It was in 1917 when the Virgin appeared to the little shepherdess Lucia Dos Santos and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto and gave them some enormous secrets about humanity that had only been partially revealed over time. In particular, the third, revealed by Pope John Paul II in 2000, is not yet fully understood. Now Saverio Gaeta’s book “The Secrets of Sister Lucia – Fatima, the truth was never told” (Piemme), an unprecedented investigation, reveals the part that no one has ever dared to tell, and also raises numerous questions about what Maria’s words mean deep inside. A book full of details and great hope, which we talked about in our interview with the author.
The Secret of Fatima has always been talked about and often things have been said that do not correspond to reality. Where did you start this investigation from?
“The starting point of this new investigation is the unpublished documentation collected for the canonization process of Sister Lucia, the “last visionary of Fatima”, together with a series of confidences that I have collected in recent years from people who There are interesting details about the events surrounding the apparition in Portugal. With this material I was able to highlight truths that have never been revealed before and conduct a complete reconstruction of what happened from 1917 to the present.”
In 2000, Pope John Paul II decided to reveal the contents of the “Third Secret,” but in reality his reconstruction led to a different version of events. Was there a desire not to tell the whole truth, or was it some kind of lack of understanding?
“The detailed reconstruction that I present in the book irrefutably confirms the correctness of all previously proposed hypotheses regarding the fact that only the part that the Vatican authorities considered to be directly attributable to the words of the Madonna was revealed, and not all other explanations .” It is enough to quote the passages from the letter that the visionary wrote to Pope Paul VI in August 1967. wrote and in which she claimed to have described the immeasurable light of God, the words of the Madonna about Portugal and faith, the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, but making it clear in each case that he was “the development, the meaning, the realization “I didn’t explain.
Why were the further explanations of what Sister Lucia said never said?
“Essentially for two reasons. The first is the doubt expressed by some, albeit authoritative, Vatican officials as to which were the Virgin’s true words and which were instead Sister Lucia’s declarations, as if the visionary could have allowed herself to express personal opinions. instead of illuminations received directly from heaven. The second has to do with the gravity of the as yet unpublished texts, which are presumably kept in the archives of the Secretariat of State and not, as we had previously thought, in the archives of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith – which focus on the crisis of faith in the Church at the time will mark the persecution shown by Sister Lucia in the “Third Secret”.
This mystery has always been linked to the “final” war, and currently all the signs of it are there. Are we on the verge of the end?
“All Marian prophecies are “subject to change” in the sense that they can be changed or canceled through prayer. Therefore, they must not be interpreted as a threat of punishment from heaven, but rather as a motherly call to each of us to work on it.” Much is possible for him to avoid the risk that evil will triumph, that humanity will is approaching self-destruction, which is now possible due to the number of nuclear weapons stationed in numerous locations on earth. Undoubtedly, the message of Fatima is the most important. The urging of this terrible prospect is therefore an alarm that should not be overlooked, considering what exactly is happening in the two areas that have been most present in Marian prophecies over the last century: Russia and the Middle East.”
The church has experienced a deep crisis of values in recent decades. Is this also what Our Lady’s message is about?
“The Marian apparitions are like a mosaic in which each piece has a meaning and is indispensable for understanding the overall picture. As for the Church, there are most likely unpublished writings by Sister Lucia detailing the issues of her crisis. But in other apparitions, such as La Salette or Tre Fontane, the danger of apostasy, i.e. the turning away from the faith by members of the church, was signaled in a much more worrying way.”
Is there some kind of path to redemption in your rebuilding?
“Absolutely yes! And it is about finally taking seriously the appeals of Heaven, without subtle distinctions between what does not pose a problem and what instead seems to disturb our peace, with images and appeals of a dramatic nature. In fact, it is precisely from this awareness that the pastoral service of proclaiming the Gospel and the proposal for the conversion of hearts, which forms the basis of the Christian message, can find new strength.”
What has this in-depth research you have done changed you and what would you like to say?
“Having studied the subject of Marian apparitions and prophecies for decades, I have received a final confirmation of their credibility, with the certainty that they come to us as a gift from God, who seeks only the true good of all humanity and the protection of his own Creation”.
