Referred to as the Great War, the first world war is noted for its "trench warfare" and the use of mustard gas. The war began July 28, 1914 and was fought between the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary and the the Allies of the United Kingdom, France and the Russian Empire, who were later joined by Italy, Japan and the United States
In the year 1916, between sometime in the Spring until late Fall, an angel who called himself the Angel of Peace appeared three times to three little shepherd children in a small village called Ajustrel near Fatima, Portugal.
This day marked the beginning of a revolution in Russia which would bring to an end the existence of the monarchy. This paved the way for a second revolution in which Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and the Bolsheviks introduced Communism that ruled until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
From May to October in 1917, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to the three shepherd children each month on the 13th (excepting the August apparition which happened on the 19th).
In June, Our Lady asked the children to continue coming on the 13th of each month and to continue praying the Rosary.
The apparition in July was one of the most important in which Our Lady revealed the core of her message. She gave many warnings about the future of the world and revealed that in the end her Immaculate Heart would triumph.
The apparition in August was delayed a few days. Arturo de Oliveira Santos, the Mayor of Ourem, had the Fatima seers kidnapped and imprisoned on the 13th threatening the children with execution if they did not reveal the Secret the Virgin Mary told them. They refused to give in to the threat and were finally released.
By September word had spread of the apparitions. Nearly 30,000 people came to the Cova da Iria. Some believed and wanted to see the apparition for themselves, others did not believe and simply came to ridicule the children. Our Lady's message this month was short. She asked that they continue praying the Rosary to obtain the end of the war, and that in October a sign would be given so that all would believe.
In October with 70,000 people present Our Lady appeared a final time. She asked that a chapel be built at the spot in her honor and that they continue praying the Rosary. She told them,"I am the Lady of the Rosary." She promised that the war would end soon and the soldiers would return home.
Germany officially surrendered, essentially ending the war. On June 28, 1919 the Treaty of Versailles was signed to formally end the war.
Within two years after the apparitions, Francisco Marto contracted a severe case of influenza. This brought him much suffering which he offered to console our Lord.
Jacinta Marto Dies on February 20, 1920
On December 30, 1922 the Treaty on the Creation of the Soviet Union was signed.
At the death of Lenin, Joseph Stalin took the reigns of the Soviet Union
Our Lady appears to Lucia at Pontevedra, Spain
During her noviate in Tuy, Spain, Our Lady appeared once more on June 13, 1929. Here she said that it was time for Russia to be consecrated to her Immaculate Heart, as she had asked for at her July 13 apparition in Fatima. This was to be done in order to avoid future wars, persecutions of the Church and the spread of Communism.
In 1933, Adolf Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany and withdrew them from the League of Nations
In the July apparition, Our Lady said, "When you see a night illumined by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign given you by God that he is about to punish the world for its crimes." ("Fatima for Today", 71.)
In 1938 Austria was annexed by Germany. In her writings, Lucia considers this even to be the beginning of WWII.
WWII officially began when Germany invaded Poland in September of 1939. With this Great Britain and France declared war on Germany.
In October of 1942, after being uged by Sister Lucia, Blessed Alexandrina, and the bishops of Portugal, Pope Pius XII consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Adolf Hitler commits suicide, and Germany and Japan both surrender in 1945 ending the war.
Ho Chi Minh introduces Communism to Vietnam, becomes president of North Vietnam and war ensues.
On August 29, 1949, the Soviet Union successfully tested their first atomic bomb. Considered by many to be the beginning of the nuclear arms race.
Mao Zedong assumes power in China under the Communists and establishes the People's Republic of China
Heavily supported by the Soviet Union, the Communistic North of Korea invaded the South of Korea, beginning a war that many feared would escalate into another world war.
In the midst of the "Cold War"-a contest of who could flex the biggest muscles without destroying the world-another competition broke out between the U.S. and USSR when the Soviet's "Sputnik" entered space to begin the "space race"
The Revolution which began in 1956, ended with Fidel Castro taking the place of Fulgencio Batista as leader of the Revolutionary State, which would later become the Communist Party of Cuba
East Germany begins construction on the Berlin Wall.
Fidel Castro, who was head of the Communist Party in Cuba, had made friends with the Soviet Union. The Soviets in 1962 installed nuclear-armed missiles, aimed at the U.S., on the island of Cuba.
Pope Paul VI on the 50th anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady of Fatima, delivered "Signum magnum" calling all the faithful to renew individual consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Despite an attempt by Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev to prevent him from going, recently elected Pope John Paul II went on a 9 day visit to his home land. This visit was his first act in his efforts against Communism
On the anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady of Fatima (May 13, 1981), John Paul II was shot in St. Peter's square.
As the official consecration of Russia according to the wishes of Our Lady of Fatima had not yet happened, JPII made several attempts before finally making an acceptable consecration on March 25, 1984.
On May 13, 1984, an explosion at the Soviets’ Severomorsk Naval Base destroys two-thirds of all the missiles stockpiled for the Soviets’ Northern Fleet. The blast also destroys workshops needed to maintain the missiles as well as hundreds of scientists and technicians. (ewtn.com)
On December 20, 1984 Dmitriy Ustinov, the Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union, suddenly died.
A nuclear power plant under the control of the Soviet Union explodes in Chernobyl, Ukraine.
An explosion destroyed the only chemical factory that made the rocket motors for the Soviets’ SS 24 long-range missiles, which carry ten nuclear bombs each.
November 9, 1989 began the disassembling of the Berlin Wall.
After years of spreading her errors throughout the world, the reign of the Soviet Union finally came to an end seven and a half years after the consecration made by JPII
On February 13, 2005, Sr. Lucia Santos died at the age of 97 in the Carmelite Convent in Coimbra, Portugal.
Today about 4-5 million pilgrims visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima each year.
We'd love to hear from you. Please send questions or feedback to the below email addresses.
Before contacting us, you may wish to visit our FAQs page which has lots of useful info on Tiki-Toki.
We can be contacted by email at: hello@tiki-toki.com.
You can also follow us on twitter at twitter.com/tiki_toki.
If you are having any problems with Tiki-Toki, please contact us as at: help@tiki-toki.com
Close