and I carrying one, and Francisco with three more boys the other. Part of that money would be for the worship and feast of Our Lady of the Rosary and the other part towards a new chapel.
- Where does she want the chapel to be built? At the Cova da Iria?
- I don't know: she didn't say.

- Are you very happy that Our Lady has appeared to you?
- I am.
- On the thirteenth of October will Our Lady come alone?
- St. Joseph will come too with the Child, and peace will be granted to the world.
- And did she make any other revelation?
- She declared that on the 13th she will make all the people believe that she really appears.
- Why do you quite often lower your eyes and stop gazing at the Lady?
- It's because she is sometimes dazzling.
- Did she teach you any prayer?
- She did; and she wants us to recite it after each mystery of the rosary^*.
- Do you know that prayer by heart?
- I do.
- Say it then...
- O my Jesus, forgive us, deliver us from the fire of hell, take all the little souls to Heaven, especially those that most need it

On 13 July some companions of his, with bad intent, got him drunk with the aim of leading him to commit some folly at the place of the apparitions. And indeed, although, as always, he let his daughter go to that place, he ordered the people to withdraw. He is the owner of the heath where the holm-oak shrub that serves as pedestal for the Apparition stands. The people, seeing him in a state of drunkenness, paid no heed to this order and a man pushed him, making him fall.

[…]

At first the people did not want to go to the Cova da Iria. Nobody believed the children. On the thirteenth of June, the day of the second apparition, there was a feast at the parish church in honour of St. Anthony. At the Cova da Iria there were only some sixty people at the time of the apparition. Francisco and Jacinta's parents had gone early in the morning to Porto de Mós to the fair called "of the thirteenth", in order to buy oxen, and got back after nightfall. In their absence their house filled with people who wanted to see the children and ask them questions. At present a large part of the people think the children are telling the truth. For my part, I am convinced of it.

[…]

The signs are many. In August almost all who were present saw those signs. A cloud came down to the holm-oak shrub. In July the same was noticed. There was no dust at the place. The cloud made the air dusty, so that it looked misty.

– Was there any other sign?

– In the sky, near the sun, white clouds are seen which turn successively bright red (blood-coloured), pink and yellow. The people take on this last colour. The light of the sun diminishes considerably in intensity.

A rumbling was also heard in July and in August.

[…]

She prays the rosary^*. When she addresses the Lady, she speaks aloud.

I heard her myself in June, because I was nearby. Some people claim they hear the sound of the answers.

10^a – Is the place of the apparitions also much visited on other days, by devout people or by the curious?

– It is much visited, above all on Sundays. The biggest crowds are at night. Many people go there, from far and near, and still more from outside the parish. They pray the rosary and sing hymns in honour of the Virgin.

You told me some days ago that Our Lady wanted the money offered by the people to be taken to the parish church on two litters^*. How are they to get the litters, and when are they to be taken to the church?

– The litters are to be bought with the money offered and will be carried at the feasts of Our Lady of the Rosary.

2^a – Do you know for certain in what spot Our Lady wishes a chapel to be built in her honour?

– I don't know for certain, but I think She wants the chapel at the Cova da Iria.

3^a – What did She say she would do so that all the people would believe that she appeared?

– She said she would perform a miracle.

4^a – When did she say that?

– She said it several times, but only once, at the time of the first apparition, did I ask her that question.

5^a – Aren't you afraid the people will harm you if they don't see anything extraordinary on that day?

– I am not afraid at all.

6^a – Do you feel within you something, some force that draws you to the Cova da Iria on the 13th of each month?

– I want to go there, and I would be sad if I didn't.

7^a – Did you ever see the Lady cross herself, pray, or tell the beads of the Rosary?

– I didn't.

8^a – Did she tell you to pray?

– She told me to pray several times.

9^a – Did she tell you to pray for the conversion of sinners?

– She didn't; she only told me to pray to Our Lady of the Rosary for the war to end.

10^a – Did you see the signs that other people say they have seen, such as a star, roses coming loose from the Lady's dress, etc.?

– I didn't see the star or other extraordinary signs.

11^a – Did you hear any rumbling, thunder or earth tremor?

– I never did.

12^a – Can you read?

– I can't.

13^a – Are you learning to read?

– I'm not.

14^a – How then do you fulfil the order the Lady gave you in that regard?

!.....

15^a – When you tell the people to kneel and pray, is it the Lady who tells you to say so?

– It is not the Lady who tells me, it is I who want to.

16^a – Whenever she appears, do you kneel?

