Our Lady of Fatima

Between May and October of 1917 the Blessed Virgin appeared to three children at Cova da Iria near Fatima, Portugal. The oldest of the children, Lucia Abobora was only ten years old at the time but had the wisdom of someone much older and instructed her younger cousins Francisco and Jacinta Martos that they should tell no one of their experience. Young Jacinta however decided to tell about their visitor and this led to much ridicule and persecution for the three young mystics. Our Lady had told them they would suffer greatly and that they should offer up their suffering for all of the sinners of the world. The fact that they were helping to save sinners by their suffering gave these children much comfort in their sufferings and this was especially true of Francisco and Jacinta since Mother Mary had informed them that she would take them to heaven soon. In less than three years both of these children were dead. The Church was, as is prudent, slow to accept the miracle at Fatima but has now fully accepted what happened there and millions of Catholics have an extra prayer at the end of each decade of the Rosary because of it. Those who refuse to believe in miracles still can't fully explain the actions of the Sun during the Virgin's last visit in October 1917 that was witnessed by over 70,000 people at the site and hundreds of others who were miles away from Cova da Iria. It is especially interesting to note that Socialist newspaper men who were there in order to inform their readers that the whole thing was a hoax had to admit that they had seen the miracle also. William Walsh first published this book in 1947 after extensive interviews with the surviving child and others that were involved. He also made careful study of Lucia Abobora's journals of the events that she had written well after the fact at the insistence of a Bishop. This careful research and the interviews along with many visits to the sight of the visitation have enabled the author to write what still may be the best book available on the subject. The writing is a little lax grammatically at times but more than makes up for that with style. This is a very easy to read and clear account of the events at Fatima and even someone with no Catholic background at all will be able to follow the story with no problem. Even those who refuse to believe will I think find this book enjoyable and will if nothing else be able to see the life of early twentieth century Portuguese peasants as they lived through the upheavals going on all around them. Since this story continues to unfold this book does show it's age to some extent For example, the secret the children would not tell to anyone has long since been revealed. Also, since the death of the last child only this past February, the Vatican has sealed her cell (she became a nun) and a team of investigators will be going through her papers to see what else might be revealed. There may indeed be much more of this story to be told and the event

I recently converted to Catholicism so I really didn't know that much about the apparations of Our Lady. After reading this book my only reaction was, "Why didn't anyone tell me about this?" This book reads like a novel but is informative about the events of Fatima as well. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in learning about this miraculous event.

This is one the very best books on the subject. The author is truly gifted in telling the story of Fatima. ...[The] apparitions at Fatima have been the most thoroughly investigated in history, and anyone who knows the rigourous standards that the Catholic Church places on such investigations knows it does not advance such venerations as it enthusiastically does such as for the Apparitions of Fatima without it's full belief that these events are valid. In fact, many newspaper reporters were present on the day of the Miracle of Sun, some very unfriendly to the subject of "supposed apparitions" occurring in a remote village in Portugal, which at that time was controlled by socialistic forces. These newpapers (which are documented in the book) came to witness what they thought would be a non-event, and were in the end forced to corroborate the veracity of some very unusual happenings having taken place there--astonishing ones. So to say that they didn't take place because a reviewer below said that the New York Times didn't report it, is just stupid. There were very many witnesses and a great deal of testimony taken from Fatima that this book thoroughly details.... Start with this book. In it you'll find a rich vein of history, spirituality, and truth.

I've read many books on Fatima, and this is the best--hands down. William Thomas Walsh's writing is truly magnificent. Fatima literally comes alive in these pages, with rich descriptions, and a truly exciting prose style. I must disagree with a previous reviewer that said that the book's age is beginning to show. The apparitions of Fatima occurred in 1917. The fact that the book was written closer to the time-frame of the occurrences there is an asset, not a detriment. And yet the book and it's well regarded message could not be more current. This one is not to be missed.

After reading and searching for the past 5 years about the information about Fatima this book is by far the best. Everything you ever wanted to know about fatima from the begining to the present is all here.