The Saint of 13 May is Blessed Virgin Mary of Fatima, which name day is celebrated and other saints are celebrated on this date.
Blessed Virgin Mary of Fatima
Among the Marian apparitions, recognized as true by the Catholic Church, those of Fatima are among the best known.
The story tells of a prodigious event that happened to the 10 year old Lucia dos Santos, 7 year old Jacinta Marto and 9 year old Francisco Marto, who was the brother of Jacinta and Lucia's cousin.
It happened that on May 13, 1917, while caring for their sheep in the pasture, near Cova da Iria, a countryside location near Fatima, a town in Portugal, they said they saw a cloud descend and, when it was thinning, the figure of a woman dressed in white holding a rosary in her hand, a detail that allowed them to identify her with the Madonna.
Our Lady made an appointment to the boys every 13 of the month until 13 October 1917, for a total of 6 apparitions.
The apparitions were accompanied by revelations regarding future events, such as the near end of the First World War and the risk of an even worse second war if men had not converted their lives to God.
Furthermore, the threat posed by communism in Russia, which would have been possible to defeat only through the Consecration of the nation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, through the work carried out by the Pope together with the bishops, should not be underestimated.
During the last apparition, which took place on October 13, 1917, thousands of people, believers and non-believers, were able to witness a phenomenon that was called a sun miracle.
Those present said that while it was raining the sky was covered with very thick clouds.
Suddenly it stopped raining, the clouds thinned and the disk of the sun, once again visible, began to rotate, taking on various colors and becoming larger, as if it were about to fall on the earth.
Francesco died in 1919, while Jacinta died in 1920, both due to a contagious epidemic that caused numerous victims in Portugal.
Recommended readings- May 25: saint of the day, name day
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Lucia instead became a barefoot Carmelite nun and wrote down her account of the events that had happened in Fatima.
In 1930 the Catholic Church officially recognized the supernatural character of those apparitions, authorizing their worship.
A sanctuary was built in Fatima, visited by Pope Paul VI on 13 May 1967 and, subsequently, by Pope John Paul II, a pontiff particularly linked to the Madonna of Fatima.
Other saints and celebrations of 13 May
- Saint Agnes of Poitiers
- Saint Andrea Uberto Fournet
- Santa Gemma
- Blessed Maddalena Albrici
Abbess
Reclusa
Virgin
