FATIMA: A NAME TO RECALL
Fatima, Portugal is one of the most revered sights in the Roman Catholic religion. It was in this tiny village where, starting in 1916, three small Portuguese shepherd children had encounters first with an Angel and later with the Lady who has become known as Our Lady of Fatima.
The town bears an Arabic name meaning “high place” after a Moorish Maid who, having fallen in love with the brave Knight Templar, Gonçalo Henriques, was converted to Christianity and baptized with the Christian name of “Oureana”. This name “Oureana” replaced the name “Fatima” that she had received at birth, in honour of the daughter of Mohammed.
The town and the Virgin Mary hold a special place in the minds and hearts of many Muslims and persons of many faiths. The story of how this tiny village grew into the destination for millions of pilgrims and its place in the future of mankind is impressing. Many feel that the MESSAGE OF FATIMA presents an alternative to the strife which prevails in the world today. Pope John Paul II had a special fondness for Fatima. He preached the Message as an alternative to the materialistic trends of today which has created such a chasm between rich and poor in the contemporary world with its resultant social upheavals and wars.
At the time of the apparitions, Portugal was a socialist country which had placed severe restrictions on the Catholic Church and, indeed, had banned it over a period of time.
It was in the middle of this highly charged atmosphere that three simple shepherd children found themselves. Read more about this and how the Apparitions of the Angel and of Our Lady changed their lives and can change ours too.