All content on this page was researched and written by our former Parochial Vicar Fr. Frank Lomica and parishioner Claudia Williams in 2017. Permission to reproduce must be requested from Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Lakewood, CO.
Contact OLF Parish1. In 1917, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to 3 little children in the fields outside their little village. What is the name of their little village?
ANSWER: Fatima
2. The oldest child was 10 years old and her two cousins were 9 and 7 years old. What are their names?
ANSWER: Lucia, Francisco, Jacinta
3. These 3 little children had a very important job to do that they were given by their families. What was that important job?
ANSWER: Shepherds
4. The Blessed Virgin Mary visited with the children 6 times during the year of 1917. What was the date of her first visit?
ANSWER: May 13th
5. The children had many questions to ask the Blessed Virgin. What would you ask her if she came to visit you?
ANSWER: Open to each child
6. Each time the Blessed Mother visited with the children she asked them to do something very important for peace in the world. What did she ask them to do?
ANSWER: Pray the Rosary every day
1. In 1916, the year prior to the apparitions by the Blessed Mother, the children received 3 visits from an angel of God. Who did he say he was?
ANSWER: The Angel of Peace, The Angel Guardian of the Country of Portugal
2. The angel was sent by God to prepare the children for the tasks the Blessed Mother would give each of them to do. What were the three things he taught Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta that were important for them to do?
ANSWER: 1) To pray; 2) To offer sacrifices; 3) To suffer with patience
3. Why did he say these things were important?
ANSWER: To repair for the sins committed against God and for the conversion of sinners.
4. The Angel was speaking to the shepherd children of Fatima, but his words are true for us as well. What did the Angel of Peace tell the children would be the end result of their (and our) obedience to these 3 requests?
ANSWER: We can bring peace to our nation.
5. What are "sacrifices"?
ANSWER: An offering that we make to God of our own free will of those things we enjoy or want to have.
6. What does it mean to "suffer with patience"?
ANSWER: To join our trials or difficulties with Jesus' suffering on the cross; to not be mean to others because we are not feeling well or something bad has happened to us.
1. One year prior to the apparitions of Our Lady to the three shepherd children, they were visited 3 times by the Angel of Peace, the Guardian Angel of Portugal sent by God the Father, to prepare the children for the tasks Our Lady would assign to each of them. During the first visitation he taught them this prayer known as the Pardon Prayer:
My God I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love you and I beg forgiveness for all those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope, and do not love you.
This prayer calls to mind the adoration due to God and the three Theological Virtues. What are the three theological virtues?
ANSWER: Faith, hope, and charity
2. When the Angel came a second time, the children were playing. When he arrived, he reprimanded them saying, "What are you doing? Pray. Pray much!" He continued:
Offer God a sacrifice of anything you can as an act of reparation for the sins with which He is offended and as a supplication for the conversion of sinners. Draw peace upon your country by doing this. Above all, accept and endure with submission whatever suffering the Lord sends you.
What is a sacrifice?
ANSWER: A sacrifice is an offering to God for love of Him made of our own free will. It can be the surrender of anything we enjoy or desire.
3. How does suffering differ from sacrifice?
ANSWER: Suffering differs from sacrifice, as it is not something we choose of our own free will. Instead, suffering is imposed on us by life and by circumstance.
4. In the fall of 1916, the Angel came for the final time. When he appeared to the children, he held in his hand a chalice. Above the chalice, suspended in mid air, was a host bleeding drops of blood into the chalice. He left the chalice and host suspended and prostrated himself before them. He prayed this prayer:
Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I adore Thee profoundly and offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the earth, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifferences with which He is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg Thee for the conversion of poor sinners.
Sacrileges refer to a lack of reverence for the Eucharistic presence of Our Lord. Failure to confess a mortal sin and failure to observe the fast before receiving Communion are some examples. "Indifferences" reveal a lukewarm heart. What are 3 examples of "indifferences"?
ANSWER: 1) Sitting idle during Mass; 2) Allowing ourselves to be distracted during Mass; 3) Talking during Mass; 4) Dressing inappropriately for Mass; 5) Arriving late for Mass or leaving early
5. The Angel taught the children to make "reparation" to God. What is meant by "reparation?
ANSWER: Reparation is an act of love (charity) to God in the form of prayer, sacrifice, or a good deed, in order to make up for another's failure or refusal to love Him.
6. What was the greatest act of reparation ever made?
ANSWER: The passion and death of our Lord.
All content on this page was researched and written by our former Parochial Vicar Fr. Frank Lomica and parishioner Claudia Williams in 2017. Permission to reproduce must be requested from Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Lakewood, CO.
Contact OLF Parish1. On the day the Blessed Mother first appeared, there was a big flash of light. The children thought it was going to rain, but instead a beautiful lady appeared. She was dressed all in white and she was so bright she seemed to be dressed in light! She wore a long necklace with a ball of light at the bottom and there was a bright star on the bottom of her dress. What did she hold in her hands?
