The angel of peace

Today, October 7, is the liturgical Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary, so perhaps it's fitting that I write the last of the posts about our visit at Fatima this morning.  Strangely enough, although I had heard the story of the apparitions to the little shepherds: that two of the visionaries had died very shortly after the 1917 series of visions, and even that Lucia was still alive until 2005, living in a cloistered convent in Portugal, I don't recall having heard tell of the angel of peace who appeared to them one year prior to the apparitions of the Virgin.

Artist's rendition of the first apparition of the angel of peace

The first such encounter took place at the well located just outside Lucia's family home.  According to the testimony which Lucia wrote at the request of her religious superiors, the angel appeared as though surrounded by cloud and spoke to the children, asking them to pray for peace.  The angel never did reveal his name but simply asked them to pray for peace.

A subsequent apparition of the angel of peace

According to Sister Lucia's account, the angel appeared to the children a number of times during the year 1916.  On one of these occasions, as though to prove the validity of his request for them to pray for peace, he fed them.  The angel distributed a host to both Lucia and to Jacinta, but did not give bread to Francisco since he had not yet received First Communion.  Instead, the angel gave him a cup and asked him to drink.

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Our Lady of Fatima

During the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin which took place a year afterward, the Lady revealed three secrets to the children.  Two of these secrets were revealed in Lucia's memoirs and the third was revealed only many years afterward.  The controversy over these secrets continues, although the official explanation which we received from our guide says that the first two secrets were related to the fact that the world was at war during the time of the visions and that the third secret was fulfilled on May 13, 1981 with the assassination attempt against His Holiness, John Paul II which took place on that day.

His Holiness visited Fatima on a number of occasions.  One year after the attempt on his life, he travelled to the town to pray in thanksgiving to the Virgin and to leave there the bullet which was removed from his body.  The bullet has been placed in the crown of the statue of the virgin which stands at the spot where the apparitions took place.