That the entire Third Secret, given in July 1917, remains hidden is clear to many Catholics. The disclosure of the Third Secret’s Vision contradicts those who claim that the “veil is removed from the greatest mystery of the twentieth century”[1], and that events leading to the Third Secret “now seem a part of the past.”[2] Despite various consecrations and acts of entrustment made in the 1940’s and the 1980’s, at least three of the Fatima prophecies have come to pass, while the third - the martyrdom of the good - continues. Daily news reports alone should convince all Catholics that to avoid the fulfillment of the Third Secret, the Holy Father and the world’s bishops must consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.Our Lady’s messages and prophecies to the Church are too often treated by clergy and laity as a few redundant reminders. Casually dismissed is the truth that the Three Secrets of Fatima (or more precisely, one secret in three parts) are firmly founded on Divine Revelation and authentic prophecy. Based on Faith and facts, the following is apparent: 1) the collegial consecration of Russia has not been made 2) the entire Third Secret Message is not yet revealed and 3) the tragedies of the past century will reach their apex in the Third Secret Vision’s fulfillment and the annihilation of nations.
It is reasonable – although painfully so - to reach those three conclusions because there are objective, coinciding reasons for them. First, there has never been any specific mention of Russia in any papal consecration or entrustment. Second, the world’s bishops did not join the popes who made those acts. Third, the world has not yet experienced the prophesied “era of peace” promised by Our Lady.
To those seeking a thorough examination on the question of the Virgin’s suppressed Message to the Third Secret Vision, I urgently refer the reader to the newly published book, The Secret Still Hidden by Christopher Ferrara. This essay, however, shall highlight certain aspects related to Fatima, especially those regarding the Third Secret.
Fatima and the Significance of the 13th
Catholics may wonder why Our Lady first appeared at Fatima on May 13, as well as the 13th day of each month through October, 1917 (with the singular exception of August 19, 1917, due to the Fatima visionaries’ imprisonment on August 13).
First and foremost, May 13 was originally dedicated to Our Lady of the Martyrs. On May 13, 609 A.D., Pope St. Boniface IV (608-615), [3] converted the Roman Pantheon into a basilica, dedicating the edifice to Our Lady under her title, St. Mary of the Martyrs.
In 1561, this basilica,[4] built in the very heart of the Baths of Diocletian (an emperor by whom the early Christians suffered the most vicious persecutions and martyrdoms), “received its official name, St. Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs.” [5]
Correlation: Both the date and place of Our Lady’s first Fatima appearance silently emphasized her title as St. Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs, for the Cova da Iria (the Cove of Irene) appears to be named for the virgin martyr, St. Irene of Tomar.[6] It was on July 13 that Our Lady gave the Three Secrets, warning that if Her requests were not heeded, “the good will be martyred, various nations will be annihilated.”[7] The Vision of the Third Secret includes a description of two angels who gather the blood of martyrs. [8]
There is another striking link between the basilica named in honor of St. Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs and the appearances of Our Lady of Fatima, which have to do with the sun. Almost one thousand years after the basilica’s dedication, Pope Clement XI [9] (reigning 1700-1721), the same Vicar of Christ who declared the Feast of the Immaculate Conception as a holy day of obligation, commissioned Francesco Bianchini – an astronomer, mathematician, archeologist, historian, and philosopher – to build inside the church a “meridian line” for the city of Rome. (A beautiful example of science combined with Catholic culture, this meridian line is known as “The Clementina,” named after the pope who ordered its construction).
To track the path of the sun, Bianchini made careful calculations, then created a small hole in the southern wall of the basilica, and laid into the marble floor the meridian line, which runs exactly north to south. The result is that, when the sun reached its zenith (called solar noon or solar time), light shines through the hole on the wall, casting its light on the meridian line. By the clock, however, this event[10] takes place near 12:15 p.m. (1:15 p.m. in the summer).[11]
The meridian lines’ purpose was to check the parameters[12] of the solar-based “Gregorian Calendar,” so named after Pope Gregory XIII, who advanced the Catholic Restoration after the Protestant Revolt. To exactly predict Easter, which is based on the vernal equinox, Pope Gregory XIII also revised the Julian solar-based calendar. However, the Gregorian calendar is “so nearly exact that there will be an error of one day only in 35 centuries.”[13] Pope Gregory officially promulgated the solar-based calendar, which took effect on October 4, 1582, thus immediately advancing the calendar date by 11 days.
Correlation: The first basilica ever named after Our Lady of the Martyrs also tracks the sun, which is a symbol of the Sun of Justice, Our Lord Jesus Christ. At Fatima, Our Lady always appeared at the noon hour, an hour of great significance, since it is the time in which Our Lord was actually crucified and hung on the Cross. The noon hour may also indicate how much time is left before the world's sunset. That Sr. Lucia died 40 minutes before sunset, on February 13, 2005 - in the Hebrew month of Adar - is another sign.[14] (Please see the links to the right to read my article, "Hidden Revelations: The Star of Esther and the Secrets of Fatima," which was published in the May 2008 issue of Catholic Family News.)
On October 13th, the day of the Miracle of the Sun, witnesses stated that Our Lady appeared exactly at solar noon – not by the clock’s time but by the sun’s time.[15] Both the adjusted Gregorian calendar dates and the time of the Virgin's appearances at solar noon prove that Heaven acknowledged Pope Gregory’s authority in the calendar reform. This acknowledgement also underscores the pope's authority, as the Vicar of Christ, to command the collegial consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. That heaven acknowledged the Gregorian calendar is also proven by the next fact.
