Dear Parishioners of Mary Immaculate and Saint Rose,
On May 13, 1917 at Fatima, Portugal, three young shepherds experienced an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mary promised to appear to them on the 13th of every month for seven months.
Fatima is one of the most well-known of the apparitions of Mary that is approved by the Church. When Mary appears on earth, there is always a call to conversion. At Fatima, she asked that people turn to her Son, Jesus. She encouraged that use of the sacrament of confession. She encouraged the recitation of the rosary for the conversion of sinners.
The three shepherd children were Jacinta, Francisco, and Lucia. Jacinta and Francisco were to die shortly after the visions were finished. It is interesting to note that they both contracted the Spanish Flu and never fully recuperated from that deadly disease. Perhaps it would be wise of us to pray asking these little shepherds to intercede for us during our current pandemic. Jacinta and Francisco were canonized in 2017 and their bodies are buried in the basilica in Fatima. They are the youngest non-martyrs to be declared saints. Lucia lived much longer. She became a nun and lived to be 97 years old. She died February 13, 2005.
The Blessed Virgin taught the three children to pray the rosary properly. They prayed a rather abbreviated version before this.  She taught them several prayers, one of which is commonly added to the end of each decade of the rosary:
             
                          O, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell,                                                        and lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of thy mercy.
           
                                                                                                        Msgr. Cox