Back معجزة الشمس (فاطيما) Arabic Miracle del sol Catalan Sonnenwunder German Milagro del sol Spanish معجزه خورشید Persian Miracle du soleil French Čudo Sunca Croatian Mukjizat Matahari ID Miracolo del sole Italian 太陽の奇跡 Japanese

Miracle of the Sun

Page from Ilustração Portuguesa, 29 October 1917, showing the people looking at the Sun during the Fátima apparitions attributed to the Virgin Mary

The Miracle of the Sun (Portuguese: Milagre do Sol), also known as the Miracle of Fátima, is a series of events reported to have occurred miraculously on 13 October 1917, attended by a large crowd who had gathered in Fátima, Portugal, in response to a prophecy made by three shepherd children, Lúcia Santos and Francisco and Jacinta Marto. The prophecy was that the Virgin Mary (referred to as Our Lady of Fátima), would appear and perform miracles on that date. Newspapers published testimony from witnesses who said that they had seen extraordinary solar activity, such as the Sun appearing to "dance" or zig-zag in the sky, advance towards the Earth, or emit multicolored light and radiant colors. According to these reports, the event lasted approximately ten minutes.

The local bishop opened a canonical investigation of the event in November 1917, to review witness accounts and assess whether the alleged private revelations from Mary were compatible with Catholic theology. The local priest conducting the investigation was particularly convinced by the concurring testimony of extraordinary solar phenomena from secular reporters, government officials, and other skeptics in attendance.[1] Bishop José da Silva declared the miracle "worthy of belief" on 13 October 1930, permitting "officially the cult of Our Lady of Fatima" within the Catholic Church.[2]

At a gathering on 13 October 1951 at Fátima, the papal legate, Cardinal Federico Tedeschini, told the million people attending that on 30 October, 31 October, 1 November, and 8 November 1950, Pope Pius XII himself witnessed the miracle of the Sun from the Vatican gardens.[3][4] The early and enduring interest in the miracle and related prophecies has had a significant impact on the devotional practices of many Catholics.[5]

There has been much analysis of the event from critical sociological and scientific perspectives. According to critics, the eyewitness testimony was actually a collection of inconsistent and contradictory accounts. Proposed alternative explanations include witnesses being deceived by their senses due to prolonged staring at the Sun and then seeing something unusual as expected.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]

  1. ^ Chojnowski, Peter (August 2010). "The Miracle of the Sun" (PDF). The Fatima Crusader. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  2. ^ "Results of the Investigative Commission". October 1930. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  3. ^ Joseph Pelletier. (1983). The Sun Danced at Fátima. Doubleday, New York. pp. 147–151.
  4. ^ "Pius XII Saw "Miracle of the Sun" – ZENIT – English". zenit.org. 4 November 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  5. ^ O'Neill, Michael (1 June 2014). "Miracle or fraud? How the Catholic Church decides". Chicago Catholic. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference csicop.org was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference ReferenceA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference LOF1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Dunning, Brian (22 July 2008). "Skeptoid #110: Illuminating the Fatima Miracle of the Sun". Skeptoid. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  10. ^ McClure, Kevin (1983). The Evidence for Visions of the Virgin Mary. Aquarian Press. ISBN 0-85030-351-6.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Humanist was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Nickell1993 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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