What was Our Lady trying to tell him?
Sun spotting.
Fr. Zuhlsdorf translated a piece from Il Giornale revealing that Pius XII witnessed the solar miracle of Fatima while strolling in the Vatican gardens. I had heard this before, although the new evidence claims he witnessed the prodigy four times.
“Pius XII saw the so called “miracle of the sun” while walking in the Vatican gardens. The globe of the sun rotated and it was possible to look at it in a fixed way. The same event occured on 13 October 1917 at Fatima, at the end of the Marian apparitions to the three little shepherds. Pope Pacelli witnessed the identical phenomenon the day before the event, the vigil and the day of the proclamation of the Assumption of Mary into heaven (celebrated on 1 November 1950) and at last during the Octave of the same ceremony on 8 November.” - Fr. Z
As one of Fr. Z’s commenter’s noted, if Pius XII witnessed the miracle of the sun four times, why did he not carry out the consecration of Russia as Our Lady requested? We may never know, but it is obvious Our Lady was pleased with the Holy Father, and his apparent neglect had no effect upon his salvation. Indeed, he is a candidate for sainthood.
(Don’t forget to vote for Fr. Zuhlsdorf in the 2008 Blog Awards.)
March 5th, 2008 at 2:54 am
Well, I’d respond to the commenter that a newspaper article, claiming to have found a new source, might not be accurate. Remember Hitler’s diaries.
March 5th, 2008 at 6:59 am
Interesting. I never knew.
Terry, I voted for you, in several categories.
March 5th, 2008 at 8:00 am
Elena - thank you very much - one vote from you is as good as winning.
March 6th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Isn’t it because Our Lady didn’t ask him to ; but the Pope on the throne in 1960 ?
could be completely wrong but I seem to remember being in a conversation a while back where someone said something like that…
Oh yes, you got a couple of nominations and votes too…but don’t tell anyone - I’m quite upset and angry that a few people weren’t even nominated…in a way I feel like I’ve let more than a few down, but I’m only one person. I wish some other bloggers/readers had participated a little more; I’m nominated in a few places where there are others absent from the list who really deserve to be there more than I.
March 6th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
p.s. how can father Z not win ?
March 6th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
Paul Priest, you’re probably thinking of when the Third Secret was supposed to be opened and made public. Our Lady of Fatima did not request the consecration of Russia to be done by the Pope reigning in 1960. Her request in 1929 was simply that the time had come for the Pope and all the bishops to consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Pope Pius XII consecrated the entire world to the Immaculate Heart in 1942, but that has generally been judged to not have been what Our Lady of Fatima requested. As I recall, Sister Lucia said that John Paul II’s consecration of Russia was in accordance with her request.
Anyway, if Pius XII did see miracles of the sun, would he have had any reason to think those strange optical effects had anything to do with the Fatima apparitions?
March 8th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
“…would he have had any reason to think those strange optical effects had anything to do with the Fatima apparitions?”
Perhaps, especially as he was consecrated bishop by Benedict XV in the Sistine Chapel on the very same day that Our Lady first appeared at Fatima, 13 May 1917.