Vatican ends mystery of the third prophecy of Fatima

Secret revealed as Pope John Paul II beatifies children who saw vision of Mary

May 13, 2000
Web posted at: 4:21 p.m. EDT (2021 GMT)

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FATIMA, Portugal (CNN) -- In a dramatic revelation, the Vatican disclosed on Saturday that the so-called third secret of Fatima foretold the 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II.

The Roman Catholic Church revealed the prophecy during a ceremony in Fatima, Portugal, in which Pope John Paul II beatified two children who said the Virgin Mary spoke to them in Fatima several times in 1917.

The ceremony coincided with the 19th anniversary of the attempted assassination of John Paul and the 83rd anniversary of the day the Virgin Mary is first thought to have appeared to the children.

After years of speculation, including fears that the third vision told of apocalypse, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano said that the "third part of the secret of Fatima" speaks of a "bishop clothed in white" who "falls to the ground, apparently dead, under a burst of gunfire."

The Vatican believes the prophecy refers to the attempted assassination of John Paul, who was shot May 13, 1981 at St. Peter's Square in Rome. The pope credits the Virgin Mary with saving his life when he was seriously wounded by Mehmet Ali Agca.

Some Catholics believe the two other prophecies, well-known within the Catholic Church, tell of a vision of hell, interpreted as World War II, and the rise and fall of Soviet Communism.

More than a half-million pilgrims witnessed Saturday's beatification mass at Fatima, about 87 miles (140 km) north of Lisbon. The ceremony marks the final step in the process of achieving sainthood.

Jacinta and Francisco Marto and their cousin, Lucia dos Santos, said the Virgin Mary appeared to them as they were tending sheep in Fatima. According to the children, she gave them three visions.

For decades, however, the third vision was a closely held secret, known only by popes and a few top Vatican officials.

Speculation about the vision has electrified church members, with some fearing it called for the end of the world. The secret of Fatima inspired hundreds of books and even prompted a 1981 plane hijacking by a man who wanted the Vatican to reveal it.

Since 1930, when the Church declared the visions to be worthy of belief, Fatima's fame has spread. The town of about 8,000 draws about 5 million pilgrims a year, putting it on par with the shrine of Lourdes in southern France.

Jacinto and Francisco died of pneumonia two years after they said they saw the Madonna. Their cousin, Lucia, became a nun.

Lucia, 93 and in frail health, has been cloistered since 1929 in a Portuguese Carmelite convent. Lucia attended Saturday's ceremony, sitting beside the tombs of her cousins in Fatima's neo-Baroque basilica.

The sister is ineligible for beatification because it is a status reserved for the dead.

In a two-and-a-half-hour ceremony, John Paul told pilgrims that modern society must return to traditional values if it wants to avoid self-destruction.

"The message of Fatima is a call to conversion, appealing to humanity so that it does not fall into the (devil's) trap," he said, adding that a struggle between good and evil continues today.

The horrors of the past century, including wars, ethnic cleansing, drugs and abortion, has produced many victims of evil, he said.

"Man, by putting God to the side, cannot reach happiness. He will only end up destroying himself," said the pope, resplendent in gold and white vestments.

The pontiff, who turns 80 on Thursday, looked tired on his arrival Friday in Portugal. The Mass in Fatima, however, appeared to energize him.

This is John Paul's third trip to Fatima.

Correspondent Gayle Young, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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