ANSWER: Rosary
2. The Blessed Mother knew that such a brilliant spectacle would probably frighten the 3 little shepherds. What was the first thing Our Lady said to them?
ANSWER: Do not be afraid! I will do you no harm.
3. Lucia asked the beautiful Lady, "Where do you come from?" What did Our Lady tell her?
ANSWER: I am from Heaven.
4. The Blessed Mother asked the children to pray and offer sacrifices for poor sinners so they would stop disobeying God and be able to go to Heaven. A good prayer to pray would be the Hail Mary. Do you know the words to the Hail Mary? What sacrifices would you make to save poor sinners?
ANSWER: Open to each child
5. The visits by the Blessed Mother made the children very happy! But many of the people in the village didn't believe the children were telling the truth and they made of fun of them. This made them very sad. Jesus suffered on the Cross so we could go to Heaven. Do you think that when we are sad, or sick, or people make fun of us, that Jesus would be happy to use our suffering to help people go to Heaven?
ANSWER: Yes
1. On May 13th at about noon, the children were in the fields pasturing their sheep when they saw a brilliant flash of light. Thinking it was going to rain, they began to pack up their things to return home. After another flash they saw "a beautiful lady from Heaven" standing above a holm oak. She appeared to be about 17 years old dressed in white and surrounded by light. The first words Our Lady spoke are said many times in the Bible. What were those words?
ANSWER: Do not be afraid!
2. Lucia asked the Lady what she wanted of them. What did the Lady say?
ANSWER: I want you to come here on the 13th day for the next 6 months at this same hour.
3. At the time of the first apparition, the children did not know that the "beautiful lady from Heaven" was the Blessed Mother. When did they find out who she really was?
ANSWER: On the 13th of October.
4. What title did the Blessed Mother use to tell the children who she was?
ANSWER: I am the Lady of the Rosary.
5. There was one thing in particular the Blessed Mother asked us to do each time she came to see the children. What was this one thing?
ANSWER: To pray the Rosary every day.
6. Our Lady asked the children if they would be willing to accept any sufferings that God might send them and to pray and offer sacrifices. The children immediately answered they would be willing to do these things. Why did Our Lady say it was necessary for them, and us, to accept sufferings, to pray, and offer sacrifices?
ANSWER: To make reparation to God for sins committed and for the conversion of sinners.
1. Our Blessed Lady first appeared to the 3 children on May 13, 1917 at about noon. It was easy to speak to her, and Lucia asked many questions about Heaven and if they would go there and about some friends who had died recently. Our Lady told Lucia that one of them, Amelia, a young woman of about 18 or 20 years would be in Purgatory until the end of time. What is Purgatory?
ANSWER: Where souls go after death to expiate for sins confessed but for which the temporal punishments have not been voluntarily satisfied by penance during their lifetime.
2. The central point of the May apparition occurs when Our Lady asks the children if they would be willing to accept any sufferings that God might choose to send them for reparation for sin and for the conversion of souls. God will never force us to accept His missions for us. He wants us to accept of our free and loving will. The Blessed Virgin knows this better than anyone as exemplified by what experience in her life?
ANSWER: The Annunciation: "I am the handmaiden of the Lord; let it be done unto me according to your word."
3. By the time Our Lady appeared for the second time on June 13th, the children's sufferings had already begun. They suffered because of the unbelief in their families, especially Lucia whose mother became irate at her "lying" about the visit of the beautiful lady from heaven. Likewise, the people of their village shunned them due to their unbelief. They had also advanced along the road of "heroic virtue". What is "heroic virtue"?
ANSWER: Jesus Christ is the hero of all Christians. Those souls who most closely mirror His love of Father God and neighbor, and His self-giving nature, possess an almost second nature to go above and beyond the ordinary living of virtue.
4. What was the one thing Our Lady asked us to do at each of the six apparitions at Fatima, and what did she say would be the fruit of this action?
ANSWER: Pray the Rosary every day to obtain peace for the world and an end to the war.
5. At the time of the apparitions at Fatima, Portugal, like many of the countries in Europe, had become a secularist state run mainly by the Freemasons who were fierce haters of the Church and the priesthood. On the morning of August 13th as the children were making their way to the Cova to see Our Lady, they were taken by the administrator of the district. Convinced that the entire affair was a hoax perpetrated by the clergy for monetary gain, the administrator wanted the children to confess that they lied about the apparitions and to divulge the "secret" given to them on July 13th. He threatened them first with imprisonment and finally with death by boiling them in oil. The children responded that they were not lying, and could not tell the "secret", and if he chose to kill them they would go straight to Heaven so it didn't matter. Would you call this response on the part of the children a demonstration of "heroic virtue"? Why or why not?
ANSWER: Yes - because they, like all martyrs, refused to deny the Lord even at the cost of their own lives.