On October 13th, the day of the Miracle of the Sun, witnesses stated that Our Lady appeared exactly at solar noon – not by the clock’s time but by the sun’s time.[15] Both the adjusted Gregorian calendar dates and the time of the Virgin's appearances at solar noon prove that Heaven acknowledged Pope Gregory’s authority in the calendar reform. This acknowledgement also underscores the pope's authority, as the Vicar of Christ, to command the collegial consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. That heaven acknowledged the Gregorian calendar is also proven by the next fact.
Centuries earlier, on May 13, 1391 (before the Gregorian reform of the calendar) Pope Boniface IX (reigning 1389-1404) acquiesced to the request of King John I of Portugal and ordered that all Portuguese cathedrals should be named in honor of the Virgin.[16] On August 13, 1385, the Virgin had previously answered the King’s prayer, made at Fatima, for his smaller army to reign victorious against a much larger force; now the King wished to further honor the Virgin throughout all of Portugal.[17]
Correlation: Exactly 526 years later, the Virgin first appeared at Fatima on May 13, 1917 - on the "new" May 13 of the Gregorian calendar. Coincidentally, the length of time in years between these two events (526) equals “13” when the numbers are added as individual digits (i.e., 5+2+6 =13).
May 13 was also the Feast of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament. [18] This salutary title of the Blessed Mother’s became more well-known due to St. Peter Julian Eymard and a mission given to him by the Virgin Mary. She made him aware that no religious order was named in honor of Her Divine Son’s Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. With the encouragement of Pope Pius IX, the saint founded the Congregation of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Paris, France on May 13, 1856. In 1921, the Sacred Congregation of Rites authorized May 13 as the annual solemn commemoration of The Feast of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament.
Correlation: Before Our Lady appeared at Fatima, the children were granted visions of an angel who taught them special prayers of adoration and supplication to the Holy Trinity and the Blessed Sacrament.
Thus we recognize themes in regard to May or the 13th: First, May 13 signifies Our Lady as Queen of Angels and of Martyrs, underlining the Virgin's prophecies at Fatima, especially that “the good will be martyred.”
Next, the date reinforces the dogma of the “hidden Jesus,” as the Fatima children called the True Presence of Jesus - Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity - in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar.
The date also stresses great charity, in prayer, sacrifice, and action, to the Triune God and neighbor – which sums up the Two Great Commandments.
Finally, the history of May 13, in relation to the Gregorian calendar and heaven’s acknowledgement of it, reinforces the pope’s special prerogatives, not only as bishop of Rome but as the reigning Pontiff.
Five Scourges, Five Blasphemies, Five First Saturdays
Since “the very nature of true prophecy is that it unerringly predicts what comes to pass,”[19] we must also recall that authentic prophecy from God is given for our edification and instruction. As St. Paul taught, we must “despise not prophecy, but prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”[20] The Church found Fatima “worthy of belief,”[21] and its prophecies have proven true. Therefore, we must hold fast to Fatima.
Too, we cannot forget Our Lady foretold that, if Her requests were ignored – a circumstance that could only happen due to the Church’s dismissal of them - five scourges would afflict the world. The first three of the following five sufferings have unquestionably occurred:
1. Russia will spread her errors throughout the world
2. A second and worse war, which will begin during the pontificate of Pius XI (World War II)
3. The good will be martyred.
4. Persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father
5. The annihilation of nations
This is one example of how, for a mysterious reason, the number “five” plays a phenomenal role to Fatima. To illustrate, Our Lady of Fatima first appeared in May, which is the fifth month of the year. May 13, 1981 marked the assassination attempt against Pope John Paul II, a terrible example of the hatred held against the Church and Her Vicar. The pope attributed Our Lady of Fatima’s intercession for saving his life, an admission that “definitively removed the Fatima apparitions from the so-called ‘private revelation’ by a series of papal acts.”[22] In the fifth year of the new century, first Sr. Lucia and then Pope John Paul II passed away, and Pope Benedict XVI – who may be, as we shall see, the pontiff of the Third Secret Vision – ascended the chair of Peter.
In sum, Our Lady asked or showed she wanted five things of all the faithful: prayers of the daily Rosary (with each mystery containing five decades), the wearing of the Brown Scapular, the faithful accomplishment of daily duty as Catholics and in our states of life, sacrifice for sinners, and the Five First Saturdays. Specific to the Holy Father, She asked that he command and lead the collegial consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart.
On the night of May 29-30, 1930, Our Lord revealed to Sr. Lucia five reasons for the Five First Saturdays of Reparation:
“My daughter, the reason is simple. There are five kinds of offenses and blasphemies uttered against the Immaculate Heart of Mary:”
· “Blasphemies against the Immaculate Conception.”
· “Blasphemies against Her perpetual Virginity.”
· “Blasphemies against Her divine Maternity, while refusing at the same time to recognize Her as Mother of men.”
· “The blasphemies of those who publicly seek to place in the hearts of children indifference or scorn, or even hatred towards this Immaculate Mother.”
· “The offenses of those who outrage Her directly in Her holy images.”[23]
Two Means to Save the Church
Exactly sixty-eight years before (May 30, 1862), St. John Bosco related his incredible dream, noted as “The Two Columns in the Sea,” [24] in which frequent Communion and Marian devotion are the Church’s pillars and to which the Barque of Peter - after many battles and much confusion - securely ties itself.
