During the apparitions of Fatima between May and October 1917, the Virgin Mary entrusted three child shepherds with three secrets.
The first was a vision of hell that deeply shocked the little children. Since then, they have intensely prayed for the conversion of sinners. Though the vision lasted for only a moment, it was enough to never forget. The greatest of the seers remembers it as so: 'There were devils and souls submerged in a great sea of fire (...) between cries of pain and groans of despair. That horrified them and made them tremble with fear.'
The second secret was prophetic. Mary told the shepherds that if men did not stop offending God, World War II would begin. She also announced the expansion of Communism, and the consequent persecution of the Church and pope. To avoid these evils, the Blessed Mother asked for the devotion to her Immaculate Heart be established in the world and for the pope himself to consecrate Russia, which John Paul II did in March of 1984.
The third secret of Fatima consisted of another vision. The pastors saw a bishop dressed in white, whom they identified as the pope, killed with religious, priests and lay people of various social classes.
This secret could be interpreted as the persecutions suffered by the Church during the 20th century, especially at the hands of Communism. John Paul II himself was recognized in this vision through the attack that almost cost him his life.
Although many of the secrets speak of past events there is a common thread in all of them: the call to the conversion of sinners, because their bad behavior is the main cause of the evils of the world. This is the perennial news of the message of Fatima.