6. Word of the events at Fatima had spread throughout Portugal and beyond its borders. On September 13th, approximately 25,000 people crowded the tiny village and the Cova da Iria making it nearly impossible for the children to make their way to see Our Lady. Lucia wrote in her memoirs:
The roads were packed with people, and everyone wanted to see us and speak to us...Some climbed up to the tops of trees and walls to see us go by and shouted down to us...We managed to move forward, thanks to some gentlemen who went ahead and opened a passage for us through the multitude.
This experience had a powerful effect on her. To what biblical event did she compare it?
ANSWER: To the Gospel stories of the crowds surrounding Jesus as He made his way through the Holy Land.
All content on this page was researched and written by our former Parochial Vicar Fr. Frank Lomica and parishioner Claudia Williams in 2017. Permission to reproduce must be requested from Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Lakewood, CO.
Contact OLF Parish1. During Our Lady's visit in June, she asked Lucia to do something very important so she would be able to help Our Lady during her whole lifetime. What was this very important thing that Lucia was supposed to do?
ANSWER: Learn to read and write.
2. The 3 little shepherds were still so sad that people didn't believe in the visits of the Lady from Heaven. So in July, Lucia asked a big favor of Our Lady so that people would know that she really did come to visit them. What was this big favor?
ANSWER: That Our Lady would work a miracle.
3. What did Our Lady tell the children?
ANSWER: In October she would work a great miracle to help people believe.
4. Everyone would like to go to Heaven when our life on earth is over, but sadly many people don't love God or obey Him and so they can't go to Heaven. In July, Our Lady showed the 3 children where people go when they die if they don't love God. What did Our Lady show them?
ANSWER: A vision of Hell where poor sinners go.
5. God and Our Lady love us very much, even if we don't always love them back. So Our Lady told the children something they could do to help sinners go to Heaven. On a certain day each month, if we go to Mass, say the Rosary, and think about the lives of Jesus and Mary for a little while, we can help ourselves and other people go to Heaven. What is this practice called?
ANSWER: First Saturday Devotional
6. Many people who did not believe in God or the Blessed Virgin Mary were very angry that the shepherd children were visited by Our Lady. So in August before Our Lady came to visit them, the children were arrested and taken away from their families for 3 whole days! These people tried many ways to frighten the shepherds and to make them say they lied about Our Lady's visits to them. But the children were so very brave. They would not tell a lie. Even when they were told they would be boiled in oil if they wouldn't give in. What did Lucia tell the people who arrested them?
ANSWER: That she would prefer to die and go to Heaven rather than betray the Lady of Heaven.
1. Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco were very serious about their promise to pray and offer sacrifices for the conversion of sinners and to make reparation to God for sins committed. Sacrifices are things we enjoy or want that we offer to God for love of him. Name 2 sacrifices offered by the three shepherd children.
ANSWER: 1) They gave their lunches to poor children; 2) They would not drink water during the day; 3) They walked back and forth through sticker bushes; 4) They tied a piece of thick, rough rope around their waists; 5) They spent many hours on their knees with their heads to the ground praying instead of playing; 6) Jacinta, who loved to dance, decided to sacrifice her dancing.
2. Our Lady asked us to offer our sufferings to God for the conversion of sinners and in reparation to God for sins committed. Sufferings come to everyone at times in their lives. We do not choose to suffer as we choose to offer sacrifices. Francisco and Jacinta suffered greatly from the flu which took their young lives in 1919 and 1920 respectively. Lucia, however, lived to be 97 years old. Some of her sufferings included the loneliness she felt after her two cousins died. Name one other suffering she experienced.
ANSWER: 1) The cruel treatment she suffered at the hands of her mother and sisters due to their lack of belief in the apparitions; 2) Lucia suffered a darkness of the soul for one month brought on by her pastor's belief that the apparitions were a trick of the Devil.
3. During the July 13th apparition, Our Lady taught the children a new prayer that was to be added to the end of each decade of the Rosary known as the Rosary or Decade Prayer. What are the words to this prayer?
ANSWER: O my Jesus, forgive us our sins and save us from the fires of Hell. Lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy.
4. On July 13th, Our Lady told the children "this war will end". To which war was Our Lady referring?
ANSWER: World War I
5. But, she said, "If people do not cease offending God, a worse war will break out". Which war was Our Lady warning us about?
ANSWER: World War II
6. The Blessed Mother told the children that God would give a warning sign before the start of the next war. What was that sign and when did it occur?
ANSWER: The night of the "Crimson Fire" occurred on January 25, 1938.
1. The first of the secrets is the vision of hell given to the children. This vision is the reason Our Lady came to earth; she came to lead us away from this horrific vision back to the Beatific Vision. What is the Beatific Vision?
ANSWER: Beholding God face to face as the angelic spirits and the souls of the just see Him, resulting in perfect happiness. Heaven.
2. Our Lady told the children we must amend our lives and confess our sins so we can save our own souls, but in perfect charity we must also offer prayers and sacrifices for the souls of others. Why did Our Lady say this was important?
