The anthropological structure of private revelations
27. In these reflections we have sought so far to identify the theological status of private revelations. Before
undertaking an interpretation of the message of Fatima, we must still attempt briefly to offer some clarification
of their anthropological (psychological) character. In this field, theological anthropology distinguishes
three forms of perception or “vision”: vision with the senses, and hence exterior bodily perception, interior perception,
and spiritual vision (visio sensibilis—imaginativa— intellectualis). It is clear that in the visions of
Lourdes, Fatima and other places it is not a question of normal exterior perception of the senses: the images
and forms which are seen are not located spatially, as is the case for example with a tree or a house. This is
perfectly obvious, for instance, as regards the vision of hell (described in the first part of the Fatima “secret”) or
even the vision described in the third part of the “secret.” But the same can be very easily shown with regard
to other visions, especially since not everybody present saw them, but only the “visionaries.” It is also clear that
it is not a matter of a “vision” in the mind, without images, as occurs at the higher levels of mysticism.
Therefore we are dealing with the middle category, interior perception. For the visionary, this perception certainly
has the force of a presence, equivalent for that person to an external manifestation to the senses.
Interior vision does not mean fantasy, which would be no more than an expression of the subjective imagination.
It means rather that the soul is touched by something real, even if beyond the senses. It is rendered
capable of seeing that which is beyond the senses, that which cannot be seen—seeing by means of the “interior
senses.” It involves true “objects”, which touch the soul, even if these “objects” do not belong to our habitual
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sensory world. This is why there is a need for an interior vigilance of the heart, which is usually precluded by
the intense pressure of external reality and of the images and thoughts which fill the soul. The person is led
beyond pure exteriority and is touched by deeper dimensions of reality, which become visible to him. Perhaps
this explains why children tend to be the ones to receive these apparitions: their souls are as yet little disturbed,
their interior powers of perception are still not impaired. “On the lips of children and of babes you have
found praise”, replies Jesus with a phrase of Psalm 8 (v. 3) to the criticism of the High Priests and elders, who
had judged the children’s cries of “Hosanna” inappropriate (cf. Mt 21:16).
“Interior vision” is not fantasy but, as we have said, a true and valid means of verification. But it also has
its limitations. Even in exterior vision the subjective element is always present.We do not see the pure object,
but it comes to us through the filter of our senses, which carry out a work of translation. This is still more evident
in the case of interior vision, especially when it involves realities which in themselves transcend our
horizon. The subject, the visionary, is still more powerfully involved. He sees insofar as he is able, in the modes
of representation and consciousness available to him. In the case of interior vision, the process of translation is
even more extensive than in exterior vision, for the subject shares in an essential way in the formation of the
image of what appears. He can arrive at the image only within the bounds of his capacities and possibilities.
Such visions therefore are never simple “photographs” of the other world, but are influenced by the potentialities
and limitations of the perceiving subject.
This can be demonstrated in all the great visions of the saints; and naturally it is also true of the visions of
the children at Fatima. The images described by them are by no means a simple expression of their fantasy,
but the result of a real perception of a higher and interior origin. But neither should they be thought of as if for
a moment the veil of the other world were drawn back, with heaven appearing in its pure essence, as one day
we hope to see it in our definitive union with God. Rather the images are, in a manner of speaking, a synthesis
of the impulse coming from on high and the capacity to receive this impulse in the visionaries, that is, the children.
For this reason, the figurative language of the visions is symbolic. In this regard, Cardinal Sodano
stated: “[they] do not describe photographically the details of future events, but synthesize and compress
against a single background facts which extend through time in an unspecified succession and duration.” This
compression of time and place in a single image is typical of such visions, which for the most part can be deciphered
only in retrospect. Not every element of the vision has to have a specific historical sense. It is the vision
as a whole that matters, and the details must be understood on the basis of the images taken in their entirety.
The central element of the image is revealed where it coincides with what is the focal point of Christian
“prophecy” itself: the center is found where the vision becomes a summons and a guide to the will of God.
An attempt to interpret the “secret” of Fatima
28. The first and second parts of the “secret” of Fatima have already been so amply discussed in the relative
literature that there is no need to deal with them again here. I would just like to recall briefly the most significant
point. For one terrible moment, the children were given a vision of hell. They saw the fall of “the souls of
poor sinners.” And now they are told why they have been exposed to this moment: “in order to save souls”—to
show the way to salvation. The words of the First Letter of Peter come to mind: “As the outcome of your faith
you obtain the salvation of your souls” (1:9).To reach this goal, the way indicated—surprisingly for people from
the Anglo-Saxon and German cultural world—is devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. A brief comment
may suffice to explain this. In biblical language, the “heart” indicates the centre of human life, the point where
reason, will, temperament and sensitivity converge, where the person finds his unity and his interior orientation.
