An eyewitness tells of a second miracle she and others witness at Fatima right after the Miracle of the Sun

Several years ago Carl Malburg had the privilege of speaking with a woman who was present in Fatima at the Miracle of the Sun. But what she really wanted to tell him about was the second miracle she witnessed there at Fatima shortly after she and everyone saw the sun dancing in the sky, hurling toward earth, then returning to its place in the heavens.

Mary Sturm has long appreciated the Rosary, but it wasn't until she witnessed the dedication of a group of people praying it after daily Mass at her parish, Holy Infant in Ballwin, that her love grew deeper.

Through this prayer, Sturm finds guidance from the Blessed Mother to stay connected to Jesus. The Rosary also was a great consolation to her when her husband of 43 years, Jim, passed away last summer.

"She helps me participate fully at Mass and help others," Sturm said of the Blessed Mother. "She gives me company, protection and reassurance."

On October 13, 1917, a miracle took place. Witnessed by more than 70,000 people at the place of its occurrence, as well as many thousands more within a 25 mile radius, the crowds included devout Catholics, nominal Catholics, agnostics and atheists – regardless of their belief or lack of it, all present witnessed what took place.

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Over the past 10 years the Fatima shrine has seen an uptick in the number of pilgrims who visit from all over the world, particularly from Asia.

The increase is credited to the relevance of Our Lady’s message as the centenary of her apparitions approaches.

“The last few years the number of pilgrims has increased,” Dr. Pedro Valinho Gomes, director of pilgrim services at the Fatima shrine, told CNA in an interview.

Atheists love to mock miracles, and the miracle of the sun at Fatima is one of their favorite objects of derision.

The high priest of the atheists, Richard Dawkins dismisses the miracle of the sun as a mass hallucination.

He writes in The God Delusion:

The incredible drama of Fatima — supernatural events that occurred 100 years ago — summons us to prayer, conversion, reparation and penance. The young visionaries, Servant of God Lucia dos Santos and soon-to-be saints Francisco and Jacinta Marto, decided to change their lives completely by heeding Mary’s messages. Our lives should change, as well. The Marto children will be canonized during Pope Francis’ May 13 Mass in Fatima.

Catholics are renewing Mary’s Rosary devotion as the Church commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Fatima apparitions.

“Say the Rosary every day to bring peace to the world and the end of the war.”

One hundred years ago at a field in Fatima, Portugal, the Blessed Virgin Mary spoke those words to three shepherd children. One thousand miles away, in the bloodstained fields of France, Europe’s proud empires counted hundreds of thousands of their youth killed and wounded in another battle vainly promised as the way to end the “war to end all wars.”

In 1917, meaning, purpose, value, along with transcendence, dignity, and benevolence were rapidly being shed, and this interior emptiness was fueling humanity’s ungodly rage and desire for annihilation. It was into that environment that Mary injected herself in Fatima, bringing a message of light and hope.

It’s always interesting to look at a date or a period of time and ask, “What happened on this day ten years ago? Or fifty or a hundred years ago?” Sometimes we can be surprised how quickly time has passed from a momentous event.