ANSWER: She told us that many souls go to Hell because there is no one to offer sacrifice for them.
3. At Fatima, the Blessed Virgin makes it very clear that peace in the world is directly tied to the conversion of sinners. What chastisement did she say was the result of sin?
ANSWER: War
4. The first part of the second secret of Fatima is Our Lady's request for the "Communion of Reparation" or the 5 First Saturdays Devotion. She told the children she would come sometime in the future to request it and that, if practiced, this devotion would prevent another world war and prevent the spread of Russian errors throughout the world. In 1925, Our Lady and the Christ Child appeared to Sister Lucia in her convent to explain the devotion and to request the spread of it throughout the world. One first Saturday is to be offered for each of the 5 blasphemies against the Virgin Mary. What are those blasphemies?
ANSWER: 1) Denying that she was conceived without sin (The Immaculate Conception); 2) Denying that she was a virgin before, during, and after the birth of the Lord (her perpetual virginity); 3) Denying that she is the Mother of God and Our Mother (given to us by Jesus on the cross); 4) Instilling contempt or indifference for Our Lady in the hearts of children; 5) Dishonor or desecration to images of Our Lady.
5. Our Lady of Fatima Parish has the celebration of the 5 First Saturdays. It can be celebrated every first Saturday of the year. Of what does this devotion consist?
ANSWER: 1) Receive Holy Communion; 2) Pray the Rosary; 3) Spend 15 minutes keeping Our Lady company by mediating on one of the mysteries of the Rosary; 4) Go to confession some time during the month; 5) All done with the intention of making reparation for one of the blasphemies against Our Lady.
6. The second part of the second Fatima secret is Our Lady's request for the Pope, in union with all the bishops of the world, to consecrate Russia to Our Lady's Immaculate Heart. As with the First Saturday devotion, this consecration was intended to convert Russia and prevent the spread of Communist errors throughout the world. Our Lady came to Sister Lucia in 1929 to ask for this to be done. However, the consecration was not done for many years. Jesus told Sister Lucia that it would be done, but it would be too late, that Russia would already have spread her errors throughout the world. When was the consecration successfully completed and by which Pope?
ANSWER: It was completed on March 25, 1984 by Pope John Paul II.
All content on this page was researched and written by our former Parochial Vicar Fr. Frank Lomica and parishioner Claudia Williams in 2017. Permission to reproduce must be requested from Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Lakewood, CO.
Contact OLF Parish1. All the time Our Lady was visiting the children, they really weren't sure exactly who she was. They called her "the Beautiful Lady from Heaven". During Our Lady's last visit, Lucia asked her, "Won't you tell us who you are?" What did the Lady answer?
ANSWER: I am the Lady of the Rosary.
2. On Our Lady's final visit to the children at Fatima, she kept the promise she made to Lucia to work a great miracle to help the people believe. What was the date of Our Lady's last visit and the great miracle?
ANSWER: October 13th
3. The Blessed Mother made the sun spin like a huge top! As the sun turned round, it radiated beautiful colors of every sort like a sparkler on the 4th of July. Then the sun began to move back and forth across the sky like a great pendulum. What do we call this great miracle today?
ANSWER: "The Day the Sun Danced", or "The Miracle of the Sun"
4. What work of art in our church shows what happened to the sun on that day?
ANSWER: The stained glass across the west side of the church.
5. There were many thousands of people at Fatima that day to see the great miracle Our Lady promised to perform. While the huge crowd of people was watching the sun, the three children, Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta, saw something very special just for them! What did they see?
ANSWER: They saw living pictures of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
6. Jesus' Mother, the Virgin Mary, is Our Lady of the Rosary, and she asks us to pray the Rosary every day to bring peace to the world. While we pray the Rosary we are to think about all the things Jesus and Mary did while they were here with us on earth. These are called the Mysteries of the Rosary. What are 2 of these Mysteries?
ANSWER: Name any of the 20
1. The "3 Secrets of Fatima" were told to the children by Our Lady during the July apparition. The first secret is a vision of hell she showed to the children. She wants us to know that hell is real and that, sadly, many people go there. Our Lady makes it very clear that peace in the world is directly tied to the conversion of sinners. This is why it is so important that we pray and offer sacrifices for the conversion of sinners. What chastisement did she say was the result of sin?
ANSWER: War
2. The second secret has two parts. In the first part, Our Lady told them something would prevent another war (World War II) and prevent the spread of Russian errors. In 1925, she appeared to Sister Lucia with the Christ Child to ask for the spread of what devotion?
ANSWER: Devotion of the 5 First Saturdays
3. The second part of the second secret is that Our Lady would come again to ask for the Holy Father, in union with all the bishops of the world, to make a consecration to Our Lady's Immaculate Heart in order to prevent Russia "from spreading her errors". She appeared to Sister Lucia in 1929 as she promised. What did Our Lady say would be the fruit of the consecration?