- Sometimes I stay standing, other times I kneel.
16^a – When she speaks, is her voice sweet and pleasant?
– It is.
17^a – How old does the Lady seem to be?
– She seems to be about fifteen.
18^a – What colour is the chain of the rosary?
– It is white.
19^a – And that of the crucifix?
– The crucifix is white too.
20^a – Does the veil cover the Lady's forehead?
– It doesn't. Her forehead can be seen clearly.
21^a – Is the splendour that surrounds her beautiful?
– It is more beautiful than the light of the sun and very bright.
22^a – Did the Lady never greet you with her head or her hands?
– Never.
23^a – Did she never smile at you?
– No, not that either.
24^a – Does she usually look at the people?
– I never saw her look at them.
25^a – Do you hear the talk, noises and shouts of the people during the time you see the Lady?
– I don't.
26^a – Did the Lady ask you in May to come back to the Cova da Iria every month until October?
– She said we should come back there month after month for six months, on the 13th.
27^a – Did you hear your mother read the book called "Missão abreviada" where the story is told of the apparition of Our Lady to a boy and a girl?
– I did.
28^a – Did you often think about that story and talk about it to other children?
– I didn't think about that story nor did I tell it to anyone.

Did the Lady recommend that you pray the rosary?
– She did.

2^a – When?
– When she appeared the first time.
3^a – Did you hear the secret too, or was it only Lúcia who heard it?
– I heard it too.
4^a – When did you hear it?
– The second time, on St. Anthony's day.
5^a – Is the secret for you to become rich?
– It isn't.
6^a – Is it for you to be good and happy?
– It is. It is for the good of all three of us.
7^a – Is it for you to go to Heaven?
– It isn't.
8^a – Can't you reveal the secret?
– I can't.
9^a – Why?
– Because the Lady said we were not to tell the secret to anyone.
10^a – If the people knew the secret, would they be sad?
– They would.
11^a – How did the Lady hold her hands?
– She held them raised.
12^a – Always raised?
– Sometimes she turns her palms towards the sky.
13^a – Did the Lady say in May that she wanted you to go to the Cova da Iria more times?
– She said she wanted us to go there for six months, month after month, until in October she would say what she wanted.
14^a – Does she have any radiance about her head?
– She does.
15^a – Can you look properly at her face?
– I can't, because it hurts the eyes.
16^a – Did you always hear properly what the Lady said?
– The last time I didn't hear everything because of the noise the people were making.

How old are you?
– I'm nine.
2^a – Do you only see the Lady or do you also hear what She says?
– I only see her; I hear nothing of what She says.
4^a – Does she have a glow around her head?

– She does.
5^a – Can you look properly at her face?
– I can look, but only a little, because of the light.
6^a – Does she have any trimmings on her dress?
– She has some gold cords.
7^a – What colour is the crucifix of the rosary?
– It is white.
8^a – And the chain of the rosary?
– It is white too.
9^a – Would the people be sad if they knew the secret?
– They would.

How did you learn that the Lady appeared to your daughter the first time? Was it she who told you?

– I learned of it from the other children's family, because Lúcia advised her companions to say nothing for fear they would be scolded. Only after I questioned her did she say what she had seen.

3^a – Did you never scold your daughter for going to the Cova da Iria? Did you always give her complete freedom to go there on the 13th of each month?

– I never forbade her to go to that place. Sometimes I asked her if she wanted to go and she answered yes, other times she herself said she would go, if I gave her leave.

4^a – Do the three children usually go to the place of the apparitions alone or do they go accompanied by other children?

– They go alone. Other children almost always go too, but accompanied by their parents, and they stay beside them; they do not join Lúcia and her cousins.

5^a – Did the children tend livestock? To whom did it belong?

– Lúcia tended a small flock of sheep and her cousins another. Those flocks belonged to their respective families. Sometimes they put the animals together, but only because they wanted to. The sheep Lúcia tended I have already sold.

6^a – How have the children been dressed when they go?

– The first time they were shabbily turned out, as shepherds almost always are. The other times, on the 13th of each month, they go dressed in light-coloured clothes and wear a white kerchief on their heads.

[…]

When the children were arrested by the administrator^* of Vila Nova de Ourém, did anyone go to demand that they be returned to their parents?

– A brother of Francisco and Jacinta went to talk to them at the administrator's house. The administrator's wife asked whether he had come to fetch the children, to which he answered no. The administrator himself brought them back to Fátima.

11^a – Have many people come to see your daughter?

– Many people have come almost every day.

We questioned the children to learn how the first apparition had come about. They answered simply that on 13 May, when they were pasturing their flock at the Cova da Iria, there was a great thunderstorm. They were thinking of gathering the flock and going away, when out of a flash of lightning they saw a Lady appear. Frightened, they wanted to run away, but the apparition told them not to, for it would do them no harm. Before the thunderstorm began the children had been praying their rosary, and the apparition told them to pray the rosary to Our Lady of the Rosary so that the war would abate, and to come back there every month, for it would come there for six consecutive months. — The children went back there in June and say that the Lady appeared to them and this time told them to learn to read, which the children did not do at once, because there was not, and never had been, a teacher in Fatima. Now, without anyone having asked for one, a teacher from the mobile schools^* turns up, appointed there for two years, and the children have already begun to attend school with considerable progress, above all Lucia.