In his dream, the details of which should not be glossed over, St. Bosco stood on an isolated rock, unable to see any other patch of land other that under his feet. From this spot, he saw “a vast sheet of water” with “an innumerable fleet of ships in battle array. The prows of the ships are formed into sharp, spear-like points so that, wherever they are thrust, they pierce and completely destroy. These ships are armed with cannons, with lots of rifles, with incendiary materials, with other arms of all kinds, and also with books, and they advance against a ship very much bigger and higher than themselves and try to dash against it with the prows or burn it or in some way to do it every possible harm.”
“As escorts to the majestic, fully equipped ship, there are many smaller ships, which receive commands by signal from it, and carry out movements to defend themselves from the opposing fleet.”
In the sea’s midst stood “two mighty columns of great height.” Upon the taller pillar rested a Host of great size, the “Salvation of the Faithful,” and upon the shorter one stood a statue of the Immaculate Virgin, “Help of Christians.” The saint also related, “The Supreme commander on the big ship is the Sovereign Pontiff.”
After the pontiff calls a council, the captains of the smaller ships board his vessel and hold a meeting, but “the wind and the waves gather in storm, so they are sent back to control their own ships. There comes a short lull; for a second time, the pope gathers the captains together around him, while the flag-ship goes on its course. But the frightful storm returns. The pope stands at the helm and all his energies are directed to steering the ship toward those two columns, from the top of which and from every side of which are hanging numerous anchors and big hooks, fastened to chains.”
The great ship’s adversaries maintain a relentless battle to stop and sink the great ship. At times, the great ship suffers “large, deep gaps in its side,” but “a gentle breeze blows from the two columns and the cracks close up and the gaps are stopped immediately.” The enemies’ weapons are blown up or broken, and many of their ships shatter or sink. “Then, the frenzied enemies strive to fight, hand-to-hand, with fists, with blows, with blasphemy and with curses.”
“All at once, the pope falls gravely wounded. Immediately those who are with him run to help him and they lift him up. A second time the pope is struck; he falls again and dies. A shout of victory and of joy rings out amongst the enemies; from their ships an unspeakable mockery arises. But hardly is the Pontiff dead than another pope takes his place. The pilots, having met together, have elected the pope so promptly that the news of the death of the pope coincides with the news of the election of the new successor.”
It is the immediately-elected pope who puts the enemies to route and “guides the ship right up to the two columns and comes to rest between them,” securely fastening the barque - first to the pillar of the Host and then to the pillar of the Virgin.
St. John Bosco asked Fr. Rua, one of his fellow priests, his opinion of the dream. Fr. Rua responded, “It seems to me that the pope’s ship might mean the Church; of which he is the head; the ships, men; the sea, this world. Those who defend the big ship are the good, lovingly attached to the Holy See; the others are her enemies, who try with every kind of weapon to annihilate her. The two columns of salvation seem to be devotion to Mary Most Holy and to the Blessed Sacrament and the Eucharist.”
“You are right!” said St. Bosco. “Only I ought to correct one expression. The enemy ships are persecutions. The most serious trials for the Church are near at hand. That which has been so far is almost nothing in the face of that which must befall. Her enemies are represented by the ships that tried to sink the principal ship if they could. Only two means are left to save her amidst so much confusion: DEVOTION TO MARY MOST HOLY and FREQUENT COMMUNION, making use of every means and doing our best to practice them and having them practice everywhere and by everybody.”
Next to consider is Fatima’s Third Secret Vision, wherein “the Holy Father passed through a big city half in ruins and half trembling with halting step, afflicted with pain and sorrow, he prayed for the souls of the corpses he met on his way; having reached the top of the mountain, on his knees at the foot of the big Cross he was killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him, and in the same way there died one after another the other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious, and various lay people of different ranks and positions. Beneath the two arms of the Cross there were two Angels each with a crystal aspersorium in his hand, in which they gathered up the blood of the Martyrs and with it sprinkled the souls that were making their way to God.”[25]
The fate of a future pope was also related by none other than Pope St. Pius X: “I saw one of my successors by name fleeing over the corpses of his brethren. He will flee to a place for a short respite where he is unknown; but he himself will die a cruel death.” [26]
In the Third Secret Vision, the pope walks “half trembling and with halting step,” indicating advanced age. As for Pope St. Pius X’s vision, it may be that a future pope will take the name of Pius, but there is another consideration, which may or may not be of significance: Pope St. Pius X’s baptismal name was Giuseppe Sarto; in Italian, Giuseppe means Joseph – the baptismal name of Pope Benedict XVI.
Revealing Remarks
Comparing what is known of the public Fatima revelations to the visions of two great saints, at least three themes appear: the Holy Eucharist and Marian devotion; increasing persecutions of the Church and the Holy Father, with the last one likened to hand-to-hand combat; and a pope’s death at the hand of enemies. Current world circumstances - including an elderly pope whose baptismal name is Joseph - are additional indicators that we are now in the final stages leading to the Fatima’s Third Secret Vision.
