Lent 2026
Aleteia needs your help to share the Good News.
For our mission to continue, we need it to become yours.
On May 13, 1917, three shepherd children, Rarely seen photos of Fatima visionaries, Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco, witnessed a beautiful lady who asked them to come back to the same little valley, called the Cova da Iria, on the 13th of the month for the next six months.
They received many messages and visions from Our Lady and on October 13 a “miracle of the sun” was witnessed by a huge crowd of people that was even recorded by the local newspaper.
The contents of those visions were seen as surprisingly prophetic and many around the world have been drawn to God through a renewed devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary that these visions promoted.
Both Jacinta and Francisco died at an early age and were canonized by Pope Francis, making February 20 their annual feast day. Their child-like holiness reminds of that God often uses the littlest among us to do great things.
Lucia's cause for canonization is currently underway, with hopes that she too will be canonized a saint.
Here are several rarely seen photographs of these children, highlighting the reality that God prefers to work through the weak and lowly of society to communicate his messages.
Click “Launch the slideshow” in the image below:
