This should help all realize the power of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. She is Mother of the Church and she cares about all her children.
Below is a summary of significant dates to the Fatima Family Apostolate of only some of the events of recent years. They will serve as signs of Marian interventions in Church and world history. These events remind us Mary does not forget her children.
May 13 to October 13, 1917 – The Mother of God appears to three little shepherd children near
Fatima, Portugal on the 13th of six consecutive months. Our Lady gives a message
of hope and warning of dangers to humanity and the faith of people of the
Church. She comes as Our Lady of Light and of the Holy Eucharist. She speaks of
the errors of Russia to spread to all nations. She tells of great persecutions
to the Church, the Holy Father, the danger of souls falling into hell.
She appears holding her Immaculate Heart in her hand
and says: God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart.
… I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart,
and the Communion of reparation on the first Saturdays.
If my wishes are fulfilled, Russia will be converted
and there will be peace. If not, Russia will spread her errors throughout the
world, promoting wars, and persecution of the Church. The good will be martyred,
the Holy Father will have much to suffer …. Our Lady says that Francisco and
Jacinta will die soon and go to heaven but Lucia must remain many years in the
world to promote devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Sr. Lucia is still
living at the end of the second millennium.
During the same six months, Our Lady is appearing in
Portugal. Lenin is in Russia organizing the Bolshevik Revolution which takes
over the government of Russia with the goal of conquering the world for
atheism.
December 10, 1925 -
Our Lady of Fatima appears to Sr. Lucia now in the convent in Pontevedra, Spain
and asks for sacramental reparation of Confession and Holy Communion on First
Saturdays, plus praying the Rosary with meditation on its mysteries.
First Saturdays are associated with the spiritual
welfare of Russia. A spiritual bonus is promised to individuals of Marys
intercession to assist at the hour of death with all the graces necessary for
salvation all those who, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, 
perform the acts of reparation requested. Reparation
on every first Saturday however is encouraged for the good of
mankind.
June 13, 1929 -
Sister Lucia in the Convent at Tuy, Spain receives an appearance of Our Lady of
Fatima to ask the Pope and bishops of the world for the Consecration of Russia
to her Immaculate Heart, promising by this means to prevent the spreading of its
errors and to bring about its conversion.
June 13, 1929 onward to March 25, 1984
- Sister Lucia prays and sacrifices, seeking
practical ways to get the Pope to have the bishops of the world join him in
consecrating the world and Russia in particular to the Immaculate Heart of
Mary.
December 20, 1940 -
Sister Lucia is permitted for the first time to write to the Holy Father, Pope
Pius XII, asking for this Consecration of Russia. Pope Pius XII in subsequent
years consecrates the world and later Russia but does so alone, not with the
worlds bishops as required by Our Lady of Fatima.
October 31, 1942 -
Pope Pius XII consecrates the world to the Immaculate Heart of
Mary
May 13, 1946 - Pius
XII through a legate crowns the image of Our Lady of Fatima and proclaims her
Queen of the World. Popes begin calling Fatima Altar of the
World.
October 13, 1951 -
Closing ceremonies for the Holy Year of the universal Church is held at
Fatima.
July 7, 1952 - Pius
XII consecrates the Russian people to the Immaculate Heart
of Mary.
November 21, 1964 -
Pope Paul VI renews Pius XII’s consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart,
speaking to the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council but still does it alone.
Sister Lucia insists it should be collegial.
May 13, 1965 - Pope
Paul VI sends a Golden Rose to Fatima, confiding the entire Church to our Ladys
protection and gives official Church recognition of Fatimas significance for the
universal Church.
May 13, 1967 - Pope
Paul VI goes to Fatima, as the first Pope to go there as a pilgrim. There he
calls for renewed consecration to the Immaculate Heart.
May 13, 1981 - Pope
John Paul II is shot in St. Peters Square on May 13, anniversary of the first
apparition at Fatima. During the long months of suffering and recuperation in
Gemelli Hospital, the Holy Father requests and studies more deeply documents
relating to Fatima. His determination to consecrate Russia with bishops of the
world grows stronger. In leaving the clinic he remarks: I have come to
understand that the only way to save the world from war, to save it from
atheism, is the conversion of Russia according to the message of
Fatima.
