day
of six consecutive months in 1917, starting on 13 May. The
three children were Lucia Santos, Jacinta and Francisco
Marto. The title of Our Lady of the Rosary is also
sometimes used in reference to the same apparition
because the children related that the Lady in the apparition
specifically identified Herself as “the Lady of the Rosary.”
Miracle of the Sun
As early as July the Lady had promised a miracle for the
final apparition, on October 13, so that all would believe.
What transpired became known as “Miracle of the Sun”. A
crowd believed to be approximately 70,000 in number,
including newspaper reporters and photographers,
gathered at the Cova da Iria. The incessant rain had finally
ceased and a thin layer of clouds cloaked the silver disc of
the sun such that it could be looked upon without hurting
one’s eyes. Lucia called out to the crowd to look at the
sun. Sometime while Lucia was pointing towards the sun
and seeing various religious figures in the sky, the sun
appeared to change colors and rotate, like a fire wheel.
For some, the sun appeared to fall from the sky before
retreating, for others, it zigzagged. The phenomenon was
witnessed by most in the crowd as well as people many
miles away. Columnist Avelino de Almeida of O Século
(Portugal’s most influential newspaper, which was pro-
government in policy and avowedly anti-clerical), reported
the following:
“Before the astonished eyes of the crowd, whose aspect
was biblical as they stood bare-headed, eagerly searching
the sky, the sun trembled, made sudden incredible
movements outside all cosmic laws – the sun ‘danced’
according to the typical expression of the people.” Eye
specialist Dr. Domingos Pinto Coelho, writing for the
newspaper Ordem reported “The sun, at one moment
surrounded with scarlet flame, at another aureoled in
yellow and deep purple, seemed to be in an exceeding fast
and whirling movement\, at times appearing to be loosened
from the sky and to be approaching the earth, strongly
radiating heat”. The special reporter for the October 17,
1917 edition of the Lisbon daily, O Dia, reported the
following, “ …the silver sun, enveloped in the same gauzy
grey light, was seen to whirl and turn in the circle of broken
clouds … The light turned a beautiful blue, as if it had come
through the stained-glass windows of a cathedral, and
spread itself over the people who knelt with outstretched
hands … people wept and prayed with uncovered heads, in
the presence of a miracle they had awaited. The seconds
seemed like hours, so vivid were they.” No movement or
other phenomenon of the sun was registered by scientists
at the time. According to contemporary reports from poet
Afonso Lopes Vieira and schoolteacher Delfina Lopes with
her students and other witnesses in the town of Alburita,
the solar phenomena was visible from up to forty kilometers
away. Despite these assertions, not all witnesses reported
seeing the sun “dance”. Some people only saw the radiant
colors, and others, including some believers, saw nothing
at all.