If the vision is genuine, there would seem to be a certain difference in the way it revealed itself to each child. Thus the eldest, Lucia, was certainly the most privileged; she saw, heard and spoke with the apparition, making requests and asking questions of it, and obtaining answers. The youngest, Jacintha, saw and heard the Lady but never spoke to her, nor did She address her directly. The little boy, Francisco, saw the Lady, but never heard her speak or even saw her move her lips, and never saw Her as distinctly as on 13 October.

[…]

The children went on their pious pilgrimage to the Cova da Iria on the 13th of every month, except in August, when they were arrested. They say they always saw the Lady, that Lucia always spoke with Her, that she asked her for some cures and conversions; that the Lady promised her to cure and convert some, and not others. That she always told them to pray the rosary, and told them that she wanted a little chapel in that place dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary.

[…]

The children describe the apparition as being a Lady

very beautiful, the most beautiful they had ever seen, (their very words) with hands raised to Heaven, dressed all in white and gold, with a rosary all white hanging from her right arm.

Once Lucia asked the Lady: “Where are you from and where are you going?” and she says the Lady answered her: “I am from Heaven and I am going to Heaven”. And when Lucia asked her whether she, Jacintha and Francisco would also go to Heaven, the Lady answered that she and Jacintha would go, and that Francisco would go too, but would have to pray the rosary more. Since then the little boy has at times prayed ten rosaries a day!

22 - On Saint Anthony's Day (2^nd time) she said that we should learn to read.

33 - Did the Lady say at what time she was coming, and on which days?

33 - That she was coming at midday.

34 - The 2nd time, did people go to watch? What did they see?

34 - Some 50 people went.

35 - The 2nd

The 3rd

The 4th

The 5th

[...]

36 - What did the Lady want? Did she say what she came for?

36 - She never heard the Lady say what she came for. The Lady spoke slowly.

22 - The 2^nd time: That we should keep going there and should learn to read.

33 - She never said at what time she was coming, but we used to go there at that time.

[37]⁴

[37-] The Lady told her a secret but she will not reveal it.

[1] Near Fátima or Aljustrel, Cova da Iria, beside Aljustrel, [near] the road [of] macadam, on the north side. Things I witnessed. On 13 June I went there for the first time, but did not arrive in time for the event; however, I spoke with the little girls in the churchyard at Fátima. I questioned them carefully and saw in them something that, it seemed to me, could not possibly be untrue. From that moment I believed that it was the Most Holy Virgin who came there. [2] On 13 July I was present too. At the hour of the apparition [there could be seen] a little mist. The sun lost its strength and stopped giving heat, though until then it had been very hot. And many people said that, when the apparition spoke, they heard her but did not

[…]

witness [make out] what She was saying. I only heard when Lúcia said: there She goes! I heard a roar in the air. It seemed like the beginning of a thunderclap. [3] On 13 August I was present too. The little girls and the boy had been arrested. There were a great many people. At the same hours as the apparition, the heavenly bodies and the sun did the same as on the other occasions; and there was a most extraordinary sign in the heavens. On 13 September I was present too. The sun and the heavenly bodies made the same display. The people were full of excitement, looking up into the air, some saying that they saw stars, others that they saw a dove, others that they saw stars running and swallows going along with them. Everyone was excited. Still others [said] that they saw flowers falling. [4] On 13 October it rained almost all morning. Close to the hour of the apparition it stopped raining. The extraordinary things that happened in the sun! Everyone saw them who had their eyes open; whoever closed them saw nothing. And perhaps there were some who saw and said they had not, so as not to give honour to the Mother of Heaven. Whatever mistake there may have been about the war^*, the extraordinary [facts] that happened there are undeniable.

Before each apparition did you see any flash of lightning?

– Sometimes I saw one, other times I saw two. The air was murky, as before a thunderstorm.

29^th – The first time the Lady appeared to you, was the sky cloudless?

– I don't remember whether there were clouds.

30^th – When the Lady appeared to you the 1^st time, what were you doing?

– I said the rosary before she came.

31^st – When the first apparition happened, did you kneel or remain standing?

– The first time I remained standing.

32^nd – Did the Lady always come surrounded by a radiance?

– She did.

– What colour was that radiance?

– It was very bright, very white.

33^rd – Did the radiance appear before the Lady?

– It appeared almost at the same time as the Lady.

What was it the Lady said in June?

– She said we were to keep going to the Cova da Iria and that we were to learn to read.

42^nd – Did she say anything else?

– A son of Manuel Carreira, from Moita, was there, a poor boy crippled in his legs and back⁶. I asked the Lady whether she would cure him, and she said he would be cured within a year. His back has already got better little by little. I also asked the Lady if she would kindly convert a woman from Moita, and she said she would convert her within a year⁷.

43^rd – What else did the Lady say?

– I don't remember anything else.

When was it that you asked the Lady what she would do so that the people would believe that it was she who appeared to you?