ANSWER: The conversion of Russia and a time of peace.
4. What were the errors that Our Lord and Our Lady were so concerned about?
ANSWER: Communism
5. The consecration to Our Lady's Immaculate Heart was not done until 1984. The Holy Father lived under Russian rule and was therefore well aware of the dangers to humanity of "Russian errors". Who was this Holy Father?
ANSWER: Pope John Paul II
6. The third secret of Fatima was another vision that Our Lady gave to Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco during the July apparition. The beginning of the vision shows an angel with a flaming sword threatening the earth with chastisement and calling out "Penance. Penance. Penance." But the flames are extinguished by what occurrence?
ANSWER: The intercession of the Blessed Mother.
1. As we saw in the last set of questions, Our Lord and Our Lady were very concerned about the spread of Russian errors throughout the world and gave us two ways to prevent that spread: the 5 First Saturday Devotion, and the consecration of Russia to Our Lady's Immaculate Heart. It is significant to note that the Bolshevik Revolution began in October 1917 during the time when Our Lady was visiting Fatima. Name the philosophy, and briefly define it, to which Our Lord and Our Lady refer as "errors". Contemplate how these errors have affected your life.
ANSWER: Communism - a materialistic philosophy that denies the existence of God and therefore rejects the God-given freedom and dignity of every human person, reducing man to a slave of the state.
2. Consistent with this dangerous philosophy, in 1920, Russia became the first country in the world to legalize what horrendous practice?
ANSWER: Abortion
3. At Fatima, Our Lady predicted "this war will end but, if my requests are not heard and men do not amend their lives, not much time will pass and another more terrible war will begin". What war was ongoing at the time of the Fatima apparitions, when did it begin and end, and what was the death toll?
ANSWER: World War I began in the summer of 1914 and ended on November 11, 1918, with a death toll of 20 million.
4. Our Lady told the children that a great sign would appear in the night sky announcing the beginning of the next chastisement (War). The sign was great indeed. All over Europe, a "crimson fire" filled the night sky causing people to call out the fire brigades in fear that something huge was burning. The world called it an aurora borealis, but Sister Lucia wrote that this was the sign that chastisement was near. When did it occur and what happened 3 months later setting into motion the next war?
ANSWER: It occurred on the night of January 25, 1938. On March 12, 1938, Hitler declared the annexation of Austria into Germany.
5. What was the next war, when did it begin and end, what was the death toll, and what is the significance of the ending date?
ANSWER: World War II began when Hitler invaded Poland on September 1, 1938 and ended on August 15, 1945. The death toll surpassed 65 million. August 15th is the Feast of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven.
6. The Lord God never leaves pain and tragedy as the final word. He always ends on a hope-filled note. What was Our Lady's final prediction at Fatima? Do you think this has happened, or are we still to look forward to it?
ANSWER: "In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph."
All content on this page was researched and written by our former Parochial Vicar Fr. Frank Lomica and parishioner Claudia Williams in 2017. Permission to reproduce must be requested from Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Lakewood, CO.
Contact OLF Parish1. Francisco Marto was a typical little boy who loved the little animals of the fields and was very good at playing the flute. He was 9 years old when Our Lady came to visit Fatima. He was not able to see Our Lady like Jacinta and Lucia were, but he could hear everything she said. Our Lady said he would go to Heaven, but there was something he had to do first. What was it that Francisco had to do?
ANSWER: Pray many rosaries.
2. Francisco loved to spend many hours praying behind the altar at the foot of the tabernacle where the priests keep Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. The three shepherd children loved Jesus very much in Holy Communion. What did they call the Eucharist?
ANSWER: The Hidden Jesus
3. Francisco became very sick and suffered a great deal. Our Lady came to take him to Heaven in April of 1919 when he was just 11 years old. Francisco offered God all his suffering and prayers for a very special intention. What was this intention?
ANSWER: To comfort Jesus for all the sins that hurt Him very much.
4. Jacinta Marto was Francisco's little sister, and she was only 7 years old when Our Lady visited Fatima. Jacinta loved to dance whenever Francisco played the flute. She also loved Jesus the Good Shepherd. What did Jacinta do to imitate Jesus the Good Shepherd?
ANSWER: She would take the littlest lamb and put it on her shoulders, just like Jesus.
5. Just like her brother, Jacinta also became very sick and suffered very much. Our Lady came to take her to Heaven in February of 1920 when she was 10 years old. She offered God all her suffering and prayers for a very great intention. What was her intention?
ANSWER: To save the souls of poor sinners from going to Hell.
6. Jacinta and Francisco were very holy children, and Our Lady told them they would go to Heaven. People who go to Heaven are called Saints. Sometimes Father God tells us certain people are in Heaven by performing miracles through their prayers. It takes one miracle to become a "blessed" and another to become a "saint". Jacinta and Francisco were first "blessed". The Holy Father approved a second miracle for Jacinta and Francisco. On May 13, 2017 Pope Francis visited Fatima to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Our Lady's appearance there. What did he do when he went to Fatima?