What we can reasonably conclude about the Third Secret Message, still undisclosed, issues from commentary by Sr. Lucia and others in a position to know:
Pope John Paul II, 1980 on the Third Secret: “Given the seriousness of the contents, my predecessors in the Petrine office diplomatically preferred to postpone publication so as not to encourage the world power of Communism to make certain moves. On the other hand, it should be sufficient for all Christians to know this: if there is a message in which it is written that the oceans will flood whole areas of the earth, and that from one moment to the next millions of people will perish,[27] truly the publication of such a message is no longer something to be desired…”
“We must prepare ourselves to suffer great trials before long, such as will demand of us a disposition to give up even life, and a total dedication to Christ…With your prayer and my prayer, it is possible to mitigate this tribulation, but it is no longer possible to avert it, because only thus can the Church be effectively renewed. How many times has the renewal of the Church sprung from blood? This time, too, it will be otherwise. We must be strong and prepared, and trust in Christ and His Mother, and be very, very assiduous in praying the Rosary.” [28] (Author’s note: Of course, it is possible to avert this great trial, by means of the collegial consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart.)
Sr. Lucia, May 13, 1980, when asked during an interview, “Has Our Lady ever spoken to you about the consecration of the world to Her Immaculate Heart?” responded: “No…Never! At the Cova da Iria in 1917, Our Lady had promised: I shall come to ask for the Consecration of Russia…In 1929, at Tuy, as she had promised, Our Lady came back to tell me that the moment had come to ask the Holy Father for the consecration of that country (Russia).” [29]
Sr. Lucia, March 19, 1983 confirmed in the presence of three witnesses, including the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Portalupi, that Pope John Paul II’s 1982 world consecration did not fulfill Our Lady’s request. She explained: “In the act of offering of May 13, 1982, Russia did not appear as being the object of the consecration. And each bishop did not organize in his own diocese a public and solemn ceremony of reparation and Consecration of Russia. Pope John Paul II simply renewed the consecration of the world executed by Pius XII on October 31, 1942. From this consecration we can expect some benefits, but not the conversion of Russia.”
Sr. Lucia, March 22, 1984, who had already received and read the text of the pope’s consecration formula planned for March 25, 1984, when asked about it, made a negative sign and declared, “That consecration cannot have a decisive character.”[30]
Pope John Paul II, March 25, 1984, immediately following his second “act of offering” the world to Our Lady, said: “Enlighten especially the peoples of which you yourself are awaiting our consecration and confiding.” [31] These words clearly reveal the pope’s awareness that Russia had neither been explicitly consecrated to the Immaculate Heart nor in the way Our Lady requested.
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, late 1984 on why the Third Secret was still not made public: “Because, according to the judgment of the Popes, it adds nothing to what a Christian must know from Revelation – i.e., a radical call for conversion; the absolute importance of history; the dangers threatening the faith and the life of the Christian and therefore the world. And also the importance of the last times…But the things contained in this Third Secret correspond to what is announced in Scripture and are confirmed by many other Marian apparitions, beginning with the Fatima apparitions themselves in their known contents. Conversion, penance are essential conditions to salvation.” [32]
Cardinal Silvio Oddi, March 17, 1990 said of the Third Secret: “The Blessed Virgin was alerting us against apostasy in the Church.”[33]
Cardinal Luigi Ciappi, 1995, serving for 40 years as papal theologian to all the popes, from Popes Pius XIII through John Paul II: “In the Third Secret it is foretold, among other things, that the great apostasy in the Church begins at the top.” [34]
The Dogma of the Faith and the Great “Et Cetera”
In 1943, when asked about the contents of The Third Secret, Sr. Lucia said, “In a certain way, I have already revealed it.”[35] How so? In her Fourth Memoir, she implicitly disclosed it in a sentence of substantial importance: “In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved, etc.”[36] This sentence, which ends with the intriguing “et cetera,” is the prelude to the Third Secret Message – the part of the secret still hidden.
“The dogma of the Faith” is a telling phrase, one which addresses the Church’s primary dogma, thrice-defined: “Outside the Church, there is no salvation.” [37] Today, this singular dogma about the Church is either unknown or rejected within the Church, another sign of Fatima’s veracity, lending further credence that the Third Secret’s smothered Message centers on “an apocalyptic crisis of the faith in the Church starting from the top”[38] – namely, the revolt [39] which St. Paul said must come first.
“In Portugal,” not “Throughout Portugal”
In light of Our Lady’s promise, the faithful are confused by unfolding religious and political events in Portugal, including the desecration of the original, majestic Fatima basilica - accomplished with its rector’s awareness and permission – and the construction of a concrete monstrosity that looks more like a maximum security prison than a Church and blots the area where Our Lady appeared.[40]
How can such things happen, when Our Lady prophesied, “In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved, etc.”?
May 13 was also the Feast of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament. [18] This salutary title of the Blessed Mother’s became more well-known due to St. Peter Julian Eymard and a mission given to him by the Virgin Mary. She made him aware that no religious order was named in honor of Her Divine Son’s Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. With the encouragement of Pope Pius IX, the saint founded the Congregation of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Paris, France on May 13, 1856. In 1921, the Sacred Congregation of Rites authorized May 13 as the annual solemn commemoration of The Feast of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament.
Correlation: Before Our Lady appeared at Fatima, the children were granted visions of an angel who taught them special prayers of adoration and supplication to the Holy Trinity and the Blessed Sacrament.
Thus we recognize themes in regard to May or the 13th: First, May 13 signifies Our Lady as Queen of Angels and of Martyrs, underlining the Virgin's prophecies at Fatima, especially that “the good will be martyred.”
Next, the date reinforces the dogma of the “hidden Jesus,” as the Fatima children called the True Presence of Jesus - Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity - in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar.
The date also stresses great charity, in prayer, sacrifice, and action, to the Triune God and neighbor – which sums up the Two Great Commandments.
