Today is 13th October.

The Catholic Church today commemorates 100 years, an event now known as the Miracle of the Sun which occurred at Cova da Iria in Fatima, Portugal, and witnessed by about 70,000 people. Several newspaper reporters who were present at that time gave testimony to have witnessed the extraordinary solar activity.

The story of Fatima begins with three shepherd children named Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta who met a beautiful woman bathed in light. She refused to acknowledge who she was, but promised to visit them every 13th. Between May and October 1917, this woman appeared to teach the Rosary while sharing the secrets of life and death. When this news was heard by the public, many did not believe because they thought the three children were lying and seeking attention. But with the passage of time the people became curious.

On 13 October 1917, about 70,000 people gathered after hearing the news that the lady would appear for the last time. Visitors came from all over Portugal, including the mass media. Heavy rain did not discourage the public from attending the event.

Exactly at 12 noon, heavy rain suddenly stopped, the sky opened, and the sun appeared. Suddenly it swirled and descended toward the earth. People screamed in fear because they thought doomsday had come.

When the situation became chaotic, Lucia, one of the shepherd girl, calmed the people and said the lady will soon go very far away and asked to build a church at that location. No sooner, the sky was bright again as if nothing had happened.

It was also witnessed in the stillness in the leaves of the trees in spite of howling winds, the complete drying of the rain soaked ground, and the restoration of clothes all wet and covered with mud. Physical cures of the blind and the lame were reported. The miracle is reported to have been seen from as far as 15-25 miles away and the countless unreserved public confessions of sin and commitments to conversion of life attest to the authenticity of what they saw.

The greatest miracle to occur since the Resurrection is also the only miracle ever precisely predicted as to date, time of day and location. The event was officially accepted as a miracle by the Roman Catholic Church on 13 October 1930. On 13 October 1951, the papal representative, Cardinal Tedeschini, told millions of people gathered at Fatima on 30 October, 31 October, 1 November and 8 November, that Pope Pius XII witnessed the miracle of the sun from the Vatican gardens.

Source: BBC, Wikipedia

Watch a short documentary on this incident