ANSWER: He canonized Jacinta and Francisco, and made them saints.
1. We looked at the third secret of Fatima during the last set of questions and we saw the angel with the flaming sword calling for penance. As the vision continues, the children saw a "bishop dressed in white" climbing up a steep mountain with a huge cross at the top. As he climbed he prayed for the souls of those who were killed as they were climbing the mountain. When the bishop reached the top, he was shot by soldiers and killed. Who did Pope St. John Paul II believe was the "bishop dressed in white"?
ANSWER: He thought the Bishop was himself.
2. And who did he think were the people who died climbing the mountain?
ANSWER: The martyrs of the 20th century.
3. At the time of Our Lady's apparitions at Fatima, Portugal was ruled by Freemasons who do not believe in God and who hated the Catholic Church. The mayor of the district of Fatima was also a Freemason. He devised a plan to prove the children were lying about Our Lady's apparitions. What did he do on the 13th of August just as the children were going to meet Our Lady?
ANSWER: He kidnapped them and kept them prisoner for three days.
4. The mayor tried everything he could think of to make them say they were lying: he spent many hours questioning them and bullying them. He put them in jail and when he released them from the prison he threatened to kill them. How did he say they would die? After all this terror, how did the children respond?
ANSWER: 1) By being boiled in oil; 2) By telling the mayor if he killed them they would go straight to Heaven and so it didn't matter.
5. On October 13th, Our Lady visited Fatima for the final time. During this apparition she performed the great miracle she promised the children to help us believe in her appearances. While the crowd of 70,000 people witnessed the Miracle of the Sun, the children saw visions of Our Lord, Our Lady, and St. Joseph who gave their blessings to the world. What happened during the Miracle of the Sun?
ANSWER: The sun became like a silver disk that could easily be looked at, and then it spun around shooting out all the colors of the rainbow. It began to descend to the earth, terrifying all the people who thought they would be killed.
6. Lucia saw a vision that was just for her alone. She saw Our Lady of Mount Carmel which was a prophecy as one day Lucia would become a Carmelite Nun. To which saint did Our Lady of Mount Carmel first appear and what did she give to the saint that became part of the Carmelite habit?
ANSWER: Our Lady appeared to St. Simon Stock, and she gave him a brown scapular.
1. The third and final secret of Fatima is a second vision the children were given during the July 13th apparition. This vision was written down by Sister Lucia in 1944 and given in a sealed envelope to her bishop. The first part of the vision shows a mighty angel with a flaming sword threatening the earth with chastisement and calling out "Penance. Penance. Penance." But the flames are extinguished by the intercession of the Blessed Mother. What does the angel mean by "Penance"?
ANSWER: Penance (or repentance) includes reformation of life, grief for one's sins, and a willingness to perform reparation for one's sins.
2. The second part of the vision is: We saw a Bishop dressed in white and 'we had the impression that it was the Holy Father'. Other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious going up a steep mountain, at the top of which there was a big Cross of rough-hewn trunks as of a cork-tree with the bark; before reaching there the Holy Father passed through a big city half in ruins, and half trembling with halting step, afflicted with pain and sorrow, he prayed for the souls of the corpses he met on his way; having reached the top of the mountain, on his knees at the foot of the big Cross, he was killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him, and in the same way there died one after another the other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious, and various lay people of different ranks and positions. Beneath the two arms of the Cross there were two Angels each with a crystal aspersorium in his hand, in which they gathered up the blood of the Martyrs and with it sprinkled the souls that were making their way to God. Pope St. John Paul II requested the envelope in 1981 while he was in the hospital. What event made him desire to read the 3rd Fatima secret and when did it occur?
ANSWER: The assassination attempt on his life by Ali Agca on May 13, 1981.
3. St. John Paul saw himself as the "bishop dressed in white" and he saw all those who died as they were climbing the mountain as what group of people?
ANSWER: The martyrs of the 20th century.
4. The October 13th apparition is by far the most famous as this is when the Miracle of the Sun occurred, witnessed by 70,000 people of every walk of life including the press and members of the secular government. While the vast crowd was watching the sun dance and spin in the sky, the 3 children witnessed a miracle all their own. The Blessed Mother presented them living pictures of herself, St Joseph, and Jesus. The first picture depicts the Holy Family: Mary is with St Joseph who is holding the Child Jesus and they are making the sign of the cross over the world. Mary is dressed in blue and white as Our Lady of the Rosary. What Mysteries of the Rosary does this tableau suggest?
ANSWER: Joyful Mysteries
5. In the next scene, Christ appears at the base of the sun cloaked in red and with Him is Our Lady dressed in the purple gown of Dolours. What Mysteries of the Rosary is suggested here?