Finally, the history of May 13, in relation to the Gregorian calendar and heaven’s acknowledgement of it, reinforces the pope’s special prerogatives, not only as bishop of Rome but as the reigning Pontiff.
Five Scourges, Five Blasphemies, Five First Saturdays
Since “the very nature of true prophecy is that it unerringly predicts what comes to pass,”[19] we must also recall that authentic prophecy from God is given for our edification and instruction. As St. Paul taught, we must “despise not prophecy, but prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”[20] The Church found Fatima “worthy of belief,”[21] and its prophecies have proven true. Therefore, we must hold fast to Fatima.
Too, we cannot forget Our Lady foretold that, if Her requests were ignored – a circumstance that could only happen due to the Church’s dismissal of them - five scourges would afflict the world. The first three of the following five sufferings have unquestionably occurred:
1. Russia will spread her errors throughout the world
2. A second and worse war, which will begin during the pontificate of Pius XI (World War II)
3. The good will be martyred.
4. Persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father
5. The annihilation of nations
This is one example of how, for a mysterious reason, the number “five” plays a phenomenal role to Fatima. To illustrate, Our Lady of Fatima first appeared in May, which is the fifth month of the year. May 13, 1981 marked the assassination attempt against Pope John Paul II, a terrible example of the hatred held against the Church and Her Vicar. The pope attributed Our Lady of Fatima’s intercession for saving his life, an admission that “definitively removed the Fatima apparitions from the so-called ‘private revelation’ by a series of papal acts.”[22] In the fifth year of the new century, first Sr. Lucia and then Pope John Paul II passed away, and Pope Benedict XVI – who may be, as we shall see, the pontiff of the Third Secret Vision – ascended the chair of Peter.
In sum, Our Lady asked or showed she wanted five things of all the faithful: prayers of the daily Rosary (with each mystery containing five decades), the wearing of the Brown Scapular, the faithful accomplishment of daily duty as Catholics and in our states of life, sacrifice for sinners, and the Five First Saturdays. Specific to the Holy Father, She asked that he command and lead the collegial consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart.
On the night of May 29-30, 1930, Our Lord revealed to Sr. Lucia five reasons for the Five First Saturdays of Reparation:
“My daughter, the reason is simple. There are five kinds of offenses and blasphemies uttered against the Immaculate Heart of Mary:”
· “Blasphemies against the Immaculate Conception.”
· “Blasphemies against Her perpetual Virginity.”
· “Blasphemies against Her divine Maternity, while refusing at the same time to recognize Her as Mother of men.”
· “The blasphemies of those who publicly seek to place in the hearts of children indifference or scorn, or even hatred towards this Immaculate Mother.”
· “The offenses of those who outrage Her directly in Her holy images.”[23]
Two Means to Save the Church
Exactly sixty-eight years before (May 30, 1862), St. John Bosco related his incredible dream, noted as “The Two Columns in the Sea,” [24] in which frequent Communion and Marian devotion are the Church’s pillars and to which the Barque of Peter - after many battles and much confusion - securely ties itself.
In his dream, the details of which should not be glossed over, St. Bosco stood on an isolated rock, unable to see any other patch of land other that under his feet. From this spot, he saw “a vast sheet of water” with “an innumerable fleet of ships in battle array. The prows of the ships are formed into sharp, spear-like points so that, wherever they are thrust, they pierce and completely destroy. These ships are armed with cannons, with lots of rifles, with incendiary materials, with other arms of all kinds, and also with books, and they advance against a ship very much bigger and higher than themselves and try to dash against it with the prows or burn it or in some way to do it every possible harm.”
“As escorts to the majestic, fully equipped ship, there are many smaller ships, which receive commands by signal from it, and carry out movements to defend themselves from the opposing fleet.”
In the sea’s midst stood “two mighty columns of great height.” Upon the taller pillar rested a Host of great size, the “Salvation of the Faithful,” and upon the shorter one stood a statue of the Immaculate Virgin, “Help of Christians.” The saint also related, “The Supreme commander on the big ship is the Sovereign Pontiff.”
After the pontiff calls a council, the captains of the smaller ships board his vessel and hold a meeting, but “the wind and the waves gather in storm, so they are sent back to control their own ships. There comes a short lull; for a second time, the pope gathers the captains together around him, while the flag-ship goes on its course. But the frightful storm returns. The pope stands at the helm and all his energies are directed to steering the ship toward those two columns, from the top of which and from every side of which are hanging numerous anchors and big hooks, fastened to chains.”
The great ship’s adversaries maintain a relentless battle to stop and sink the great ship. At times, the great ship suffers “large, deep gaps in its side,” but “a gentle breeze blows from the two columns and the cracks close up and the gaps are stopped immediately.” The enemies’ weapons are blown up or broken, and many of their ships shatter or sink. “Then, the frenzied enemies strive to fight, hand-to-hand, with fists, with blows, with blasphemy and with curses.”
“All at once, the pope falls gravely wounded. Immediately those who are with him run to help him and they lift him up. A second time the pope is struck; he falls again and dies. A shout of victory and of joy rings out amongst the enemies; from their ships an unspeakable mockery arises. But hardly is the Pontiff dead than another pope takes his place. The pilots, having met together, have elected the pope so promptly that the news of the death of the pope coincides with the news of the election of the new successor.”
It is the immediately-elected pope who puts the enemies to route and “guides the ship right up to the two columns and comes to rest between them,” securely fastening the barque - first to the pillar of the Host and then to the pillar of the Virgin.