May 12-13, 1982 -
The Pope visits Fatima to thank Our Lady for sparing his life and says: In the
plans of Divine Providence I also saw an appeal and, who knows, a reminder of
the message which came from here 65 years ago. … He conducted a consecration
of the world and Russia at that time but many bishops did not receive the
request to join him in time and Sister Lucia said it did not fulfill all the
requirements.
March 25, 1984 -
Pope John Paul II having sent invitations already in December 1983 to the worlds
bishops, including Orthodox, to join him on March 25, 1984, he had Bishop Amaral
of Fatima bring the Miraculous statue from the Cova da Iria at Fatima to the
Vatican for the Collegial Consecration of the world and Russia to the Immaculate
Heart of Mary. He was joined by a moral totality of the worlds bishops in the
Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart. The words of the cons-ecration make
clear it is a collegial act with worlds bishops and also renews Pius XIIs acts
of 1942 (world) and 1952 (Russia) and the consecration is for all time. [See our
book Documents of Fatima for details on Consecration].
Shortly thereafter, Sister Lucia told the Papal Nuncio
of Lisbon the Collegial Consecration for the conversion of Russia has been
accomplished and God will keep His word. The Nuncio answers, Now we await the
miracle. On the following day, Patriarch Dimitrios of Constantinople, honorary
primate of the Orthodox Churches, writes a letter to the Vatican praising the
consecration as a contribution to the creation of communion between the Catholic
and Orthodox Churches.
May 13, 1984 - The
Holy Father speaks to 50,000 pilgrims in St. Peters Square of his affection and
beatitude for Our Lady of Fatima in protecting him from the bullets three years
earlier. On the same day, the Bishop of Leiria-Fatima announces that the Pope
had given to the Fatima Shrine the bullet which had struck him.
February 1985 -
Pontifical Council of the Laity writes and encourages Fr. Robert J. Fox, who
years previously founded a Fatima Youth Apostolate, now to go independent with a
Fatima Apostolate which becomes the Fatima Family Apostolate and the
Messenger magazine was born, first called Messenger of Our Lady then
Fatima Family Messenger and finally Immaculate Heart Messenger.
March 25, 1987 -
Pope John Paul II issued an encyclical letter, Redemptoris Mater, in
anticipation of the forthcoming Marian Year. In the encyclical, the Pope refers
to the common love shared by Orthodox and Catholics for the Mother of God and
the devotion shown her icons.
June 7, 1987 - The
Marian Year of fourteen months began on this date, Pentecost Sunday, and
extended to the Feast of the Assumption, August 15, 1988. The timing of the
Marian Year exactly spans the two important religious celebrations in the Soviet
Union, the 600th anniversary of the baptism of Lithuania and the 1000
anniversary of the baptism of St. Vladimir. Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz
said the noticeable easing of persecutions against religion in the Soviet Union
and granting of greater religious freedoms began with the Marian Year.
September 20, 1987 -
Approximately 100,000 persons, many carrying Solidarity banners, attend the
annual workers pilgrimage to Our Lady of Czestochowa shrine in Poland. Lech
Walesa, during his years as Solidarity leader, goes repeatedly to Zakopane,
Polands major Fatima Shrine, dedicated to praying for Pope John Paul II. There
he consecra
tes the Solidarity movement to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Pope John Paul II in his Encyclical,
Centesimus Annus, credits the Solidarity movement growing and spreading out from Poland with the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe.
July 1989 - Sister
Lucia this month began to go public in stating that the Consecration
is accomplished. Previously she talked only to select persons such as the
Papal Nuncio, bishop of Fatima. Now she is anxious to get her word out publicly.
The Messenger is asked to publicize what Sister Lucia is saying about the
Consecration.
November 9, 1989 -
the Berlin Wall came down. President Gorbachev of the Soviet Union then meets
with the Pope at the Vatican and promised religious freedom.
October 13, 1989 -
President Gorbachev received the Nobel Peace Award – Anniversary date of
Fatima.
December 1, 1989 -
Gorbachev travels to the Vatican and meets with Pope John Paul II in the Popes
private library. The historic meeting, which lasts 70 minutes, is the first
meeting between a Pope and a head of the Soviet state. Departing from his
prepared text, Gorbachev invites the Pope to visit the Soviet Union. The two
immediately experience a sense of mutual affection. The Pope later reported that
Gorbachev expressed gratitude for my prayers and said prayers symbolized the
spiritual order and values which he greatly needed.
