On that day, Our Lady once again asked for the daily recitation of the Rosary to bring an end to the war, confirmed the value of the sacrifices offered by the three shepherd children, and announced that in October She would perform «the miracle so that all may believe».
From three shepherd children to 30,000 people
The apparitions had begun four months earlier, on 13 May, when Lúcia, Francisco and Jacinta were with their flock in the Cova da Iria. On that occasion, Our Lady had asked them to return to the same place on the 13th of each month for the next five months.
By September, what had begun before three children had already taken on a very different dimension. The Sanctuary estimates that between 20,000 and 30,000 people were present in the Cova da Iria on 13 September, the first time the crowd exceeded twenty thousand.
Sister Lúcia left in her memoirs a particularly expressive image of that day. As the three shepherd children made their way to the apparition site, many people knelt before them, begging them to present their needs to Our Lady.
Some asked for their sick children, others for the blind and those suffering from various ailments; there were also those who prayed for relatives at war and for the conversion of sinners.
«There appeared all the miseries of poor humanity», Lúcia would recall years later.
The encounter also came after a particularly difficult month for the shepherd children. On 13 August, they had been taken by the administrator of Ourém and prevented from going to the Cova da Iria. The fourth apparition finally took place six days later, on 19 August, in Valinhos.
«Continue to pray the Rosary every day»
The September apparition began with a request that had accompanied all previous encounters: to persevere in the daily recitation of the Rosary.
«Continue to pray the Rosary to Our Lady of the Rosary every day […] to bring an end to the war», the Virgin said, according to Sister Lúcia’s memoirs recorded by the Sanctuary.
Europe was then in the fourth year of the First World War. The war had been present in Fátima’s petitions for months, and the Rosary was repeatedly linked to the plea for peace.
The request would be heard again in October. At the final apparition, Our Lady would ask that the Rosary be prayed daily and would identify Herself to Lúcia as Our Lady of the Rosary.
«God is pleased with your sacrifices»
The apparition of 13 September also contains a lesser-known indication regarding the sacrifices offered by the three children.
Lúcia, Francisco and Jacinta had begun wearing a rough cord around their waists as penance. Our Lady did not reject these sacrifices. On the contrary, She began by confirming their value: «God is pleased with your sacrifices».
She then set a clear limit: «but He does not want you to sleep with the cord; wear it only during the day».
This instruction takes on particular significance within the message of Fátima, where prayer, penance and the offering of sacrifices for sinners occupy a constant place. Barely a month earlier, in Valinhos, Our Lady had asked the children: «Pray, pray much and make sacrifices for sinners».
In September, therefore, the penance of the shepherd children was not disavowed: their offering was confirmed, and guidance was given on how to practise this particular sacrifice.
Sick and petitions before Our Lady
Lúcia also presented to the Virgin the numerous petitions she had received from those who came to the Cova da Iria.
«They have asked me to request many things», the seer explained, explicitly mentioning the healing of some of the sick and of a deaf-mute.
The response was simple: «To some I will grant healing, to others not».
The scene is directly related to the crowd Lúcia had encountered on her way. The tens of thousands who came to the Cova da Iria brought with them illnesses, relatives sent to war, sins and needs that they entrusted to the intercession of Our Lady.
«In October I will perform the miracle so that all may believe»
Before the apparition ended, came the announcement that would further heighten anticipation for the following 13th.
«In October I will perform the miracle so that all may believe», Our Lady announced.
The Virgin also indicated that in October there would appear Our Lord, Our Lady of Sorrows, Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Saint Joseph with the Child Jesus to bless the world.
The promise of a miracle was not entirely new. It had already been announced in previous apparitions, but on 13 September it was reiterated before a Cova da Iria already filled with tens of thousands of people.
More than a century later, Fátima’s call to prayer and conversion continues to shape the life of the Church. Benedict XVI recalled this during his pilgrimage to the Sanctuary in 2010, warning that «those who think the prophetic mission of Fátima is over are mistaken».
A month after that September apparition, the crowd gathered in the Cova da Iria numbered around 70,000 people. It was 13 October 1917, and the day had arrived for which Our Lady had announced the miracle.