St. John Bosco asked Fr. Rua, one of his fellow priests, his opinion of the dream. Fr. Rua responded, “It seems to me that the pope’s ship might mean the Church; of which he is the head; the ships, men; the sea, this world. Those who defend the big ship are the good, lovingly attached to the Holy See; the others are her enemies, who try with every kind of weapon to annihilate her. The two columns of salvation seem to be devotion to Mary Most Holy and to the Blessed Sacrament and the Eucharist.”
“You are right!” said St. Bosco. “Only I ought to correct one expression. The enemy ships are persecutions. The most serious trials for the Church are near at hand. That which has been so far is almost nothing in the face of that which must befall. Her enemies are represented by the ships that tried to sink the principal ship if they could. Only two means are left to save her amidst so much confusion: DEVOTION TO MARY MOST HOLY and FREQUENT COMMUNION, making use of every means and doing our best to practice them and having them practice everywhere and by everybody.”
Next to consider is Fatima’s Third Secret Vision, wherein “the Holy Father passed through a big city half in ruins and half trembling with halting step, afflicted with pain and sorrow, he prayed for the souls of the corpses he met on his way; having reached the top of the mountain, on his knees at the foot of the big Cross he was killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him, and in the same way there died one after another the other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious, and various lay people of different ranks and positions. Beneath the two arms of the Cross there were two Angels each with a crystal aspersorium in his hand, in which they gathered up the blood of the Martyrs and with it sprinkled the souls that were making their way to God.”[25]
The fate of a future pope was also related by none other than Pope St. Pius X: “I saw one of my successors by name fleeing over the corpses of his brethren. He will flee to a place for a short respite where he is unknown; but he himself will die a cruel death.” [26]
In the Third Secret Vision, the pope walks “half trembling and with halting step,” indicating advanced age. As for Pope St. Pius X’s vision, it may be that a future pope will take the name of Pius, but there is another consideration, which may or may not be of significance: Pope St. Pius X’s baptismal name was Giuseppe Sarto; in Italian, Giuseppe means Joseph – the baptismal name of Pope Benedict XVI.
Revealing Remarks
Comparing what is known of the public Fatima revelations to the visions of two great saints, at least three themes appear: the Holy Eucharist and Marian devotion; increasing persecutions of the Church and the Holy Father, with the last one likened to hand-to-hand combat; and a pope’s death at the hand of enemies. Current world circumstances - including an elderly pope whose baptismal name is Joseph - are additional indicators that we are now in the final stages leading to the Fatima’s Third Secret Vision.
What we can reasonably conclude about the Third Secret Message, still undisclosed, issues from commentary by Sr. Lucia and others in a position to know:
Pope John Paul II, 1980 on the Third Secret: “Given the seriousness of the contents, my predecessors in the Petrine office diplomatically preferred to postpone publication so as not to encourage the world power of Communism to make certain moves. On the other hand, it should be sufficient for all Christians to know this: if there is a message in which it is written that the oceans will flood whole areas of the earth, and that from one moment to the next millions of people will perish,[27] truly the publication of such a message is no longer something to be desired…”
“We must prepare ourselves to suffer great trials before long, such as will demand of us a disposition to give up even life, and a total dedication to Christ…With your prayer and my prayer, it is possible to mitigate this tribulation, but it is no longer possible to avert it, because only thus can the Church be effectively renewed. How many times has the renewal of the Church sprung from blood? This time, too, it will be otherwise. We must be strong and prepared, and trust in Christ and His Mother, and be very, very assiduous in praying the Rosary.” [28] (Author’s note: Of course, it is possible to avert this great trial, by means of the collegial consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart.)
Sr. Lucia, May 13, 1980, when asked during an interview, “Has Our Lady ever spoken to you about the consecration of the world to Her Immaculate Heart?” responded: “No…Never! At the Cova da Iria in 1917, Our Lady had promised: I shall come to ask for the Consecration of Russia…In 1929, at Tuy, as she had promised, Our Lady came back to tell me that the moment had come to ask the Holy Father for the consecration of that country (Russia).” [29]
Sr. Lucia, March 19, 1983 confirmed in the presence of three witnesses, including the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Portalupi, that Pope John Paul II’s 1982 world consecration did not fulfill Our Lady’s request. She explained: “In the act of offering of May 13, 1982, Russia did not appear as being the object of the consecration. And each bishop did not organize in his own diocese a public and solemn ceremony of reparation and Consecration of Russia. Pope John Paul II simply renewed the consecration of the world executed by Pius XII on October 31, 1942. From this consecration we can expect some benefits, but not the conversion of Russia.”
Sr. Lucia, March 22, 1984, who had already received and read the text of the pope’s consecration formula planned for March 25, 1984, when asked about it, made a negative sign and declared, “That consecration cannot have a decisive character.”[30]
Pope John Paul II, March 25, 1984, immediately following his second “act of offering” the world to Our Lady, said: “Enlighten especially the peoples of which you yourself are awaiting our consecration and confiding.” [31] These words clearly reveal the pope’s awareness that Russia had neither been explicitly consecrated to the Immaculate Heart nor in the way Our Lady requested.