December 1991 -
Gorbachev meets the Pope in the Vatican a second time; diplomatic relations were
opened between the Vatican and Russia and Latin-rite churches were
opened.
May 1, 1991 - Feast
of St. Joseph, the Worker – 100th anniversary of Pope Leo XIIIs famous
Encyclical Rerum Novarum, On the Condition of Human Labor. May Day ends
as a Communist Holiday for demonstrations to show Soviet might and to win the
working man away from religion.
May 13, 1990 - An
attempt on the life of Pope John Paul II at the Vatican as his message to
pilgrims at Fatima is read. He attributes the sparing of his life to Our
Lady.
August 19, 1991
- 74th Anniversary of Our Ladys fourth apparition
at Fatima – Communist coup attempts overthrow of Gorbachev who contributed
largely to dismantling of Soviet Empire.
August 22, 1991 -
Feast of the Queenship of Mary – the attempt of Communist coup to return to hard
Communism is defeated.
October 12 – 13, 1991 - Fatima Anniversary. Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, Roman
Catholic Archbishop from Moscow leads first Russian pilgrimage group to Fatima.
It is televised in Russia on 150 stations and 350 radio stations. Director of
Fatima Family Apostolate is asked to be present in Fatima with the Russian
group.
December 8th, 1991 – Feast of the Immaculate Conception. There begins the Commonwealth of
Republics, the end of the USSR. Twelve days later Yeltsin of Russia met with the
Pope at the Vatican.
December 25, 1991 -
the Communist flag is taken down for the last time over the Kremlin in Moscow.
Gorbachev resigned and sent a letter to Pope John Paul II. Fifteen republics
were freed from Communism.
December 30, 1991 -
Sister Lucia is reported saying that the defeat of Communism was through Marys
intercession.
March 8, 1992 -
Mikhail Gorbachev wrote a syndicated column that appears in major newspapers
throughout the world giving a perspective on the Vatican and the freeing of
Eastern Europe. He said that Pope John Paul made the change possible. Much of
what the Pope said was in harmony with the Soviet Unions new political thinking,
with perestroika.
March 14, 1992 -
Pravda, the Communist major newspaper ended.
October 8 – 12, 1992 - the Fatima Sanctuary and the Bishop of Leiria-Fatima in Portugal
hosts together with the Pontifical Council of the Laity the first International
Pastoral Symposium of all recognized major Fatima Apostolates in the world. Fr.
Fox from USA is asked to represent at Fatima the Fatima Family Apostolate in
speaking to delegates from many countries. The Apostolate then becomes known
beyond the USA and quickly spreads to Poland, Australia, etc.
December 25, 1992 -
Communism was declared illegal in Russia.
June 18-20, 1993 – Archbishop Kondrusiewicz came from Moscow to Mid-Americas Fatima
Family Shrine in Alexandria, SD and announces he hopes he can have such a Shrine
to Our Lady of Fatima in Russia some day. Subsequently he authorized the Fatima
Family Apostolate to raise funds for this and the priest director
agree
s with the
Archbishop that the Shrine should be located at St. Catherine of Alexandria
Church, once known as the heart and Mother Church of Catholicism in
Russia.
October 13, 1997 -
For the 80th anniversary of the miracle of the sun at Fatima, the Holy Father
wrote to the bishop of Leiria-Fatima a letter in which he referred to Fatima as
one of the greatest signs of the times in this twentieth
century.
October 11, 1998 -
The first Fatima Shrine in Russia is dedicated by Archbishop Tadeusz
Kondrusiewicz. The Shrine is located only a few block from Palace Square where
the Bolshevik Revolution began in 1917 with its goal of world domination for
atheism.
A half block from the new Fatima Shrine is the Kazan Cathedral which the
Bolsheviks had converted into their headquarters for militant atheism. Funds for
the Shrine were raised by the Fatima Family Apostolate. Both Sister Lucia and
Pope John Paul II take note of the dedication of the Shrine with Sister Lucia
having venerated the statue for the Shrine in her Carmelite Monastery before it
was taken to Russia.
During the dedication ceremony, Archbishop
Kondrusiewicz stated that he was presenting the Russian Fatima Shrine as a gift
to Pope John Paul II on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of his pontificate.
The Archbishop was wearing a chasuble with an image of Our Lady of Czestochowa
during the dedication Mass.