– I asked her quite a few times; the first time I asked I reckon was in June.

61^st – When did she tell you the secret?

– I think it was the 2^nd time.

What the Lady wore on her feet – were they stockings? Are you sure of that?

– I reckon they were stockings, but they might not have been.

4th – You have never told the secret, nor even said that the people would be sad if they knew it. Francisco and Jacinta say that they would be sad. If you cannot say that, neither could they say it. What do you think?

– I don't know whether they should or shouldn't say that the people would be sad. Our Lady said we were not to tell anything to anyone. That is why I can't say anything.

2^nd – You once said that the Lady had white stockings. So were they stockings or were they her feet?

– If they were stockings, they were white, but I don't know for sure whether they were stockings or her feet.

3^rd – Was the skirt always the same length?

– The last time the skirt seemed longer.

What did the Lady say the second time, in June?

– Lúcia said: What do you want of me? The Lady answered: I want you to learn to read.

5^th – Did Lúcia ask any more questions?

– She asked for the sick and for sinners, and the Lady said she would make some better and would convert them, and not others.

6^th – Did the Lady say anything else?

– That day she said nothing else.

When was it that the Lady taught you the prayer you were to say after each mystery^*?

– I think it was in the third month.

2^nd – How many people did the Lady promise to cure and convert?

– I asked for many and she said she would cure and convert some, and not others.

3^rd – How many times did you make that request to her?

– I think it was five times, now for some people, now for others.

I sit down beside him and begin my conversation: “Did you see Our Lady?” — “I did.” “How was she dressed?” — “All in white and gold.” “And didn't she have anything coloured?” — “No.” “And on her head?” — “A mantle.” “And nothing else?” — “Yes, she had a thing.” “What?” — “I don't know, a thing.” “And could her hair be seen?” — “No.” “And what colour were her eyes?” — “They were black.” These answers were given with an air of enormous naturalness, in a slightly drawling voice. All three children, whom I spoke to separately, change their tone when describing Our Lady's gaze. One can see that it was what impressed them most.

Lucia says of the eyes: “They were very dark.” “And the dress?” — “White and gold.”

“With a coloured belt?” — “No, with gold stars; look, she had one on her breast.” “And on her head?” — “A mantle and a thing, like this...” “But what?” — “I don't know, it was like a little basket thing” (a little basket). I did not even say the word crown, which came to my mind at once; I let the child ex-[384v]plain herself as best she could, and I confess I found the comparison delightful. “And could her hair be seen?” — “No.” “Tell me, was Our Lady laughing, cheerful?” — “No, she was serious.” “Cross?” — “No, serious.” “She had the beads, didn't she?” — “Yes, some white beads, and when she spoke she opened her hands, like this...” The child took the beads out of her pocket and explained what she had seen. At a certain point she tells me that Our Lady had a great deal of light. “Like the sun?” — “More than the sun.” A lady who was there says to her: “Why were you afraid at first? If I appeared to you, you wouldn't run away.” — “That's because you wouldn't blind me.” She says that Our Lady asks the people to mend their ways, to pray the rosary a great deal and to build a chapel to Our Lady of the Rosary. The child repeats many times: “The people don't mend their ways, the people don't mend their ways...”

We were waiting for the Lady to appear beside the holm-oak shrub, and there was a flash of lightning and the Lady appeared above the holm-oak shrub.

I asked her what she wanted of me; the answer: I want you to go on coming here every month, and to learn to read. I asked her to cure a lame man and some people who had asked me, some sick and others for the conversion of some sinners. Answer: In a year's time they will be cured. With that she disappeared, rising towards the east and going so high that the clouds and the blue of the sky didn't let us see her any more. If anything else happened this month I don't remember.

Our Lady's dress was of these colours: the dress was all white; it had two stars from the waist down, one in line with the other; round the neck a cord with a ball came down to the waist; the hands joined, and from them hung some beads, I don't know if it was a Rosary or a white Terço^*, with a crucifix also white. The mantle covered her head down to the end of the dress. it had a little gold edge; the feet, I don't know if she had stockings on or came barefoot, because I couldn't make out her toes; it was because of the light that didn't let me fix my eyes on them; everything ar[ound] her was a light so bright and so strong that it didn't let me see as I wanted because it seemed to blind me.

I think I have already said almost everything if anything of what she told me to write is missing I don't remember.

The 13th of June arrives and I, eager to know what is going on, make my way to the place to find out how much truth there is in it.

It is a quarter to twelve when I reach the said Cova, and I find some 12 people waiting there. I turn to someone and ask: Well, where are these children who see Our Lady here? And a voice answers me: wait, it isn't late yet. A few moments later, here they come, accompanied by a small group. They kneel beside the famous little holm oak and begin to say the rosary. I count the people and see that some 40 are present. When the litany^* is over, Lúcia says: "Here She comes", and tells them to kneel. She begins to question and answer someone whom my eyes cannot see nor my ears hear. It is the second apparition, and once again she states there, before the small number of spectators – for they cannot yet be called believers – that She is telling her that she will come there every month, that 13 October will be the last time, and that she will then tell a secret.

