Fatima
This religious booklet offers a novena (in Catholicism the practice of offering devotions during a nine-day period). It is addressed to Our Lady of Fatima-- that is, the Virgin Mary whom many devout believe appeared at Fatima, Portugal, in 1917. Three shepherd children, ten-year-old Lucia dos Santos and two cousins, saw the apparition of the Virgin on the thirteenth of each of six months. At the end of the period, with some seventy-thousand people in attendance, Lucia-- a highly precocious and imaginative child-- directed their gaze skyward, exclaiming, "The Sun!"
As everyone looked up they experienced a "Sun miracle," variously described. Some said the Sun spun like a pinwheel, or "danced," or seemed to be falling toward the spectators; some saw a shower of white flower petals or other effects. In fact, the Sun performed no gyrations since the effects were not seen anywhere else. Most likely they were optical effects, caused by staring at something so bright, and similar "Sun miracles" have been reported at other claimed Marian visitation sites. (For a discussion, see Joe Nickell, Looking for a Miracle, Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 1998, pp.176-181.)
The statue in the picture is of the Lady of Fatima, and even says, "Our Lady of Fatima" across the bottom. The statue is about 8 inches tall and about 2 1/2 inches across the base. The top left picture is a small plaque that shows the three children who stood before the lady of Fatima. Under each of them are their names and at the bottom of the plaque is "FATIMA." It is about 6 inches tall and about 4 1/4 inches across, overall. The item in the top right corner is a ceramic tile with a color-printed image of the children beholding the apparition of the Virgin Mary at Fatima. Embossed on the back is "Made in Portugal." The tile is about 6 inches tall and about 6 inches across. The rosary is about 17 1/2 inches long and goes with the small pouch shown. The pouch is about 2 3/4 inches tall and about 2 1/2 inches across.
The pictures displayed above are different depictions of the Lady of Fatima. Some of them are pamphlets while others are different types of prayer cards.
Pictured is a Fatima card for "Heaven's Peace Plan," which describes what the Virgin Mary supposedly told the three children when she appeared. On the reverse side is the "Fatima 3 Point Plan" which gives the "3 R's of Peace;" repentance, reparation, and rosary. The card is about 2 3/4 inches high and about 4 1/4 inches across.
These represent a collection of Fatima items as follows:
This is a molded figurine and has been hand-painted to represent the Lady of Fatima. The base is a cluster of seashells. The figurine is about 3 1/2 inches tall and about 3 1/2 inches across the base.