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, late 1984 on why the Third Secret was still not made public: “Because, according to the judgment of the Popes, it adds nothing to what a Christian must know from Revelation – i.e., a radical call for conversion; the absolute importance of history; the dangers threatening the faith and the life of the Christian and therefore the world. And also the importance of the last times…But the things contained in this Third Secret correspond to what is announced in Scripture and are confirmed by many other Marian apparitions, beginning with the Fatima apparitions themselves in their known contents. Conversion, penance are essential conditions to salvation.” [32]
Cardinal Silvio Oddi, March 17, 1990 said of the Third Secret: “The Blessed Virgin was alerting us against apostasy in the Church.”[33]
Cardinal Luigi Ciappi, 1995, serving for 40 years as papal theologian to all the popes, from Popes Pius XIII through John Paul II: “In the Third Secret it is foretold, among other things, that the great apostasy in the Church begins at the top.” [34]
The Dogma of the Faith and the Great “Et Cetera”
In 1943, when asked about the contents of The Third Secret, Sr. Lucia said, “In a certain way, I have already revealed it.”[35] How so? In her Fourth Memoir, she implicitly disclosed it in a sentence of substantial importance: “In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved, etc.”[36] This sentence, which ends with the intriguing “et cetera,” is the prelude to the Third Secret Message – the part of the secret still hidden.
“The dogma of the Faith” is a telling phrase, one which addresses the Church’s primary dogma, thrice-defined: “Outside the Church, there is no salvation.” [37] Today, this singular dogma about the Church is either unknown or rejected within the Church, another sign of Fatima’s veracity, lending further credence that the Third Secret’s smothered Message centers on “an apocalyptic crisis of the faith in the Church starting from the top”[38] – namely, the revolt [39] which St. Paul said must come first.
“In Portugal,” not “Throughout Portugal”
In light of Our Lady’s promise, the faithful are confused by unfolding religious and political events in Portugal, including the desecration of the original, majestic Fatima basilica - accomplished with its rector’s awareness and permission – and the construction of a concrete monstrosity that looks more like a maximum security prison than a Church and blots the area where Our Lady appeared.[40]
How can such things happen, when Our Lady prophesied, “In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved, etc.”?
It is because even the faithful have interpreted Our Lady’s opening phrase, “In Portugal” to mean “Throughout Portugal.” Previously understanding that the sentence indicated apostasy throughout the rest of the world, but with Portugal remaining firm, we now begin to more deeply grasp its meaning. Only parts of Portugal will preserve the dogma of the faith – a terrible indictment to how widespread the apostasy has become.
Why is this so? Our Lord revealed to Sr. Lucia certain chastisements of Portugal, protected from the ravages of WWII because the country’s bishops collegially consecrated it to the Immaculate Heart in 1931, renewing the act in 1938 and 1940:
“But in spite of this, the Hearts of Our Good Lord and Our Good Mother are sad and grieved. Portugal in its majority does not correspond either to Their graces or love. They [the Holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary] frequently complain about the sinful life of the majority of the people, even of those who call themselves practical Catholics. But above all, They complain very much about the lukewarm, indifferent and extremely comfortable life of the majority of the priests and members of religious congregations.”
“The number of souls He meets through sacrifice and intimate life of love is extremely small and limited. These confidences lacerate my heart, mainly because I am one of those unfaithful souls. Our Lord doesn’t restrain Himself in setting me there, showing me the mountain of my imperfections that I recognize with huge confusion…”
“Nevertheless, Our Lord goes on communicating with my soul. He seems concerned about the destiny of some countries and wishes to save Portugal, but she is guilty, too." [41]
This revelation is a startling testimony to the doctrine of the Mystical Body of Christ. It reminds us of a previous declaration to the universal Church:
"The times in which we live demand action - but action which consists entirely in observing with fidelity and zeal the divine laws and the precepts of the Church, in the frank and open profession of religion, in the exercise of every kind of charitable works, without regard to self-interest or worldly advantage."[42]
The entire Church Militant must follow Our Lady's requests. The Holy Father and the bishops must effect the solemn, public consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart, recalling that "the Church is built of living stones. It is built of saints. And saints are made only by the grace of God and the infused virtues and the gifts of the Holy Ghost, not by speeches and publicity and campaigns, which are all doomed to sterility without the essentials of prayer and sacrifice." [43]
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Marianna Bartold, founder of Keeping It Catholic (http://www.keepingitcatholic.org), is the author of "The Age of Mary" Catholic, Internet-Based Study Guides, and "The Return of the King" (The Lord of the Rings) Catholic Study Guide. She is also the author of the Keeping It Catholic Home Education Guide books (Volumes I and II), the original homeschool editor of Sursum Corda Magazine, and the founding publisher of The Catholic Family's Magnificat Magazine.
The article above, "Fatima and the Great Et Cetera: Traces of the Third Secret Message," was published in the July 2008 issue of Catholic Family News. All Rights Reserved by the author.
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Footnotes
[1]Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone (with Giuseppe De Carli), The Last Secret of Fatima [New York: Doubleday, English translation copyright 2008]: p. 162
[2] Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, The Message of Fatima (English edition). [Vatican City: Liberia Editrice Vaticana, 2000]: p. 43
[3] Thomas Oestereich, “Pope St. Boniface IV,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 4. [New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907][http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02660c.htm]
[4] “From Antiquity to the Present,” The Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs Official Website
[http://www.santamariadegliangeliroma.it/paginamastersing.html?codice_url=antiquity_to_present&ramo_home=Basilica&lingua=INGLESE]
[5] Loc cit., “Basilica” [http://www.santamariadegliangeliroma.it/paginamastersing.html?codice_url=basilica&lingua=INGLESE&ramo_home=Basilica]
[6]Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité. The Whole Truth about Fatima, Vol. 1. (Buffalo, NY: Immaculate Heart Publications, Revised edition 2003): p. 123
[7] The Message of Fatima, issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, June 26, 2000. Vatican website [http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000626_message-fatima_en.html]
[8] Ibid.