Lúcia turns her gaze across space as if following with her eyes someone who is rising, and as if in ecstasy she points out the direction she is taking until she is lost in the Infinite. As an unbeliever, I want to deny everything, even what I am seeing; but looking at the atmosphere I see that everything is clouded. It seems that two opposing currents of air are meeting there, raising a cloud of dust. The sky darkens and I seem to hear thunder underground. I feel that the temperature is almost supernatural, and I am afraid to be there. I return home thinking about this phenomenon and trying to find a way to interpret it. My mother asks me what I saw, to which I answered that I don't know, but I am certain that, although there is a mystery, it bodes no good. I do not want to believe, and I condemn this apparition everywhere.

But on the thirteenth of June people at once gathered to accompany her, and so she did not go. That day, among the people accompanying her were two women from Boleiros. She let her daughter go. She dressed her better because from there she was going to the feast of Saint Anthony at the parish church. The mother went to the feast to hear Mass. On the way she met a group of five or six people who were going from Fátima to Aljustrel. Thinking they wanted to go to the feast, she said to them: “You're mistaken, the feast is that way”. “We haven't come for the feast,” they retorted, “we've come in search of three children who say they have seen Our Lady”. She was surprised at the answer and asked them where they were from. They said they were from Carrascos. She did not admit to them that she was the mother of one of the children. They asked where the children were.

She answered that they were in Aljustrel and went on to Mass. She grew more and more thoughtful, thinking that she was doing wrong in not going to the place of the apparitions, because they might beat the children for lying, but she did not want to undergo the shame she would be exposed to if there was nothing. The children, as soon as it was all over, went to Fátima. When people were coming out of Mass they were already there, with many people around them.

Almost every month after May José Alves went there on the thirteenth and saw nothing; he only heard others say that they saw things in the sky. He did not hear the loud bang in August. He often heard it said that a little smoke appeared.

On the thirteenth of June, before noon, she went to the place of the apparitions, where she found nobody. She went to wait for the children on the road, having heard that they were coming that day. She did not know them, as they were small, but she knew the families. Before her arrival, some women from Boleiros had turned up, who had had to face the mockery of the people of their village. They all joined together, some people from the Torres Novas district coming with the children. They all went on to the place. There they asked Lúcia which was the holm oak on which the Lady had appeared and she pointed to it with her hand. Then they went into the shade of a large holm oak nearby, where they waited for some time. Shortly afterwards, when she was asked whether the Lady would be long, she answered no. A girl asked that they all pray the litany, Lúcia declaring that there was no longer time. Almost at the same moment she stood up and said that Our Lady was coming, for there had already been the flash of lightning. She ran to the holm oak, knelt down and everyone did as she did. Moments later she asked the Apparition: “You told me to come here; please tell me what you want of me”. She heard a buzzing that came from the holm oak, not understanding a single word of the answer. Lúcia was looking at the holm oak, as were the other two children, all of them with hands joined. The deponent did not quite understand what she then said to the Apparition, but the other people told her that the little girl had asked her whether she wanted anything more of her. Then she said: – “Look! Do you want to see her?... There she goes, there she goes!” Then a sort of whistling was heard, like a rocket gathering strength to rise. She looked and saw a cloud of smoke rising from the holm oak and moving off and rising towards the east, the little girl pointing to it. It was also seen very high and very far away. Finally it disappeared from sight. The cloud was a very light mist. The sun was shining and it was very hot, the sky being fairly clear.

Before the apparition, she saw the shoots of the holm oak fresh and very straight. After the apparition the shoots were as if bent over, in a little circle at the top, towards the east, as if the clothes had swept them in that direction. The people began to take twigs from the holm oak, Lúcia urging them not to take them from the top but from the bottom, and the people then took leaves and twigs from the lower part. Finally they performed a short devotion before withdrawing.

On the thirteenth of June, before noon, she went to the place of the apparitions, where she found nobody. She went to wait for the children on the road, having heard that they were coming that day. She did not know them, as they were small, but she knew the families. Before her arrival, some women from Boleiros had turned up, who had had to face the mockery of the people of their village. They all joined together, some people from the Torres Novas district coming with the children. They all went on to the place. There they asked Lúcia which was the holm oak on which the Lady had appeared and she pointed to it with her hand. Then they went into the shade of a large holm oak nearby, where they waited for some time. Shortly afterwards, when she was asked whether the Lady would be long, she answered no. A girl asked that they all pray the litany, Lúcia declaring that there was no longer time. Almost at the same moment she stood up and said that Our Lady was coming, for there had already been the flash of lightning. She ran to the holm oak, knelt down and everyone did as she did. Moments later she asked the Apparition: “You told me to come here; please tell me what you want of me”. She heard a buzzing that came from the holm oak, not understanding a single word of the answer. Lúcia was looking at the holm oak, as were the other two children, all of them with hands joined. The deponent did not quite understand what she then said to the Apparition, but the other people told her that the little girl had asked her whether she wanted anything more of her. Then she said: – “Look! Do you want to see her?... There she goes, there she goes!” Then a sort of whistling was heard, like a rocket gathering strength to rise. She looked and saw a cloud of smoke rising from the holm oak and moving off and rising towards the east, the little girl pointing to it. It was also seen very high and very far away. Finally it disappeared from sight. The cloud was a very light mist. The sun was shining and it was very hot, the sky being fairly clear.

