Newspaper Report of Fatima Miracle on October 13, 1917

The following newspaper account appeared in the newspaper O Século. In the prologue to this article, the author distances himself from the apparitions, which he presents as a consequence of “the great tribulations that society was going through. The times of great tribulations have always favored the rebirth of religious ideas and the war adds to their expansion creating a fertile environment.”

Are we in the midst of a similar, or worse, great tribulation?

...In the astonished eyes of these people, whose attitude takes us back to Biblical times, and who, white faced with shock, with their heads uncovered, face the blue sky: the sun has trembled, the sun has made sudden movements that were outside all cosmic laws—the sun has “danced”, according to the typical expression of the country people.

Covered with dust on the running board of the bus from Torres Novas, an old man recites the Creed, from beginning to end. I ask who it is and they tell me it is João Maria Amado de Melo Ramalho da Cunha Vasconcelo. I see him later talking to those around him, who still have their hats on, begging them, strongly, to take them off in the presence of such an extraordinary demonstration of the existence of God. Identical scenes are repeated in other places and a woman shouts, bathed in tears and almost suffocated:

--What a shame! There are still men who don’t take off their hats in the presence of such a miracle!

And next they ask each other if they have seen or not seen. Most confess that they have seen the dancing of the sun; others, however, declare they have seen the smiling face of the Virgin herself. They swear that the sun spun about itself like a ring of fireworks, that it came down almost to the point of burning the Earth with its rays.

Some say that they saw it change color.

It is about three in the afternoon.

The sky is covered with clouds and the sun follows its path with its normal brightness and no one dares to look at it directly. And what about the little shepherds? Lucia, "she who speaks with the Virgin," tells everyone, with theatrical gestures, being held by a man who carries her from group to group, the the war will end and that our soldiers will come back.


This news, however, does not increase the joy of those who are listening. The heavenly sign was everything. There is an intense curiosity to see the two little girls with their garlands of flowers. There are some who try to kiss the hands of the “little saints”, one of whom, Jacinta, looks more like she is going to faint than to dance. That which they were all looking for—the sign from Heaven—has been enough to satisfy them and make them convinced of their faith.

The people start to leave quickly. Without problems, without any disorder, without the need of any police. The pilgrims who leave more quickly are those who arrived earlier. They walk barefoot with their shoes on their heads or hanging on sticks. They are leaving with their soul satisfied to spread the good news to the villages they left. And what about the priests? Some came to this place, smiling, spending more time with the curious spectators than with the pilgrims who were anxious to see a miracle. Maybe one or another couldn’t hide the satisfaction which is so hard to hide on the faces of those who triumph.

Now it is up to those who are qualified to give their opinion on the strange dancing of the sun that today, in Fátima, caused hosannas to explode from the hearts of the faithful and caused astonishment —according to reliable sources—even in free thinkers and other people without religious beliefs who came to this now famous place.


Avelino de Almeida