[9] James Loughlin, “Pope Clement XI,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 4. [New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908][http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04029a.htm]
[10] “Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri,” Wikipedia
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria_degli_Angeli_e_dei_Martiri]
[11] “Coordinated Universal Time,” Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coordinated_Universal_Time] In January, 1972, CUT, replacing Greenwich Mean Time, introduced a “leap second” at irregular intervals, in which one minute becomes 61 seconds, to compensate for the earth’s slowing rotation.
[12] “Science with the Clementine Gnomon,” The Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs website
[http://www.santamariadegliangeliroma.it/paginamastersing.html?codice_url=science_with&ramo_home=La_Meridiana&lingua=INGLESE]
[13] Fr. Laux, Church History. [Rockford, IL: TAN Books and Publishers, 1930]: p. 486
[14]For more information on the significance of Sr. Lucia's date of death and the Hebrew month of Adar, please see "Hidden Revelations: The Star of Esther and the Secrets of Fatima,” either in Catholic Family News, May 2008, or on the Net [http://www.keepingitcatholic.blogspot.com/]
[15] Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité, op. cit., p. 332
[16] Felix Just, S.J., PhD., An Overview of Christian History website.
[http://catholic-resources.org/Courses/Christianity-Gilles.htm]
[17] Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité, op. cit., p. 9
[18] Fr. H. O’Laverty, B.A., The Mother of God and Her Glorious Feasts. [Rockford, IL: TAN Books and Publishers. First published between 1908-1915; republished by TAN in 1987]: p. 125
[19] Christopher Ferrara, The Secret Still Hidden [Pound Ridge, NY: Good Counsel Publications, 2008] p. 11
[20] 1 Thess 5: 20-23, The Holy Bible: Douay-Rheims Version [Rockford, IL: TAN Books and Publishers, 1899 edition photographically reproduced]
[21] John De Marchi, I. M.C., Fatima from the Beginning. [Missões Consolata, Fátima, 1986]: p. 227
[22] Ferrara, op. cit., p. 14
[23]Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité, The Whole Truth about Fatima: The Secret and the Church, Vol II. [Buffalo, NY: Immaculate Heart Publications, Revised edition 2003: p. 265
[24]Forty Dreams of St. John Bosco. [Rockford, IL: TAN Books and Publishers, 1996): pp. 205-211
[25] Ibid., The Message of Fatima
[26] Rev. R. Gerald Culleton, The Prophets and Our Times. [Rockford, IL: TAN Books and Publishers, 1974; originally published by the author in 1941 and 1943]: p. 216 (All emphasis mine)
[27]These words call to mind those of Our Lady of Akita on Oct. 13, 1973: “As I told you, if men do not repent and better themselves, the Father will inflict a terrible punishment on all humanity. It will be a punishment greater than the deluge, such as one never seen before. Fire will fall from the sky and will wipe out a great part of humanity, the good as well as the bad, sparing neither priests nor faithful. The survivors will find themselves so desolate that they will envy the dead.” The Akita apparitions were approved by Bishop Ito of the Diocese as authentic. Cited in Ferrara, p. 41 (All emphasis mine)
[28]Stimme Des Glaubin (Voice of Faith), October 1981 cited in Ferrara, p. 37-38 (Emphasis mine)
[29] L’Osservatore Romano, May 12, 1982 edition. (All emphasis mine)
[30] Francois de Marie Des Anges (Frère), Fatima: Intimate Joy World Event, Book IV: Fatima: Tragedy and Triumph [Buffalo, NY: Immaculate Heart Publications, 1994]: pp. 167-168
[31] Ibid., March 26, 1984 edition (All emphasis mine)
[32] Jesus Magazine, November 11, 1984 issue, p. 79. (All emphasis mine)
[33] Il Sabato, Rome, March 17, 1990, cited in Ferrara, p. 42
[34] Aura Miguel, Totus Tuus: Il Segreto di Fatima nel Pontificato de Giovanni Paolo II (Totally Thine: The Secret of Fatima and the Pontificate of John Paul II) [Itaca: Castel Bolognese, 2003]: p. 137, cited in Ferrara, p. 43
[35] Fr. Joacquin Alonso, La verdad sobre el Secreto de Fátima, p. 61; see also The Whole Truth about Fatima, Vol. III, p. 684, cited in Ferrara, p. 19
[36] Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité, op. cit., pp. 749-750
[37]Pope Innocent III, Fourth Lateran Council, 1215; Pope Boniface VIII, the bull Unam Sanctam, 1302; Pope Eugene IV, the bull Cantate Domino, 1442
[38] Antonio Socci, Il Quarto Segreto di Fatima (The Fourth Secret of Fatima), p. 82, cited in Ferrara, op. cit., p. 223
[39] 2 Thess 2: 3
[40]John Vennari, “A Colossal Monument to Diabolic Disorientation,” Catholic Family News, November 2007
[41] Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité, loc. cit.
[42] Pope St. Pius X, E Supremi (On the Restoration of All Things in Christ), October 4, 1903: para. 14
[43] Dom Jean-Baptiste Chautard, O.C.S.O., The Soul of the Apostolate [Garden City, NY: Image Books, 1961]: p. 17