Before the apparition, she saw the shoots of the holm oak fresh and very straight. After the apparition the shoots were as if bent over, in a little circle at the top, towards the east, as if the clothes had swept them in that direction. The people began to take twigs from the holm oak, Lúcia urging them not to take them from the top but from the bottom, and the people then took leaves and twigs from the lower part. Finally they performed a short devotion before withdrawing.

This deposition was confirmed on oath by her husband, who arrived at the place of the apparitions shortly before the arrival of the three seers. That deponent, however, added nothing more – I mean, did not add anything more of note.

Were you there on the thirteenth of the following month? She answered: "On the thirteenth of June it was the feast of Saint Anthony and my mother was not very willing to let me go to the Cova da Iria, because she wanted me to go to the feast of Saint Anthony, but some people who had heard of the Apparition came to fetch me and Jacinta and went with us to the holm-oak shrub, at around noon. Jacinta told her mother that at the Cova da Iria she had seen something very beautiful and, at her mother's insistence, told her what it was; I only told what had happened eight days later, when my mother asked me. That is how it became known.

When we reached the holm-oak shrub, we prayed; and, the prayer over, I saw a flash of lightning – it was a very hot day – and then the Lady appeared on top of the holm-oak shrub, dressed in the same fashion. I asked her: "What do you want of me?" Her answer was: – "I want you to keep coming here in the other months, to say the rosary every day and to learn to read". As I had been asked to, I asked the Lady to cure a cripple, and she answered that, if he was converted, he would be cured within a year. Then she rose towards the east and disappeared among the clouds and the blue of the sky".

– "Did the people present also see the Lady?" She answered: "The people asked me and I said what I saw, but I do not know whether anyone else saw; afterwards we said the rosary, sang, and went to the feast".

– "After that Apparition were you visited by people who questioned you about it?". She answered: "I was visited by many people, and among them some priests, who pressed me hard with questions and scolded me a great deal, and people in my family said that I was lying, and my mother even beat me with a broom handle".

"Did your cousins ever speak with the Lady?". She answered: "They never spoke; once we agreed that Jacinta would speak to her, but, when we got there, Jacinta said nothing."

– "Was the Lady's countenance smiling?". She answered: "It was sad; when she spoke, she opened her hands, which were joined and raised against her breast".

[…]

"Are you certain that you really saw a Lady on top of the holm-oak shrub and that you were not mistaken?". She answered: "I am certain that I saw her and that I was not mistaken; even if they killed me, no one would make me say the contrary.

– "And who was this Lady?". She answered: "Before she said she was the Lady of the Rosary, I did not know who she was; now I am convinced she was Our Lady".

What was entrusted in 1917 on this subject is the following: She asked to be taken to heaven: the Most Holy Virgin answered: yes, Jacinta and Francisco I will take soon, but you are to stay here some time longer; Jesus wishes to make use of you to make me known and loved. He wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart; to whoever embraces it I promise salvation, and these souls will be dear to God, like flowers placed by me to adorn his throne. Am I to stay here alone? she said sadly. No, daughter, I will never leave you; my Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God.

On a few different occasions I questioned Francisco, and he always told me that he saw a very beautiful Lady at the Cova da Iria and at Valinho on the same days his companions had given, and that she was dressed in white, but that he did not hear Her speak. As for the secret, I could not get him to reveal anything. When I told him that, since he did not hear the Lady, he had no secret at all, he answered that yes, he has; Lúcia told it to him. I told him that, since it was Lúcia who told it to him, he could tell me, because it is not a secret and Our Lady did not tell him not to tell it; he answered: I won't tell, it's a sin; Lúcia said that I shouldn't tell it, so I won't.

A. On page 11 I state that the apparition seems to be no more than 18 years old because once Lucia's mother, in the presence of her daughter and of other people, told me, when I asked how old the vision looked, that she looked like a girl from the hamlet of Aljustrel who was present and who was already 17. On page 90 I state [3] that Lucia said the Vision seemed to be about 15 years old, because she really did say so, although she was a simple, uneducated little girl, only 10 years old, and incapable of judging a person's age accurately. Besides, the difference between about fifteen years and no more than eighteen years is not great, and the expression I use on page 90 not only does not contradict or exclude the statement on page 11 but actually completes it and brings us closer to the truth.

