“The Sun Danced in the Sky”: the Miracle of October 1917
October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary, because the Feast of the Rosary falls on this month. October 13th also marks the 105th anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun, which took place in 1917, in Fatima, Portugal with an estimated 70,000 onlookers. It was a public event that was predicted and promised three months in advance by our Lady to the three children: Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta. The purpose for the miracle was to prove that Mary was indeed appearing to the children since May of that year. The deeper reason for this was to give credence to her messages, which are of the utmost importance.
Personally, in my conversations over the years with atheists and agnostics, I have always appealed to this miracle and asked them to explain it to me from the perspective of their worldview. To put it bluntly, there is no way to honestly explain it outside of the Catholic Christian worldview. And thus, it becomes yet another reason for others to seriously consider the claims of the Christian Religion, hopefully stirring up repentance and conversion. Indeed, many of the eye witnesses to this miracle were themselves atheist and agnostic up until that day. As well, there were many representatives of the local Communist government there as well, and skeptical clergy members, too.
As the story goes, the sun appeared to “dance” in the sky for upwards to 12 full minutes. At times, it seemed to plunge down to Earth, only to then be brought back to its position. As this happened, many varied colors of a rainbow were casting their rays over the people. Some thought it was the end of the world. Others fell to their knees in prayer.
The initial photos of that day show a swarm of umbrellas due to the torrential rain fall that morning in Portugal. At the conclusion, the dirt was completely dry and umbrellas were cast aside. There are also over 18,000 wheelchairs and crutches in the local Fatima museum that are on display to this very day, all of which were left behind after the miracle. The following morning, it made front page headlines in the local Communist periodical O Seculo, and was reported on by news companies in five neighboring nations.
What is truly astounding is that this miracle was predicted three months in advance, to the very day and hour. Now, how does an atheist or agnostic explain such a thing? How does anyone explain it that is not Catholic? This miracle was not a private devotional encounter, it was a very publicized miracle with a multitude of eye witnesses from different beliefs and which left us with a plethora of conversions and healings. Truly, this just might be the most profound miracle in the history of the Church since the Resurrection of our Lord. It certainly is the single most important event of the 20th century.
There are many many books and websites which provide quotes from eyewitnesses regarding this miracle, that I would simply encourage you to research in your own time. For the purposes of this article, I merely invite you to consider the reality of this historical incident, and to weigh out for yourself what it means that God saw fit to have the Queen of Heaven and Earth come to these shepherd children in 1917 with a message that was intended for the Catholic Church and the entire world.
We can explore that message in future articles, but for now, ask yourself: what am I doing, right now, today, to honor my Queen and to make her Immaculate Heart known to others? She is not just the Queen of Heaven, Earth, Saints, Angels, and the Church, but she is also the Queen of all hearts, which includes you and me.
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us, for the Church, for the world.
