The M+G+R Foundation
Detailed Chronology of Key Events
Apparitions of Our Lady of the Rosary
of Fátima [1917]
As Reported by Church Authorities
(1)
and
With Confirming
Historical
Annotations
[on-line
at http://www.mgr.org/FatimaReportForCourtOfJustice.html]
Note
Added on January 12, 2008: We have acquired a rare
publication with the original chronicles of the very
early Fátima events. (2)
With this historical 400+ page book we have been able to add many
details to this Chronology, which we
had
previously published based on much more recent and heavily edited
information.
In the year 1917:
What
had been the independent Diocese of Leiria prior to the establishment
of a Republican government in Portugal was now under the
administration of the Patriarchate of Lisbon.
In February 1917
Striking
workers lead a revolution in Russia to overthrow the Tsar. A
provisional government rules the country from March through
October.
Tsar Nicholas II abdicates in March, and the Bolshevik party of
Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky will seize power in Petrograd in the
name of the Soviets, in October 1917.
On May 13, 1917:
The first apparition to the three
shepherds [by whom later identified Herself as Our Lady of the
Rosary (the Virgin Mary)] takes place the
in Cova da Iria [in the parish of Fátima] - Portugal.
On July 13, 1917:
The Virgin Mary delivers key messages:
"To
save them [souls of sinners that are
going to hell] (3), God wishes
to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I
say
to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace.
...but
if people do not cease offending God, a worse one [than World
War I] (3)
will break out during the pontificate
of Pius XI". [Whole
Text, in English and Portuguese, may be seen as Item A in
ATTACHMENT II (4)]
"To
prevent this, I shall come to ask
for the consecration of Russia
to my Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of Reparation on the First
Saturdays.
If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be
peace;..." [Whole Text, in English and
Portuguese, may
be seen as Item
B in ATTACHMENT II (4)]
On October 13, 1917:
A series of obviously supernatural
occurrences take place in the Cova da Iria [henceforth referred to as
Fátima]. Many of the
key occurrences were
confirmed and witnessed by fifty to seventy thousand people -
believers and
non believers alike. Even the secular Portuguese press covered these
events at
length.
On November 3, 1917:
The
Governor of the Lisbon Patriarchate, Archbishop D. João
Evangelista de Lima Vidal, in response to a request from the then
Fátima parish priest, R.P. Manuel Marques Ferreira, ordered that
a thorough inquiry be conducted about the most unusual events which
culminated on the 13th of the prior month. The inquiry was
immediately begun. It was completed and turned over to Archbishop D.
João
Evangelista de Lima Vidal about a
year and a
half later, on April 28, 1919. Under
Church law, the Archbishop had the right to investigate these events
and rule on their authenticity.
On January 17,
1918:
A little over two
months later the Diocese of
Leiria was re established.
The M+G+R Foundation
Comments:
Obviously the Vatican recognized the
Ecclesiastical importance and reality
of the 1917 events in Fátima within less than a year after
they began; even before the completion of the official inquiry.
In 1918:
Lenin
moves his government to Moscow. The new Russia signs the treaty of
Brest-Litovsk with
Germany in March 1918, ending Russia's participation in World War
I. Tsar Nicholas and his
entire family are executed by the Bolsheviks at about midnight July
16/17. [Feast of Mary, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. (4)]
During 1918-21:
Civil
war between the Bolsheviks, known as the Reds, and
the monarchists and their allies, known as the Whites.
On August 5, 1920:
The
Bishop of the newly re established Diocese of Leiria, D. José
Alves Correia da Silva, assumes the reins of the Diocese.
In October, 1921:
The
Bishop of the Leiria Diocese authorizes open air masses in the location
of the apparitions for the benefit of the ever increasing stream of
pilgrims visiting the area. By this time he had already purchased
over 125,000 square meters of the Cova da Iria for the future Sanctuary
complex.
The M+G+R
Foundation
Comments:
There
could not
have been a stronger unofficial acknowledgment of the 1917 events in
Cova da Iria than that by the
Ecclesiastical authorities.
Also in 1921:
The Reds win the
civil war. Lenin crushes his opponents, inside and outside the Party.
Russian Orthodox Church property is confiscated and religion is
officially prohibited outside the home.
In 1922:
The Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics is formed.
On May 3, 1922:
The
Diocesan Canonical Process to formally investigate the details of the
Fátima events commenced.
The M+G+R
Foundation
Comments:
This
is done to
officially
acknowledge what has
already been de-facto approved - see the above listing of
Ecclesiastical approved events.
On October 13, 1922:
With
the approval, and under the
supervision, of the Ecclesiastic authorities, the first issue of "Voz
da Fátima" - the still current official Sanctuary news
publication -
was published. 3,000 copies were printed.