ANSWER: Sorrowful Mysteries
6. Finally, Our Lady appears in the brown robes of the Carmelite Order; Our Lady of Mount Carmel, crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth. Shown to Lucia alone who would later become a Carmelite Nun. This picture is representative of which Mysteries of the Rosary?
ANSWER: Glorious Mysteries
All content on this page was researched and written by our former Parochial Vicar Fr. Frank Lomica and parishioner Claudia Williams in 2017. Permission to reproduce must be requested from Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Lakewood, CO.
Contact OLF Parish1. Lucia was 10 years old when Our Lady came to visit Fatima. After Our Lady's visits, Lucia was sent to a school run by the Sisters of St Dorothy. She became a nun when she was old enough. The Blessed Mother had a lot of work for Sister Lucia to do and it took a very long time to complete all this work. She lived a very long time. How old was Sister Lucia when she died in 2005?
ANSWER: Sister Lucia was 97 years old.
2. Shortly after Our Lady's visits to Fatima ended, Lucia's mother became very sick and they thought she might die. Lucia went to the place where Our Lady visited with the children and prayed that Our Lady would save the life of her mother. Lucia promised to do something special if Our Blessed Mother granted her prayer. This special act of thanksgiving to Our Lady has become a tradition at Fatima and it is still done today by people who love Our Lady. What was this act of thanksgiving?
ANSWER: Lucia promised that for nine days in a row she and her sisters would process to the place of Our Lady's visits on their knees while praying the Rosary.
3. Sister Lucia was to make Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary and her Immaculate Heart known and loved throughout the world. What was one of the ways Sister was given by Jesus and Mary to do this?
ANSWER: Devotion of the 5 First Saturdays
4. In 1929, Our Lady of Fatima came to see Sister Lucia in her convent. She came with the Holy Trinity, God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, to ask for something very important to be done by the Pope to bring peace to the world. What was this important request?
ANSWER: The consecration of Russia to Our Lady's Immaculate Heart.
5. Another job Sister Lucia was given by Our Lady was to write the story of Fatima. She wrote everything that happened there and all about her cousins, their families, and the village of Fatima in books called "memoirs". In her writing, Sister told about her First Confession and First Holy Communion. After her confession, she went to a statue of Our Lady to pray. What happened while she was praying?
ANSWER: Lucia saw the statue of the Blessed Mother smile at her.
6. What did Lucia say about the first time she received Jesus in the Eucharist?
ANSWER: The presence of Jesus in the Eucharist became very real to her as if she had seen Him with her eyes and heard Him with her ears.
1. The children of Fatima were Lucia Dos Santos aged 10, and her cousins Francisco Marto aged 9 and Jacinta Marto aged 7. Lucia was youngest of 7 children, one of whom died in infancy. Francisco and Jacinta were the youngest of 8 children; of those, four died during the flu epidemic in 1918/1919 and one son was killed in combat in World War I. As was common at the time, the youngest children in the family were the shepherds. Only one of the children's parents believed in the authenticity of the apparitions from the very beginning. This caused the children, especially Lucia, a great deal of suffering. Lucia endured physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her mother and sisters who did not believe until well after the apparitions ended. Which parent was it that said, "I know these children. They do not lie. If they said they saw a beautiful lady from Heaven, I believe it"?
ANSWER: Ti Marto, the father of Jacinta and Francisco
2. During the visitations of the Angel in 1916 and Our Lady in 1917, all three of the children could see the apparitions, but only two of them could hear what the Angel and Our Lady said, and Lucia was the only one who spoke. Which two could see and hear?
ANSWER: Lucia and Jacinta; Francisco could only see them.
3. In the June apparition, Our Lady told the children that she would come soon to take Francisco and Jacinta to Heaven, but Lucia would have to stay "some time longer". This was a cause of great sadness to Lucia who would lose her cousins, her best friends, and her only confidants. What did Our Blessed Mother say to Lucia to console her?
ANSWER: "Are you suffering a great deal? Don't lose heart. I will never forsake you."
4. At the time of the June apparition, Our Lady told Lucia that God wanted to use her to make Our Lady's Immaculate Heart known and loved through the world. Sister Lucia lived a very long life and Jesus and Mary would appear to her many times after the 1917 apparitions. During some of these visits, they would ask her to do 3 things for God. What were they?
ANSWER: 1) To spread the Devotion of the 5 First Saturdays; 2) To make sure the Holy Father consecrated Russia to her Immaculate Heart; 3) To make known all the events that occurred in Fatima through her memoirs.
5. Francisco died in April of 1919 and Jacinta died on February 20, 1920. They were both beatified by Pope St. John Paul II on May 13, 2000 after the first miracle was approved, and was canonized by Pope Francis on May 13, 2017. What do we call someone who has been "beatified" and what do we call them after they are "canonized"?
ANSWER: Blesseds are beatified and saints are canonized.
