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 50th Anniversary of the Apparitions at Fatima Scott 455-457 (1967) The three-stamp set shown above was issued to commemorate the pilgrimage visit of Pope Paul VI to Fatima, Portugal. He visited the site of the Blessed Virgin Mary's apparitions on May 13, 1967, the 50th anniversary of the first appearance to the three peasant children in that village. The Church celebrates the Feast Day of Our Lady of Fatima on May 13. The stamps were issued on October 13, 1967, the 50th anniversary of her final appearance and the day of the "miracle of the sun". From May 13 to October 13, 1917, the Blessed Virgin appeared to three children at Fatima, Portugal: Lucia dos Santos, Francesco Marto and Jacinta Marto. On October 13, the date of the final appearance, the Miracle of the Sun occurred. During a rainstorm, dark clouds broke, and the Sun appeared to be spinning in the sky, shedding rays of light and moving toward Earth before returning to its position in the sky. A crowd of 30,000 to 100,000 witnessed the event and their wet clothes and the damp ground inexplicably became dry. Witnesses to the event reported varying impressions and descriptions of the Sun’s appearance. The youngest of the Fatima children, brother and sister Francesco and Jacinta Marto, died due to the Spanish Flu epidemic in 1919-1920. The oldest child, their cousin Lucia dos Santos, entered a convent, eventually entering a Discalced Carmelite order in Coimbra, Portugal. During the remainder of her life she experienced visions of the Blessed Mother and Jesus. Sister Lucia also described the appearance of the Virgin Mary in an authorized version of her memoirs. She died in 2005 at the age of 97. Sr. Lucia documented the three secrets of Fatima: (1) a vision of Hell, (2) devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and prayers for the reconversion of Russia (done by Pope John Paul II and the world’s bishops in 1984), and (3) a vision of the death of a pope and other religious figures (the latter of which was revealed in 2000). Later Pope Benedict XVI explained that the third secret not only pertained to the 1981 assassination attempt on John Paul II but also could pertain to the suffering the Church is going through due to clerical sexual abuse. The two youngest children of Fatima, Francesco Marto and Jacinta Marto, were beatified on the Feast Day of Our Lady of Fatima, May 13, 2000, by Pope John Paul II during a pilgrimage visit to Fátima. They were canonized by Pope Francis in May 13, 2017, the first centenary of the apparitions. As of now they are the youngest non-martyred persons canonized by the Church (Jacinta being the youngest). In addition to the stamp set at the top of the article celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Marian apparitions, the stamp below was issued in 2017 for the 100th anniversary:  100th Anniversary of the Apparitions at Fatima Scott 1652 (2017) Millions of people make a pilgrimage to Fatima annually, with the largest crowds gathering on May 13 and October 13. Several films have been produced about Fatima, the most recent released in August 2020. REFERENCES: |