The M+G+R
Foundation
Comments:
As
the reader may see, by the year 1922
the Fátima events were no secret to the Church authorities
in Portugal or in Rome - who had, de-facto, approved them through
the related organized and endorsed public religious events.
Ignorance
of the events of Fátima cannot be claimed as an excuse for the
Church
authorities to, after 1922, refuse to heed - on any grounds - the
explicit instructions from
Heaven. In recent years,
Church authorities claimed such ignorance,
seeking to deflect blame from the Administration of the Roman Catholic
Church for the bloody consequences of the Vatican's disobedience
in the
1920s and 1930s.
On December 10, 1925:
The Virgin Mary also clearly specified
the terms of the devotion/reparation
to Her Immaculate Heart; to wit:
"...all those who, on the first
Saturday
of five consecutive months, shall confess, receive Holy Communion,
recite
five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for fifteen minutes
while
meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention
of
making reparation to me."
In 1924 and 1926:
The Canonical
erection of the Pious Union of Servites of Our Lady yielded four
distinct support groups for the budding Sanctuary:
1. Priests to provide
Spiritual Assistance
2. Physicians to assist the visiting sick
3. The Servites of Our Lady, to transport the sick and to keep order
in the Sanctuary
4. Nurses in
the Servites of Our Lady, to assist the sick and oversee the other
services.
In
1926, also with the required Episcopal approval, the first edition of
10,000
copies of the Fátima Pilgrim's Manual saw the light of day.
The M+G+R Foundation
Comments:
How can there be a any doubt that the
Vatican officials - the Pope included - had been kept abreast about the
events at Fátima?
On February 15, 1926:
Jesus appeared to Lucia to "inquire"
about
the spread of the requested
devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
On June 26, 1927:
The
Bishop, D. José Alves Correia da Silva, for the first time
publicly officiated at a formal religious act of great significance:
The inauguration of the original Stations of the Cross.
On December 17, 1927:
Jesus said to Lucia: "My daughter, write
what they ask of you. Write also
all that the most holy Virgin revealed to you in the Apparition, in
which She spoke of this devotion [Jesus wishes to make use of
you to
make Me known
and loved. He wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate
Heart.] (4) As for the remainder of
the Secret, continue to keep silence."
On May 13, 1928:
As part
of the National Pilgrimage celebrations - the largest yet - the
Archbishop of Evora, D. Manuel Mendes da Conceição Santos
blessed and placed the first
stone of the new Basilica.
In 1928:
Joseph Stalin comes
to full power in the Soviet
Union. An oppressive security regime is put in place, including
massive Party purges, arrests, deportations, imprisonment, and
execution of "enemies of the people" and
"counter-revolutionaries". This continues
until Stalin's death in 1953
.
The M+G+R Foundation
Comments:
How could the
ecclesiastical powers of
the Roman Catholic Church claim to have missed all of this? What other
signs from Heaven were needed?
Heaven was now ready
to request the
Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary - "How could they refuse
now", God may have reasoned, "We cannot make it any clearer."
With the new
listing of
Ecclesiastical-approved activities at Fátima in the 1920s, it is
obvious that the Ecclesiastical powers of the Roman Church did not obey
Heaven. They disobeyed not because they lacked proper
information about Fátima, but because they chose to defy
God.
On June 13, 1929:
The Virgin Mary appeared to Lucia at
her
convent in Tuy, Spain, regarding
the Consecration of Russia:
"The
moment has come in which God
asks the
Holy Father, in union with all the Bishops of the world, to make the
consecration
of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, promising to save it by this means.
There
are so many souls whom the Justice of God condemns for sins committed
against
me, that I have come to ask reparation: sacrifice yourself for this
intention
and pray." [Original Text, in
English and Portuguese, may be seen as Item C in ATTACHMENT
II (4)]
'Later' the Virgin Mary
(5)
complained to Lucia
regarding the consecration:
"They
did not wish to heed my request.
Like the King of France, (6)
they
will repent and do it, but it will be late. Russia will have already
spread
her errors throughout the world, provoking wars, and persecutions of
the
Church; the Holy Father will have much to suffer."
[Original
Text, in English and Portuguese, may be seen as Item D in
ATTACHMENT II (4)]
The definition of "later" is established through a letter
from Lucia to Pe. Gonçalves (7) dated January 21, 1935,
wherein she states: "Three years ago
Our Lord was very unhappy because His request (about the Consecration
of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary) was not fulfilled. I made
that known to the Bishop in a letter."
"Three years ago" would place the date signified by "later" in the year
1931. We have not been able to find a copy of the referenced to
letter Lucia wrote to the Bishop, however, other sources have placed
the exact date at August 1931. Although we cannot vouch for the other
sources, the date that they claim such letter was written to the Bishop
is coherent with all else; therefore, we will accept it as valid.
