In 1917, on the 13th day of each month from May to October, the Blessed Virgin Mary came down from heaven to the Cova da Iria in the village of Fatima, Portugal appeared to three young Portuguese children. She asked and still asks of all of us three things: penance, prayer, and devotion to her Immaculate Heart.
Her message in all the visions remained the same. She asked that we:
- offer prayer and sacrifice for the souls of sinners to be saved from the fires of hell
- stop offending Jesus Christ through sins and lack of faith in and devotion to Him
- offer reparation for the offenses and blasphemies against her Immaculate Heart
- pray for the consecration of the world, and specifically for consecration of Russia, to avoid war, injustice, and oppression
Mary asked for the Holy Rosary to be prayed daily for the intentions indicated in her messages.
On October 13, 1917, the Blessed Virgin Mary made her last appearance and revealed that she was the Lady of the Rosary. She also invoked the Miracle of the Sun. The sun seemed to fade and glow, rotate, rise, and fall. It also emitted many colours. This miracle of the sun dancing was witnessed by approximately 70, 000 people.
In October 1930, the Church declared the visions and miracles worthy of belief by the faithful.
Five First Saturdays of Reparation Devotion
Mary also revealed to the three children of Fatima the devotion of the Five First Saturdays of Reparation. She asked that the First Saturday of every month become a day of prayers for the reparation of sin.
To practice the devotion, do the following on the First Saturday of each month for 5 consecutive months, offering everything for the conversion of sinners and reparation of offenses to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
- Receive the Sacrament of Penance
- Receive Holy Communion
- Pray the Rosary
- Spend 15 minutes keeping Mary company while meditating on the Mysteries of the Rosary.
The Fatima Prayers
“Do not lose heart. I will never forsake you. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way that will lead you to God.”
Prayers taught by the Angel of Peace
Prior to the First Apparition of the Blessed Mother, the Angel of Peace taught these two prayers to the children of Fatima.
My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love You. I ask pardon for those who do not believe in You, do not adore You, do not hope in You, do not love You.
Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly, and I offer You the Most Precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of the same Son, Jesus Christ, present in all the Tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the sacrileges, outrages, and indifferences by which He Himself is offended. And by the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart, and through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You the conversion of poor sinners.
Prayers taught by Our Lady of Fatima
Oh, Most Holy Trinity, I adore You; my God, my God, I love You in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
O my Jesus, forgive us our sins , save us from the fires of Hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of Your mercy. [Our Lady requested this be prayed after each one of the mysteries of the Rosary]
O my Jesus, it is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer this sacrifice to You. [To be prayed when offering a sacrifice]
Litany to Our Lady of Fatima
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for our dear country.
Our Lady of Fatima, sanctify our clergy.
Our Lady of Fatima, make our Catholics more fervent.
Our Lady of Fatima, guide and inspire those who govern us.
Our Lady of Fatima, cure the sick who confide in you.
Our Lady of Fatima, console the sorrowful who trust in you.
Our Lady of Fatima, help those who invoke your aid.
Our Lady of Fatima, deliver us from all dangers.
Our Lady of Fatima, help us to resist temptation.
Our Lady of Fatima, obtain for us all that we lovingly ask of you.
Our Lady of Fatima, make our family life holy.
Our Lady of Fatima, help those who are dear to us.
Our Lady of Fatima, bring back to the right road our erring brothers and sisters.
Our Lady of Fatima, give us back our ancient fervor.
Our Lady of Fatima, obtain for us pardon of our manifold sins and offenses.
Our Lady of Fatima, bring all people to the feet of your Divine Child.
Our Lady of Fatima, obtain peace for the world.
O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Let us pray: O God of infinite goodness and mercy, fill our hearts with a great confidence in Your most holy Mother, whom we invoke under the title of Our Lady of the Rosary and Our Lady of Fatima, and grant us by her most powerful intercession all the graces, spiritual and temporal, which we need. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Pope St. John Paul II and Our Lady of Fatima
An attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II took place on Wednesday, 13 May 1981, in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City. The pope was shot and wounded while he was entering the square. The pope credited his miraculous survival to Our Lady of Fatima, to whom he had a deep devotion. He later said he felt it was a “mother’s hand that guided the bullet’s path.”
A year after the attempted assassination, May 13, 1982, Pope John Paul II placed a bullet fragment from the attack in the crown of Our Lady of Fatima in the Sanctuary of Fatima, Portugal.
On January 19, 2005 the statue of Our Lady of Fatima at St. Agnes parish was blessed by Pope John Paul II during a General Audience with the Pope in Rome. The statue was a gift from Fr. Mirek Drozdek, Rector of the sanctuary in Zakopane, Poland, dedicated to our Lady of Fatima. Less than three months later, on April 2, 2005, the Vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday, Pope John Paul II died. He was beatified on May 1, 2011 and was canonized April 27, 2014, Divine Mercy Sunday.
Pope St. John Paull II, pray for us.
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.
Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The act of consecration means that we accept her help in offering ourselves fully to Jesus. The whole world has been repeatedly consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary by different popes: Pius XII, Paul VI and Francis.
Pope St. John Paul II consecrated the entire Church and world to Mary three times during his pontificate. Particularly elevated was his act of consecration celebrated together with all the bishops of the world on March 25, 1984.
In Canada, early Jesuit missionaries consecrated their missions to Mary Immaculate. Canadian bishops first consecrated the country to Mary at a National Marian Congress in Ottawa in 1947 and then again in 1954. In 2017, the bishops renewed the consecration as part of the celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of Confederation (which was also the 100th anniversary of the Fatima apparitions). Most recently, the bishops of Canada consecrated all the nation to the Blessed Virgin Mary on May 1, 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
St. Agnes Parish has witnessed several times the act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This took place either individually or in groups. The whole Parish family was also consecrated to our Immaculate Mother. We encourage everyone to make such consecration.
Saint Agnes Catholic Church - Waterloo Ontario 