History in Colour: Fatima Miracle of the Sun

by Admin · Published February 9, 2023 · Updated February 9, 2023

Some of the tens of thousands of people who witnessed the “Miracle of the Sun” at the Cova da Iria in Fátima, Portugal, on October 13, 1917. The crowd had gathered there in anticipation of a prophecy made by three shepherd children, Lúcia dos Santos and Francisco and Jacinta Marto, that the Virgin Mary would appear, as she had done almost every month since May 13, and perform a miracle 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, or emitting radiant colours. According to reports, the event lasted about ten minutes. After investigations, the miracle was approved by the local bishop in 1930.

Many theories but no conclusive scientific explanation have been forwarded for the reported solar phenomenon. Apart from scientific theories, sceptics suggest a mass hallucination apparently caused by all these people looking into the sun too long and seeing what they wanted to see — all at the same time, including neutral observers.