On May 13 ^th, 1917, three children—nine-year-old Lúcia dos Santos and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto who were 7 and 6 at the time—were herding sheep in a village near Fatima in Portugal. While they were out, they were visited by, what they described as, "the Lady more brilliant than the Sun". The woman wore a white mantle edged with gold and held a rosary in her hand. She asked them to devote themselves to the Holy Trinity and to pray "the Rosary every day, to bring peace to the world and an end to the war". While the children had never told anyone about seeing the angel, Jacinta told her family about seeing the brightly lit woman. Lúcia had earlier said that the three should keep this experience private. Jacinta's disbelieving mother told neighbors about it as a joke, and within a day the whole village knew of the children's vision. The children said the woman told them to return to the place of their encounter on the same day on the next month. The Lady appeared again on that day, and on that same day on each following month for 5 months. The Lady’s message was simple: Pray; to pray in reparation for sinners, for the conversion of sinners, and in particular to pray the Rosary every day to bring peace to the world and an end to the war [WWI]".
Doubt about the children’s’ stories grew among the people. So, for her last appearance, the Lady promised a miracle. On October 13 ^th, 1917, a huge crowd (reports indicate anywhere between 30,000-100,000 people) assembled with the children at the site of the apparitions. It was a rainy, muddy day, but when the Lady appeared, the sun came out. The sun came out and began to dance all across the sky; peoples’ clothes that had been soaked became dry, and their muddy boots became clean. This event is well documented and is called “the miracle of the Sun.”
Today, May 13, is the feast day of Our Lady of Fatima & marks the day of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s first appearance to the three children.