208 DATE WITH THE GODSOnly the children were able to see the lady, while
others reported they saw the movements of the tree and
the arrival and departure of a cloud.
Officials in Portugal were alarmed by these events.
On August 13 of that year, the mayor of Ourem
kidnapped the children, detaining them for two days.
This act of tyranny didn't prevent the next visit, it
only postponed it. The lady appeared to the children on
the 19th of August at Valinhos, promising that in
October a great miracle would occur. On that day,
October 13, the heavenly being announced to them that
she was the Virgin Mary, and called for an amendment
in men's lives. It was a wet and gloomy day. Suddenly,
the sun appeared, turned pale, trembled and rotated
violently on its axis, finally falling toward earth, dancing
over the heads of the terrified throng before it returned
to normal. Many people who were present reported this
event as if the sun was actually power-diving dizzily
towards the Earth. A cry of fear arose from the crowd as
thousands fell to their knees, thinking that the end of
the world was at hand. The miracle qf the sun was
repeated twice more.
In 1922, a canonical process of inquiry was opened,
and lasted seven years. In 1930, the Bishop of Leira
pronounced the 1917 visions worthy of credence and
authorized the cult of Our Lady of Fatima. Several years
later, Jacinta and Francisco died of influenza, and Lucia
entered an abbey of the Carmelites order as Sister Maria
das Dores.
During the official investigation of the incident, one
thing seemed clear: Three messages to mankind had
been delivered to these children. Two of these messages
were revealed, one in 1917, and the other in 1924. The
third message was sent to the Vatican in a sealed
envelope to be released to the world on March 25, 1960.