Author: Joaquim Fernandes

More than one hundred years after the “apparitions” of Our Lady to the three little shepherds, faith continues unshakably. The moment when Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco saw their childish games interrupted by an explosion of light will never be forgotten and is celebrated to this day. On May 13, thousands of people continue to flock to the Shrine. The reasons are private. Religious belief is transversal. What few know is that this was not the only wave of “apparitions” of Our Lady in Portugal. In fact, it was not even the first on record. There are so many coincidences that, in May 1917, there was even another “apparition” of Our Lady… but in Barral. And it preceded Fatima by three days. In a surprising and deeply documented historical work, historian Joaquim Fernandes tells us the story of another 16 “apparitions” of the Virgin Mary in Portugal – in quotes, because much remains unexplained. Between 1757 and 1998, several “apparitions” were rejected by the Catholic Church. Why were they rejected? What did Fatima have that all the others lacked? Was it just luck? Or a conscious decision? Some questions remain unanswered, but the accounts go down in history – and, thanks to Joaquim Fernandes, now see the light of day.