Pope Francis is scheduled to arrive in Fatima later today, May 12, to celebrate the centenary of the apparitions and canonize the little blessed visionaries Francisco and Jacinta.

The journey that begins today, Friday, May 12, 2017, is among Pope Francis’ international trips the one with the strongest Marian feel. One hundred years after the apparitions in Cova da Iria, in Fatima, a century has passed by since the coming of a message intended to mark the history of the Church of the Twentieth Century.

A few weeks ago, four of my friends and I had a mini-reunion. We have all gone our separate ways since college, and it usually takes a wedding to get us all back together. That was the case this time.

In a letter to Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II, Pope Francis said he hoped that both their churches can continue along the path of true unity and communion.

The bond between the Catholic Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church is a reminder “to intensify our common efforts to persevere in the search for visible unity in diversity, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit,” the pope wrote in a letter to the patriarch May 10.

As authentic Marian apparitions go, many of the aspects of our Lady’s appearances to the three shepherd children in Fatima a century ago seem commonplace: Mary asks the seers to pray and do penance for the conversion of sinners, calls them to daily devotion to the Rosary, advocates for peace in the world, requests the children to return on specific dates, and entrusts them with secrets.

What has never ceased to surprise me, on the other hand, is what she revealed to the children after she had showed them a very vivid vision of hell.

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.

Now that May is here, here are five Marian feast days you should know about.

Behind the scenes - between lights and shadows - of the renunciation of Patriarch Laham. An emblematic story of the “inner” malaise that crosses many Christian Middle Eastern communities. Potential candidates to succession and the - spiritual and pastoral - emergencies that they will have to face

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.