Jacinta being carried to protect her from the crowd.

While the precise wording of the Secret remains unknown to the public, the labors of such famous Fatima scholars as Father Joachin Alonso (former official archivist of Fatima) and Frère Michel de la Sainte Trinité have nevertheless provided invaluable insights into its meaning and contents. The latter’s monumental 850-page work, The Third Secret is particularly noteworthy in this regard.

In his book, Frère Michel reports that, when questioned about the Secret, Sister Lucy said: “It’s in the Gospel and in the Apocalypse, read them!” He notes that she then particularly indicated Chapters VIII through XIII of the Apocalypse (Chapter XIII specifically concerns the rise of the Antichrist). In his study of the Third Secret, Frère Michel builds a powerful and compelling case that the Third Secret is a grave warning of apostasy within the Catholic Faith and a serious indictment of those in the Church hierarchy who have promoted dissent and outright heresy.

Although Sister Lucy is not permitted to reveal the final Secret of Our Lady until the Holy Father himself deems the moment opportune, nothing has prevented her from giving her opinion on the crisis in the Church as an individual person. In a series of letters written between 1969 and 1972, Sister Lucy reacted vigorously against modernists and others in the Church, in particular those who seek to minimize the importance of the Rosary. “This disorientation is diabolical,” she wrote, and “it is sad that so many people let themselves be dominated by the diabolical wave sweeping over the world! And they are blinded to the point where they are incapable of seeing error! Their principal fault is that they have abandoned prayer.” The saddest part of all, according to Sister Lucy, is that so many priests, religious and bishops are swept away in the confusion. “The devil has succeeded in bringing in evil (to the Church) under the guise of good and the blind are beginning to lead others, as the Lord tells us in His Gospel.”

Can anyone refute Sr. Lucia’s words? Do we not daily see “priests, religious and bishops” who are “swept away in the confusion”? As we approach the 100th anniversary of the Fatima apparitions beginning next May, will we see Our Lady acting directly in our world once again? The messages of Fatima continue to call us to prayer and conversion. And those concerned about the state of the Church would do well to listen to her. Study Fatima. It is the key to peace and we desperately need that peace, both in our Church and in our world.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.