6. After she finished her schooling, Lucia joined the order of Saint Dorothy, the nuns that provided her education. But after some time she desired to move to another order where there was more time for prayer and contemplation. As prophesied during the vision on October 13, 1917, Sister Lucia received permission to transfer to the Discalced Carmelites. What does "discalced" mean?
ANSWER: Barefoot
Sister Lucia died in 2005 at the age of 97 and is buried with her two cousins at the great cathedral in Fatima. Her bishop submitted her cause for canonization to the Vatican in February 2017 and we are awaiting approval of the first miracle for her beatification.
1. Lucia Dos Santos (age 10) had a lively personality. She was the child around whom all the children gathered. Her cousins, Francisco and Jacinta, had a special love for her and desired to do everything she did. Lucia received First Holy Communion at the age of 6, at a time when the normal age to receive was 10. She was given a dispensation to do so because of her ardent desire to receive and her excellent knowledge of the Faith. After her First Confession, she went to the statue of Our Lady to pray that she keep her heart for God alone. When she looked up at the statue, Our Lady smiled at her. The next day, receiving Holy Communion for the first time, Lucia wrote about her profound experience: "Our Lord became clearly perceptible to me as if I had seen and heard Him with my bodily senses." Lucia became a Dorothean Sister but, desiring a more meditative life, she requested and received permission to join the Carmelites. She spent her life completing Heaven's task for her "to make the Immaculate Heart known and loved throughout the world". She died at the age of 97 in 2005. Sister Lucia's bishop accepted her cause for canonization and granted her the title "Servant of God". The bishop submitted the cause to Rome on February 13, 2017. There are 4 steps to canonization: What are the next 3 steps and what is required to move from step to step?
ANSWER: Step #2 "Venerable" - the candidate's cause is submitted to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints who must prove the candidate possessed heroic virtue; Step #3 "Blessed" - the candidate has been granted the first miracle by God and has been approved by the Congregation; Step #4 "Saint" - the candidate has been granted a second approved miracle.
2. Francisco Marto was age 9 the year Our Lady appeared at Fatima. He was passive and quiet and seemed not to care about much of anything. He was fond of playing practical jokes that sometimes got out of hand. He enjoyed catching lizards and snakes, and often brought them home to the horror of his mother and older sisters. After the apparitions, Francisco found something to care about very much: sin and how much it injures Our Lord. He deeply regretted his past sins and was very fond of saying, "We must not commit not even the littlest of sins!" Through the grace of God he became a young contemplative spending many hours behind the altar at the foot of the tabernacle praying to console Our Lord and Our Lady for the sins of mankind. Following the apparitions, large numbers of pilgrims began to flock to Fatima. Frequently, Francisco would be asked what he wanted to be in he grew up, many expecting him to say a priest. What answer did Francisco give to this question?
ANSWER: I don't want to be anything. I want to die and go to heaven.
Late in 1918, he contracted the flu that killed about 20 million people around the world. Once or twice he seemed to rally but he knew this illness would end in his death. His greatest desire was to receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament before he died. A favor that was granted to him the day before the Blessed Mother came to bring him to Heaven. After months of great suffering, he died in April of 1919.
3. Jacinta Marto was a mere 7 years old in 1917. She was a very determined and headstrong personality, much like St Therese of Lisieux; a little spoiled and very much prone to pouting when she didn't get her way. Jacinta possessed a natural grace and she loved to dance. She once saw a picture of Jesus as the Good Shepherd carrying a lamb across His shoulders. Thereafter, she would take the littlest lamb and place it around her shoulders in imitation of Him. Similar to her brother, Jacinta also was given a vocation. While his was making reparation for sins, hers was the conversion of sinners. All her sufferings and prayers were offered for this intention. She contracted the flu, a month or so before Francisco, which produced a large abscess in her stomach causing her unthinkable pain. Several months before her death, Our Lady visited Jacinta and asked if she would be willing to suffer longer to save more souls from hell, a request that was eagerly accepted by this little child. Jacinta died in Lisbon far from her family in February of 1920. She was buried in a used Communion dress tied with a blue ribbon in honor of Our Lady. Her body was moved from its original burial spot to the parish church in Fatima in 1935. What was remarkable about this event?
ANSWER: When the coffin was opened, there was a lovely fragrance and her body was found to be incorrupt.
4. Both Francisco and Jacinta were proclaimed Blessed and beatified by Pope St. John Paul II on May 13, 2000. As a second miracle was approved by the Vatican, Pope Francis canonized them on May 13, 2017. The three shepherds of Fatima were always looking for ways to offer sacrifice in reparation for sin and the conversion of sinners. One day while pasturing their sheep, Lucia found a length of rough hewn rope which she tied around her arm. After some time she noticed it caused her pain. They cut the rope into three parts and each tied it around their waist under their clothing. The children wore the rope all day and all night from then on, and it often caused them to bleed. During the September 13th apparition, Our Lady mentions this rope. What did she say?
ANSWER: "God is pleased with your sacrifices. He does not want you to sleep with the rope. But only wear it during the day."