What Happened at Fatima in 1917?

Term: Miracle of the Sun: the name for the events reported at Fatima, Portugal, on October 13, 1917.

Term: Worthy of belief: the Catholic Church’s 1930 finding on the apparitions. It permits devotion but does not require Catholics to accept the event.

Term: Apparition: a reported appearance of a spiritual being or a holy figure.

What Happened at Fatima in 1917?

On October 13, 1917, a very large crowd gathered near Fátima, Portugal, because three shepherd children said the Virgin Mary would appear and perform a miracle that day. Many people in the crowd reported that after rain, the clouds parted and the sun appeared as a spinning silver disk that changed colors and seemed to fall toward the earth. The Catholic Church declared the events worthy of belief in 1930. Skeptics propose natural or psychological explanations, and a few UFO researchers propose a spiritual deception. No single explanation is settled.

The children and the crowd

The story began in 1916, when the children reported seeing an angel. In 1917, Lúcia dos Santos and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto said they saw a glowing woman they believed was the Virgin Mary. They said she would perform a miracle on October 13. Local authorities detained the children at one point, suspecting a political motive.

Crowd estimates for October 13 vary widely. Skeptical writers suggest 30,000 to 40,000. Catholic sources often say 70,000 or more, and some say 100,000. The most common range is the high tens of thousands. Only the children said they saw the woman.

What witnesses reported

It had rained heavily for days, and the ground was muddy. Witnesses said the clouds parted around midday and the sun appeared as a distinct disk that they could look at without pain. Many said it seemed to spin, throw off colored light, zigzag, and rush toward the earth before returning to its place. The reports say it lasted about ten minutes. Some said their wet clothes and the muddy ground dried quickly afterward.

The crowd included believers, skeptics, and reporters. The Church opened a canonical investigation in November 1917 and collected testimony from many kinds of people.

The Church’s position

Bishop José da Silva declared the events worthy of belief on October 13, 1930. That finding allowed the official cult of Our Lady of Fátima. It did not require Catholics to accept the interpretation. The Church treats the sun event as a sign connected to the apparitions.

Natural explanations

Skeptics propose several explanations. A crowd primed to see a miracle, staring at the sun, can report shared perceptions. Looking at the sun through thin cloud or dust can make it appear dim enough to view, and staring can cause afterimages and color changes. Some researchers propose an unusual cloud of dust or ice crystals.

These explanations struggle with a few points. The crowd stood at different spots, and witnesses in nearby villages reportedly described similar effects. Catholic physicist Stanley Jaki argued that natural meteorological effects may have occurred, and that the miracle was their timing at the hour the children had predicted. That view accepts natural mechanisms and a divine purpose together.

The UFO reading

UFO researchers cite Fatima because the descriptions of a spinning disk, colored lights, and frightened witnesses resemble modern reports. L.A. Marzulli, a researcher who works from a Christian perspective, argues that Fatima was not a miracle but a UFO event meant to deceive. His film presents a photograph that he says shows a disk-shaped object over the site on October 13, 1917. As far as I know, that photograph has not been independently authenticated.

Marzulli’s reading draws on the biblical warning in 2 Corinthians 11:14 that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Catholics reject that reading, and so do many Christians of other traditions. It is an interpretation that goes beyond the evidence, and readers should weigh it as one.

What we can say

A very large crowd gathered on a predicted date. Many people reported unusual effects involving the sun. The Church investigated and found the events worthy of belief. No photograph or instrument shows the sun moving, and the explanations differ by worldview.

I report Marzulli’s view in my book Disclosure: They Are Not Extraterrestrials, along with the Church’s position and the natural explanations. I respect readers who see Fatima as a genuine miracle. Disclosure is available on Amazon. You can find more of my work at ckqbooks.com.

Sources

Wikipedia, Miracle of the Sun. Catholic Exchange, The Miracle of the Dancing Sun (2025). Stanley L. Jaki on the Fatima events. The Church’s canonical investigation and the 1930 declaration of Bishop José Alves Correia da Silva.