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Fatima: Monday August 13, 1917

 

Persecutions against children.

 

Not far from Fatima was a very anticlerical man. He was administrator of the canton of Vila Nova de Ourem, on which the city of Fatima depended.

Tinsmith by trade, Artur de Oliveira Santos had created a small local newspaper: "the voice of Ourem", before taking over the family business: "the tinsmith of progress", inherited from his father. Member of a Masonic Lodge, he cumulated three mandates (administrator of the canton, President of the municipal Chamber, and Substitute of the cantonal judge) and was, as such, very feared in the canton.

He could not remain indifferent to these events as the crowd grew and was more and more enthusiastic. He feared having to give explanations to the members of the Lodge of which he was a part while they themselves sought to eradicate the Catholic religion.

 

The parents and the three seers are summoned before the local authorities.

 

On August 10, Manuel Marto and Antonio dos Santos were ordered to present themselves the next day at noon, with their children, to the administrator in Vila Nova, a town located 15 kilometers from Fatima. The only way to get there was by foot or by donkey. François and Jacinthe's father decided to go there alone so as not to impose such a long walk on the children, while Lucie's father took his daughter on a donkey (she fell three times).

 

Lucie was therefore questioned but remained silent because the administrator wanted her to confess the secret. He even threatened to kill her because he had to be prevented at all costs from returning to Cova da Iria. Freemasonry had given orders to liquidate the affair as quickly as possible.

In addition to this, you need to know more about it.

August 13, 1917 at the Marto family.

 

Several men arrived around 9 am at the Marto family, including the tinsmith. The latter said he wanted to take the children in a horse-drawn carriage to the place of the apparitions. Unable to convince them, he proposed to go with them to the parish priest in the company of the parents in order to be able to question the children.

 

The children are locked in the tinsmith then in the prison.

When they arrived at the church, at the administrator's request, Father Ferreira questioned the visionaries. At the end of this interrogation, the administrator forced the children to get into the horse-drawn carriage. François was in front and the two little girls in the back. The horse took the direction of Cova da Iria but a little further on it suddenly changed direction towards Vila Nova de Ourem; the tinsmith had managed to bring the three children home. They locked them in a room hoping they would reveal the secret to them. The children did not let themselves be impressed. The next day, he took them to his office for painful interrogations. The children remained firm and did not say a word. It was then that we decided to lock them in the public prison in order to force them to say in front of everyone that it was all lies.

In addition to this, you need to know more about it.

The liberation of children.

 

The crowd did not understand why the three seers had been locked up and began to revolt. The authorities had to bow because, on the one hand, the children remained silent and on the other hand, the revolt was being heard more and more. The authorities therefore decided to release them on August 15. The administrator placed them on the steps of the house of the priest of Fatima.

 

August 13, 1917 at the Cova da Iria.

 

Eighteen thousand people gathered at the Cova da Iria. They heard the thunder then saw the reflection of a light as well as a small cloud which hovered a few moments above the holm oak before rising towards the sky and disappearing. A rainbow also colored nature with beautiful colors. For all, Notre-Dame was welcome on August 13, 1917.

 

Children… free again!

 

The children, released on August 15, went to the place of the apparitions and recited the rosary in thanksgiving in front of the little holm oak from which the pilgrims had torn all the leaves from the top and cut branches which they took as relics. .

 

The news of the return of the children after their imprisonment was a great joy for their parents as well as for all those convinced of the reality of the apparitions.