According to Matthew 5:8, the “immaculate heart” is a heart which, with God’s grace, has come to perfect
interior unity and therefore “sees God.” To be “devoted” to the Immaculate Heart of Mary means therefore to
embrace this attitude of heart, which makes the fiat—“your will be done”—the defining centre of one’s whole
life. It might be objected that we should not place a human being between ourselves and Christ. But then we
remember that Paul did not hesitate to say to his communities: “imitate me” (1 Cor 4:16; Phil 3:17; 1 Th 1:6; 2
Th 3:7, 9). In the Apostle they could see concretely what it meant to follow Christ. But from whom might we
better learn in every age than from the Mother of the Lord?
Thus we come finally to the third part of the “secret” of Fatima which for the first time is being published
in its entirety. As is clear from the documentation presented here, the interpretation offered by Cardinal
Sodano in his statement of 13 May was first put personally to Sister Lucia. Sister Lucia responded by pointing
out that she had received the vision but not its interpretation. The interpretation, she said, belonged not to the
visionary but to the Church. After reading the text, however, she said that this interpretation corresponded to
what she had experienced and that on her part she thought the interpretation correct. In what follows, therefore,
we can only attempt to provide a deeper foundation for this interpretation, on the basis of the criteria
already considered.
“To save souls” has emerged as the key word of the first and second parts of the “secret”, and the key word
of this third part is the threefold cry: “Penance, Penance, Penance!” The beginning of the Gospel comes to mind:
“Repent and believe the Good News” (Mk 1:15). To understand the signs of the times means to accept the
urgency of penance—of conversion—of faith. This is the correct response to this moment of history, characterized
by the grave perils outlined in the images that follow. Allow me to add here a personal recollection: in a
conversation with me Sister Lucia said that it appeared ever more clearly to her that the purpose of all the
apparitions was to help people to grow more and more in faith, hope and love—everything else was intended to
lead to this.
29. Let us now examine more closely the single images. The angel with the flaming sword on the left of the
Mother of God recalls similar images in the Book of Revelation. This represents the threat of judgement which
looms over the world. Today the prospect that the world might be reduced to ashes by a sea of fire no longer
seems pure fantasy: man himself, with his inventions, has forged the flaming sword.
The vision then shows the power which stands opposed to the force of destruction—the splendor of the
Mother of God and, stemming from this in a certain way, the summons to penance. In this way, the importance
of human freedom is underlined: the future is not in fact unchangeably set, and the image which the children
saw is in no way a film preview of a future in which nothing can be changed. Indeed, the whole point of the
vision is to bring freedom onto the scene and to steer freedom in a positive direction. The purpose of the vision
is not to show a film of an irrevocably fixed future. Its meaning is exactly the opposite: it is meant to mobilize
the forces of change in the right direction. Therefore we must totally discount fatalistic explanations of the
“secret”, such as, for example, the claim that the would-be assassin of 13 May 1981 was merely an instrument
of the divine plan guided by Providence and could not therefore have acted freely, or other similar ideas in circulation.
Rather, the vision speaks of dangers and how we might be saved from them.
The next phrases of the text show very clearly once again the symbolic character of the vision: God
remains immeasurable, and is the light which surpasses every vision of ours. Human persons appear as in a
mirror.We must always keep in mind the limits in the vision itself, which here are indicated visually. The
future appears only “in a mirror dimly” (1 Cor 13:12). Let us now consider the individual images which follow
in the text of the “secret.” The place of the action is described in three symbols: a steep mountain, a great city
reduced to ruins and finally a large rough-hewn cross. The mountain and city symbolize the arena of human
history: history as an arduous ascent to the summit, history as the arena of human creativity and social harmony,
but at the same time a place of destruction, where man actually destroys the fruits of his own work. The
city can be the place of communion and progress, but also of danger and the most extreme menace. On the
mountain stands the cross—the goal and guide of history. The cross transforms destruction into salvation; it
stands as a sign of history’s misery but also as a promise for history.
