Local Catholics gathered in prayer and song in front of the Colusa County Courthouse on Saturday in honor of the “Miracle of the Sun,” also known as the Miracle of Fátima, a series of events reported to have occurred on Oct. 13, 1917, following the prophecy made by three
Portuguese children that the Virgin Mary (referred to as Our Lady of Fátima) would appear and perform miracles on that day.
Dcn. Julian Delgado and Dcn. Ruben Fuentes, of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, led two separate groups in English and Spanish in reciting the Holy Rosary and the Fátima prayers, a collection of prayers associated with the 1917 apparition of the Virgin Mary at Fátima, Portugal.
The prayer rally Saturday had about two dozen people in attendance. The gathering celebrated the Fátima history, which began in the Spring of 1916, when three young shepherds, Lucia dos Santos and cousins, Francisco and Jacinto Marto, reported the appearance of an angel in Valinhos, and, starting on May 13. 1917, in Cova da Iria, six apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom the children described as “a Lady more brilliant than the Sun.”
Delgado said the children, after being visited by the first apparition, described the angel as a bright light.
“The angel taught them how to pray; how to disposition in prayer; the humility and heart for prayer, ” Delgado said. “This was happening when World War I was taking place. He said he was the Angel of Peace and he asked them to pray for peace.”
Delgado said the second angelic visit was in the summer of 1916, when the angel told them to pray for the conversion of sinners. On the third visit, the angel offered holy communion to the children.
In the following months, thousands of people flocked to Fátima and nearby Aljustrel, drawn by the reports of the visions and miracles, after the children reported they saw the Virgin Mary on Aug. 19,1917 who asked them to pray the Rosary daily and pray for the sinners.
Delgado said that because the Virgin Mary had promised a miracle for the last of her apparitions on Oct. 13, 1917, between 70,000 and 100,000 people, including reporters and newspapers gathered for what became known as the “Miracle of the Sun,” in which witnesses reported seeing the sun “dance in the sky” after a rain.
“Different things were reported, but basically, the sun was spiraling in the sky and appeared to come toward the earth. Many people thought it was the end of the world and that the sun would crash into the earth, but then the sun, after it danced in the sky, multiple colors appeared. People said they saw people, themselves, looked like rainbows; that people had colors emanating from them.”
Local Catholics said the Miracle of the Sun continues to inspire, and is celebrated from coast to coast and around the globe as a way to be mindful that the fate of mankind rests on the actions of people, praying and sacrificing for sinners, just as it has from the beginning.
“People must mend their lives, ask for forgiveness for their sins, and not offend our Lord anymore, because he is already too much offended,” Delgado said. “We need to pray and to sacrifice.” ■