By the
end of 1929:
The
Pastoral Letter that was published by Bishop D. José Alves
Correia Da
Silva solemnly declared that the Apparitions of Our Lady of
Fátima from
May 13 to October 13, 1917, were worthy of belief. In this
letter, the Bishop fully approved the cult of Our Lady of
Fátima.
The M+G+R Foundation
Comments:
This
Pastoral Letter was just a technicality if one considers all the
official Ecclesiastically endorsed situations/events/publications which
occurred prior to this date. Yet, the Virgin Mary's central request -
that Russia be consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary - was
ignored.
On March 11, 1931:
The
Vatican enriched the Pious Union erected in 1924-26 with many
indulgences.
On May 13, 1932
The
Apostolic Nuncio (8)
in Lisbon presided the events associated
with the
National Pilgrimage to Fátima. His opening words, as he
officially
described the event on May 15th, tell us: "I must sincerely confess that I have
never witnessed such spectacle as I did on the thirteenth of this month
in Fátima". A
description which he closed with: "Fátima
is a true blessing for Portugal. I am convinced that Mary will always
protect this Nation.... and will save it from the great dangers which
threaten the whole of society."
The M+G+R Foundation Comments:
The
rest is history. World War II starts on September 1st, 1939. By the end,
the direct and indirect death toll is one hundred million
(9) people,
whose blood is upon the ruling (and disobedient to Heaven)
bureaucracy
of the Roman Catholic Church. By their negligence and
disobedience,
the Church Administrators became accessories the fact
to the
greatest holocaust yet
known to man - World War II.
It
is as simple as this: Lenin and Hitler were indeed evil and were going
to be allowed, by Heaven, to punish mankind for its many crimes.
Heaven, through the Apparitions of the Ever Virgin Mary,
provided the antidote to neutralize the actions of these tyrants.
The Roman Church Administration consciously chose to blatantly disobey
Heaven,
thus, Lenin and Hitler were turned loose upon humanity - without
restraint.
Thus
we ask: Whose was the greatest evil - Lenin's and Hitler's, or the
Church Administration's (who, pretending to believe and be acting in
the Name of God allowed the Soviets and the Nazis a
free hand with
which to attack humanity)?
Who can accuse God of
injustice
when He razes to the ground the physical empire of the Church? He
had established the Church to spread the Good News of Salvation to
mankind, but it became a den of thieves, and prostituted itself with
the princes of the earth. But Ratzinger a.k.a. Benedict
XVI, the
blasphemer, had the audacity to ask "Why, Lord, did you remain silent? How
could you tolerate all this?" while visiting Auschwitz in Poland
in May 2006.
(10)
Regarding the Church
Administration's defiance and
disregard of the clear and
timely
instructions that Heaven gave them through the Fátima
visionaries, we must
ask: "Have we
witnessed
the
ultimate manifestation of: Give not
that which is holy to dogs; neither cast ye your pearls before swine?" [Matthew 7:6]
May God have Mercy on them!
NOTES:
(1)
All quotations are taken from "FÁTIMA in Lucia's
own words" published by the Postulation Centre in Fátima,
Portugal with
its "Approval to Publish" granted at Fátima on May 13, 1976 by
the
Bishop
of Leiria-Fatima, Don Alberto Cosme Almaral. This English translation
is
backed up by the original version in Portuguese "Memórias da
Irmä
Lúcia", 6th Edition. Imprimatur granted on May 13, 1990 by the
same
Bishop.
(2) Nossa Senhora da Fátima -
Aparições, Culto, Milagres, by Luis G. da
Fonseca, S.J., Professor no Pontificio Instituto Biblico (Roma), 2nd
Edition, Livraria Apostolado da Imprensa, Porto, 1947
(3)
Commentaries in brackets, [ ], added to clarify
the text since the entire quotation was not transcribed.
(4) Photocopies
of documents cited may be found in
http://www.mgr.org/attach2.html
Attachment
II
(5) In the
original Portuguese version it states that
it was "Nossa Senhora" (the Virgin Mary) but in the English translation
it was changed into "Our Lord".
(6) The “King of France”
is an allusion to a message given by Christ in June of 1689 to St.
Margaret Mary Alacoque, calling upon Louis XIV to consecrate France to
the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This was not done in timely fashion – and
France began its move toward the Revolution, which began 100 years later
(7) documentos FATIMA by António
Maria Martins, S.J., Porto, 1976, p 415
(8) The
Apostolic Nuncio is the equivalent of the Ambassador of the Vatican
in Portugal. His name was: João Beda Cardinale
(9) 50 million directly
associated with World War II and the remaining 50 million caused by the
communist domination in Russia and the spread of its errors worldwide.
(10)
http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/pope-benedict-auschwitz.htm
Main Text -
http://www.mgr.org/fatima.html
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