But if I was relying on statements of the seers that I kept in my memory, it is utterly impossible for me to state precisely, after so many years, which of the children assured me that the cross of the rosary was, or looked like, gold. Was it Francisco? Was it Jacinta? I do not know. It must be stressed that Lucia, like her cousins, sometimes said that certain parts of the vision's body or certain items of its clothing were white because of the clear, brilliant light that surrounded it and almost blinded their eyes. Page 77, Lucia: "It's that [4] she sometimes blinds". Page 94, Francisco: "I can look at her face, but only a little, because of the light".

In June Jacinta asked her mother not to go to the fair of the thirteenth at Pedreiras, a league^* from Porto de Mós, so that she could go and see Our Lady. Her mother, hearing this request, said to her: “Ah! you're not going there, Our Lady doesn't appear to you”. To which the little girl replied: – “Yes she does, Our Lady said she would appear and so she will appear.” Her mother retorted: “So you're not going to the feast of Saint Anthony^*?” “No,” the little girl confirmed, “Our Lady is more beautiful than Saint Anthony”.

On 13 June, Olímpia de Jesus and her husband went to a fair, although Jacinta had said the evening before: “Mother, don't go to the fair tomorrow, go to the Cova da Iria, Our Lady is coming there”. And her mother would not believe it and said to her daughter: “You want to go to Saint Anthony's, you don't want to go to the Cova da Iria!” As if to suggest that it was a pretext for going to the feast. She answered: “Saint Anthony isn't beautiful”. “Why?” the mother asked. “Because Our Lady is more beautiful,” the daughter concluded. “I'm going to the Cova da Iria with Lúcia and Francisco, and if Our Lady says we're to go to Saint Anthony's, then we'll go”.

On the evening of the thirteenth, when the mother arrived, they told her that Our Lady had appeared to them again, as on the thirteenth of May, and had told Lúcia that they should go there every month and do penance.

When later I^* was able to get near her, she asked her what she had seen. She answered that she had seen the same little woman as the other day. She asked her what she had said. She said that she had said that they should keep going there and that they should learn to read.

There they asked Lúcia which was the holm oak on which the Lady had appeared and she pointed to it with her hand. Then they went into the shade of a large holm oak nearby, where they waited for some time. Shortly afterwards, when she was asked whether the Lady would be long, she answered no. A girl asked that they all pray the litany, Lúcia declaring that there was no longer time. Almost at the same moment she stood up and said that Our Lady was coming, for there had already been the flash of lightning. She ran to the holm oak, knelt down and everyone did as she did. Moments later she asked the Apparition: “You told me to come here; please tell me what you want of me”. She heard a buzzing that came from the holm oak, not understanding a single word of the answer. Lúcia was looking at the holm oak, as were the other two children, all of them with hands joined. The deponent did not quite understand what she then said to the Apparition, but the other people told her that the little girl had asked her whether she wanted anything more of her. Then she said: – “Look! Do you want to see her?... There she goes, there she goes!”

This vision, with the appearance of a lady of extraordinary beauty, appears to them in the open country in the midst of a cloud, always at the same spot. It speaks to them, though the children say only that the Lady had asked the little boy of 3 to learn to say the rosary^3*, and the two little girls to say it for the fatherland and for their family, adding that on 13 October she will tell them what more she wants of them.

As I told you, I examined, or rather questioned, the three separately. They all say the same without the slightest variation. The main point that I deduced from everything they tell me is “– that the apparition wants the devotion of the Rosary to be spread –”. All the little ones always say that the one who appears to them is the Lady. They do not know who she is... Only after the 6 times, on 13 October, will she tell them who she is and what she wants!!... The naturalness and ingenuousness with which they speak and tell what they saw is admirable and impressive.

Lúcia sees the Lady, speaks with her and hears her. Jacinta sees the Lady, hears her, but does not speak with Her. Francisco sees the Lady, but neither speaks to her nor hears her!!!... This difference is interesting, don't you think, Prazeres??... But besides being interesting it even has a great deal of the extraordinary about it!!... To hear the little ones, to see them in their simplicity, to examine them as a whole, impresses us in an extraordinary way, and leads me to conclude that in everything they tell me there is something supernatural. Being with them strikes us with great intensity... Today, Prazeres, it is my conviction that there is an extraordinary fact which our reason cannot reach. What is it?... With still greater anxiety I await the coming 13th. What is certain is that we feel at ease with the little ones and even lose the sense of time. There is an attraction that I do not know how to explain... One of the children's most intense impressions is that of the Lady's beauty. The boy, to express his admiration, told me she was “ever so pretty”!!!... I showed him your portrait and asked: is she prettier? “Much prettier!!...”. The Lady comes all in white with gold. She does not wear any blue sash as was said. Whether she is Our Lady of Peace.... Do you remember what she said at the 2nd apparition?... That they should learn to read... Little Jacinta told me “that she was already on the row of A's”!!...