At this point human persons appear: the Bishop dressed in white (“we had the impression that it was the
Holy Father”), other Bishops, priests, men and women Religious, and men and women of different ranks and
social positions. The Pope seems to precede the others, trembling and suffering because of all the horrors
around him. Not only do the houses of the city lie half in ruins, but he makes his way among the corpses of the
dead. The Church’s path is thus described as a Via Crucis, as a journey through a time of violence, destruction
and persecution. The history of an entire century can be seen represented in this image. Just as the places of
the earth are synthetically described in the two images of the mountain and the city, and are directed towards
the cross, so too time is presented in a compressed way. In the vision we can recognize the last century as a
century of martyrs, a century of suffering and persecution for the Church, a century of World Wars and the
many local wars which filled the last fifty years and have inflicted unprecedented forms of cruelty. In the
“mirror” of this vision we see passing before us the witnesses of the faith decade by decade. Here it would be
appropriate to mention a phrase from the letter which Sister Lucia wrote to the Holy Father on 12 May 1982:
“The third part of the ‘secret’ refers to Our Lady’s words: ‘If not, [Russia] will spread her errors throughout the
world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred; the Holy Father will have
much to suffer; various nations will be annihilated.”
In the Via Crucis of an entire century, the figure of the Pope has a special role. In his arduous ascent of the
mountain we can undoubtedly see a convergence of different Popes. Beginning from Pius X up to the present
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Pope, they all shared the sufferings of the century and strove to go forward through all the anguish along the
path which leads to the Cross. In the vision, the Pope too is killed along with the martyrs. When, after the
attempted assassination on 13 May 1981, the Holy Father had the text of the third part of the “secret” brought
to him, was it not inevitable that he should see in it his own fate? He had been very close to death, and he himself
explained his survival in the following words: “... it was a mother’s hand that guided the bullet’s path and
in his throes the Pope halted at the threshold of death” (13 May 1994). That here “a mother’s hand” had
deflected the fateful bullet only shows once more that there is no immutable destiny, that faith and prayer are
forces which can influence history and that in the end prayer is more powerful than bullets and faith more
powerful than armies.
The concluding part of the “secret” uses images which Lucia may have seen in devotional books and which
draw their inspiration from long-standing intuitions of faith. It is a consoling vision, which seeks to open a history
of blood and tears to the healing power of God. Beneath the arms of the cross angels gather up the blood of
the martyrs, and with it they give life to the souls making their way to God. Here, the blood of Christ and the
blood of the martyrs are considered as one: the blood of the martyrs runs down from the arms of the cross. The
martyrs die in communion with the Passion of Christ, and their death becomes one with his. For the sake of
the body of Christ, they complete what is still lacking in his afflictions (cf. Col 1:24). Their life has itself become
a Eucharist, part of the mystery of the grain of wheat which in dying yields abundant fruit. The blood of the
martyrs is the seed of Christians, said Tertullian. As from Christ’s death, from his wounded side, the Church
was born, so the death of the witnesses is fruitful for the future life of the Church. Therefore, the vision of the
third part of the “secret”, so distressing at first, concludes with an image of hope: no suffering is in vain, and it
is a suffering Church, a Church of martyrs, which becomes a sign-post for man in his search for God. The
loving arms of God welcome not only those who suffer like Lazarus, who found great solace there and mysteriously
represents Christ, who wished to become for us the poor Lazarus. There is something more: from the
suffering of the witnesses there comes a purifying and renewing power, because their suffering is the actualization
of the suffering of Christ himself and a communication in the here and now of its saving effect.
30. And so we come to the final question: What is the meaning of the “secret” of Fatima as a whole (in its three
parts)? What does it say to us? First of all we must affirm with Cardinal Sodano: …the events to which the
third part of the ‘secret’ of Fatima refers now seem part of the past.” Insofar as individual events are described,
they belong to the past. Those who expected exciting apocalyptic revelations about the end of the world or the
future course of history are bound to be disappointed. Fatima does not satisfy our
curiosity in this way, just as Christian faith in general cannot be reduced to an object of mere curiosity. What
remains was already evident when we began our reflections on the text of the “secret”: the exhortation to
prayer as the path of “salvation for souls” and, likewise, the summons to penance and conversion.
31. I would like finally to mention another key expression of the “secret” which has become justly famous: “my
Immaculate Heart will triumph.” What does this mean? The Heart open to God, purified by contemplation of
God, is stronger than guns and weapons of every kind. The fiat of Mary, the word of her heart, has changed the
history of the world, because it brought the Savior into the world—because, thanks to her Yes, God could
become man in our world and remains so for all time. The Evil One has power in this world, as we see and
experience continually; he has power because our freedom continually lets itself be led away from God. But
since God himself took a human heart and has thus steered human freedom towards what is good, the
freedom to choose evil no longer has the last word. From that time forth, the word that prevails is this: “In the
world you will have tribulation, but take heart; I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33). The message of Fatima
invites us to trust in this promise.
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