Between May 13 and October 13, 1917, three children, Portuguese shepherds from Aljustrel, received apparitions of Our Lady at Cova da Iria, near Fatima, a city 110 miles north of Lisbon. At that time, Europe was involved in an extremely bloody war.

    At the first appearance, Mary asked the children to return to that spot on the thirteenth of each month for the next six months. Her name was Our Lady of the Rosary.

Mary gave the children three secrets:
    1- Lucia revealed the first secret in 1927, concerning devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
    2- The second secret was a vision of hell.
    3- Pope John Paul II directed the Holy See's Secretary of State to reveal the third secret in 2000, Third Secret Revealed