[…]

The prayer they say the Lady taught them is simple; it is as follows:

“O my Jesus, forgive me.

Deliver me from the fire of hell

Take all the little souls to heaven, especially those most in need.”

Could anything be simpler? I found it interesting that the Lady should have taught it but not recommended that they pray it.

Only there did we learn that the three children, natives of Aljustrel, a small village in the parish of Fatima, said that a Lady appeared to them on the 13th of each month, spoke with them, answered their questions, and urged them to pray the rosary and offer it to Our Lady of the Rosary.

We went on with the journey, and when we reached Fatima the Ex.^mo Mr Pedro asked after the little girls, who just then were coming out of school; then, at the schoolmistress's bidding, the girls came up to the carriage and spoke with other people who were there, and we asked them about Our Lady, and they always affirmed the same thing: that they saw her, heard her and spoke with her.

The account of the apparitions is reproduced here in summary.

The Lady says that her place is Heaven, promises eternal happiness to the three children, tells them a secret that they may reveal to no one, teaches them a short prayer⁴, recommends to Lúcia that they learn to read, commands that everyone pray the rosary so that the war may end, announces the appearance of Our Lord, of St Joseph with the Child Jesus, and of Our Lady under the titles of the Rosary, of Carmel and of Sorrows, again recommends the recitation of the rosary, declares that the war would end soon, and on the last day states that Our Lord is very angry at the sins of men, begs that they offend Him no more, insists once again that they pray the rosary, declares that she is the Lady of the Rosary and orders that a chapel be built there in her honour. Jacinta's deposition confirms, in a general way, Lúcia's deposition, as does that of Francisco, who however only saw the Lady and heard nothing of what she said to his cousin.

Franc. died on 4 April 1919. He received the last sacr. with great lucidity and piety [19] And confirmed that he had seen a Lady at the Cova da Iria and Vallinho

Francisco – the seer – died at ten o'clock at night on the 4th of this April, the victim of a long, 5-month ordeal with the pneumonic influenza^*, having received the Sacraments with great lucidity and piety – And he confirmed that he had seen a Lady at the Cova da Iria and Valinho^*.

Two little shepherd girls and a little shepherd boy asserted that a lady of incomparable beauty appeared to them on the thirteenth of each month from May to October of that year, making various communications to them, some of them secret. The Vision, according to the testimony of the three children, promised to say on the thirteenth of October who she was and to perform a prodigy that day so that everyone would believe her words, and at the same time asked for a chapel to be built in her honour at the place of the apparitions.

Several times she declared that God was greatly offended by the sins of men and that grave punishments threatened them; she recommended to all that they do penance, advised the frequent recitation of the rosary, and lastly said that she was the Lady of the Rosary.

On 13 May 1917, three children of the parish of Fátima, in the vicariate^* of Ourém, in this Diocese, were pasturing a small flock in a place called Cova da Iria, which was then deserted.

The eldest, Lúcia de Jesus, was 10 years old, Francisco nine and Jacinta six^a. The two younger ones were brother and sister, and the eldest was their cousin.

None of them could read or write.

It was getting on towards noon, and the children, according to the custom of their region, prayed the rosary^* of Our Lady.

The prayer finished, they were amusing themselves building a tiny house out of loose stones when, suddenly, a flash of lightning, of vivid and brilliant light,

^a Jacinta was already seven years old. Jacinta's official date of birth is 11 March 1910.

furrowed the sky. Although the sky was clear and cloudless, the children, fearing a thunderstorm, gathered the flock and were about to leave. But as they reach a point near the spot where the water fountains now stand, another flash of lightning blazes out and, a few paces away, standing on a small holm oak at the place where the tiny, humble Chapel of the Apparitions now stands, they see with amazement the figure of a Lady of incomparable beauty, clothed in a dress of the purest white; a mantle edged with gold covers her head and most of her body. Her face, of a heavenly, supernatural beauty, appeared serene, grave and clouded by a slight shadow of sadness. From her hands, joined at the height of her breast, hung a beautiful rosary ending in a cross.

From the whole figure, surrounded by a splendour brighter than the sun, beams of light radiated.

The children drew near, and a dialogue took place between the Lady and the eldest; the Lady invited them to come there on the 13th of each month until October.

According to the testimony of the children and of many people, there were six apparitions, all on the 13th of the month, except in August, when the apparition took place a few days later because the administrative authority^* was holding the children prisoner in Ourém.

The Lady told them that her place is in heaven, entrusted them with a secret that they may reveal to no one, taught them a short prayer, recommended the recitation of the Rosary, advised Lúcia to learn to read, insisted on the need for prayer and penance for the war to end, said that Our Lord is very angry at the sins of men and above all at the sin of the flesh, ordered a chapel to be built there in her honour, and declared that she is the Lady of the Rosary...