Lady of the Rosary

It is during this seventh appearance of the angel that she identifies her as the Lady of the Rosary for the first and only time.

After the ascendance of the Lady of the Rosary into the sky the Sun Miracle commenced for which there are many eye witness accounts.

From the road, where some vehicles were parked and where hundreds of people who had not dared to brave the mud were congregated, one could see the immense multitude turn toward the sun, which appeared free from clouds and in its zenith. It looked like a plaque of dull silver, and it was possible to look at it without the least discomfort. At that moment a great shout went up, and one could hear the spectators nearest at hand shouting: “A miracle! A miracle!”

Joaquim Lourenço was a school boy at the time, and was with his brother and some other children in the village of Alburitel. They thought it was the end of the world. Joaquim Lourenço tells us:

“I feel incapable of describing what I saw. I looked fixedly at the sun which seemed pale and did not hurt my eyes. Looking like a ball of snow, revolving on itself, it suddenly seemed to come down in a zigzag, menacing the earth. Terrified, I ran and hid myself among the people, who were weeping and expecting the end of the world at any moment. It was a crowd which had gathered outside our local village school and we had all left classes and run into the streets because of the cries and surprised shouts of men and women who were in the street in front of the school when the miracle began.”

“During those long moments of the solar prodigy, objects around us turned all colors of the rainbow… When the people realized that the danger was over, there was an explosion of joy.”

In the United States, in Somerville, New Jersey, Mr. Albano Barros, a successful building contractor who was a child in a village near Minde, about 13 kilometres from Aljustrel. Though only twelve years old at the time, he remembers the miracle as though it had happened yesterday.

“I was watching sheep, as was my daily task, and suddenly there, in the direction of Aljustrel, I saw the sun fall from the sky. I thought it was the end of the world.”

Carlos de Azevedo Mendes, from Torres Novas, was a successful lawyer when the miracle occurred. He was twenty-eight years of age. He states:

“I saw the sun, as if it were a ball of fire, begin to move in the clouds. It had been raining all morning and the sky was full of clouds, but the rain had stopped.”

Mr. Higino Faria, lived in Olaia, 11 kilometers from Aljustrel. he stated:

“Caravans of people were passing in front of the house clothed in every possible fashion, many with-out shoes, many from distant places, like Alentejo and Algarve.”

“I was sick with a severe cold and hoarseness, and I asked, ‘Where are these people going?’ When I learned that they were going because of a predicted miracle, even though I was sick, I wished to go. Having no other means, I went on foot. My wife was very disturbed and said, ‘What are you going to do? Don’t you know you are going to aggravate the state of your health?’”

“We became victims of a heavy rain which wet our clothing and made us very cold. When I arrived at eleven o’clock, I was surprised at the great number of people on the slope of the hill. Completely wet, dirty and frozen, we waited. At one o’clock the clouds gathered into a very thick and dark form, giving the appearance of an eclipse. At that moment I looked at the multitude and had the impression that it was the day of final judgment. The faces of the people looked thin, long and yellow. Then the dark cloud broke into parts, and through the break we saw the sun shining, spinning in the shape of a wheel of fire. It seemed to approach the earth… Everyone was dried, cleaned. I who was sick, returned completely cured.”

Another witness was the priest João Gomes Menitra:

“I was living at Reguengo do Fetal, with my parents. The day before the miracle two couples arrived from Ortigosa looking for a place to spend the night. My father invited them in and also took care of their cart and horse.”

“After I said Mass on that October 13th, the two ladies invited me to go to with them. I refused at first, but they insisted so much that I decided to go, even though I did not believe in the apparitions. On the way up the mountain from Reguengo there were many people on the road, on foot, in carriage, or on bicycles. It was raining, but no one seemed to think of turning back. When we had gotten fairly well up the mountain, the carriage was left and the two couples went down near the place where the children would be, but I remained up near the road, on the outside of the Cova. I was alone. Only the horse and carriage were beside me. I remember thinking that if it rained too much, I would get under the carriage. It was about noon when a man from Alentejo came up to me and said: ‘In about a half an hour.”

“‘You know more than I do,’ I answered. But about a quarter of an hour later the people nearest the tree started crying out. Surprised, I looked and saw that the people were in various colors—yellow, white, blue. At the same time, I beheld the sun spinning at great speed and very near me. I at once thought: ‘I am going to die!’ I knelt down on some stones and raised my hand, begging the pardon of Deus for every fault I might have committed. A few moments later the sun ceased to spin and went back into its place. I looked at the place and saw a truck beside me in which a man in an overcoat stood crying aloud the words of the creed. And I told myself that I was not the only one to be afflicted.”

Dr. Almeida Garrett, PhD stated:

“The sun, at one moment surrounded with scarlet flame, at another aureoled in yellow and deep purple, seemed to be in an exceedingly fast and whirling movement, at times appearing to be loosened from the sky and to be approaching the earth, strongly radiating heat.”

Dr. Domingos Coelho reported in the newspaper Ordem:

“The sun appeared with its circumference well defined. It came down as if to the height of the clouds and began to whirl giddily upon itself like a captive ball of fire. With some interruptions, this lasted about eight minutes. The atmosphere darkened and the features of each became yellow. Everyone knelt even in the mud”

Alfonso Lopes Vieira observed from a distance of nearly 40 kilometres away:

“I was only nine years old at this time, and I went to the local village school. At about midday we were surprised by the shouts and cries of some men and women who were passing in the street in front of the school. The teacher, a good, pious woman, though nervous and impressionable, was the first to run into the road, with the children after her.”

“Outside, the people were shouting and weeping and pointing to the sun, ignoring the agitated questions of the schoolmistress. It was the great Miracle, which one could see quite distinctly from the top of the hill where my village was situated—the Miracle of the sun, accompanied by all its extraordinary phenomena.”

“I feel incapable of describing what I saw and felt. I looked fixedly at the sun, which seemed pale and did not hurt the eyes. Looking like a ball of snow revolving on itself, it suddenly seemed to come down in a zigzag, menacing the earth. Terrified, I ran and hid myself among the people, who were weeping and expecting the end of the world at any moment.”

“Near us was an unbeliever who had spent the morning mocking at the simpletons who had gone off to Cova da Iria just to see an ordinary girl. He now seemed to be paralyzed, his eyes fixed on the sun. Afterwards he trembled from head to foot and lifting up his arms fell on his knees in the mud, crying out to our Lady.”

“Meanwhile the people continued to cry out and to weep, asking God to pardon their sins. We all ran to the two chapels in the village, which were soon filled to overflowing. During those long moments of the solar prodigy, objects around us turned all the colors of the rainbow. We saw ourselves blue, yellow, red, etc. All these strange phenomena increased the fears of the people. After about ten minutes the sun, now dull and pallid, returned to its place. When the people realized that the danger was over, there was an explosion of joy, and everyone joined in thanksgiving and praise to our Lady.”