Statue and Altar

Image: © Anthony O'Neil Taken: 14 Oct 2023

St Vincent's Church, Altrincham: the effigy of the Virgin Mary had been brought from Fatima, in Portugal, and installed for a weekend commemoration of the apparitions reported there in 1917. Three shepherd children were said to have had a vision of Our Lady in which she prophesied several events including the spread of Communism and the ending of the then First World War (which indeed happened in November, 1918). She also warned that an even worse war would come about if people did not turn away from evil. A precursor to this war would be an unknown light in the sky. She also promised a miracle, to be seen on 13th October 1917, as evidence of the truth of the apparitions. (In January 1938, when the political situation was pointing towards war in Europe, a spectacular sighting of the Aurora Borealis occurred across Europe, North America and North Africa where the skies became blood red.) Word spread throughout the region and an estimated 70,000 people assembled near the apparition site to see what would happen. Believers, atheists, sceptics, scientists, journalists and civic leaders all waited in continuous heavy rain, on muddy ground. At the appointed time, the clouds parted, the sun appeared, and everyone became instantly dry, having been sodden minutes before. Then the crowd witnessed what became known as 'The Miracle of the Sun'. Its disc seemed to become opaque and began to spin like a huge Catharine wheel, emitting rays of multi-coloured light. The effect was said to have lasted for 10 minutes. The final secret, shared by Our Lady at Fatima, in 1917, was not revealed by the Vatican until the year 2,000, and turned out to refer to the attempted assassination of the Pope (which had shocked the world in 1981). Although largely forgotten in the intervening years, the Miracle of the Sun was widely reported in the local and foreign press at the time and became accepted as a true miracle by the Catholic Church. Many believers, even today, have a special devotion to Our Lady of Fatima, especially in relation to the search for peace and freedom from conflict.

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