The Rosary of Our Lady of Fatima
With the Angel's prayer, Fatima's prayer and the meditations of the message
Why Fatima has her own way of praying the Rosary
On May 13, 1917, in the Cova da Iria de Fátima, a small town in the centre of Portugal, the Virgin Mary first appeared to three pastoralists: Lucía dos Santos, ten years old, and his cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto, nine and seven years old respectively. But the story of Fatima does not begin that day. It begins a year earlier, in the spring and autumn of 1916, when an angel who identified himself as "the Angel of Peace" or "the Angel of Portugal" prepares them internally for Marian apparitions with three visits that changed their way of prayer forever.
The Angel teaches them to bow down on the ground, with their forehead touching the ground, and to repeat for a long time a prayer of worship and reparation. He teaches them to consecrate their whole life to the Trinity. And on the third visit, in the Loca do Cabeço, he makes with them the first Eucharistic communion that they will receive from non-human hands: Lucía comulga under the two species, Francis and Jacinta only under the species of wine, because they had not yet made the first communion. This gesture, of an amazing theological audacity, says a lot of the depth of what the sky is preparing.
When the Virgin appears on May 13, the first thing she does is ask the children: "Do you want to offer yourself to God to bear all the suffering that He wants to send you, in an act of reparation for the sins with which he is offended and in supplication for the conversion of sinners?" And then, when he leaves, he asks them to pray the Rosary every day to achieve peace for the world and the end of the war. The same request, identical in essence, will be repeated in each of the six approved apparitions (mayo-October 1917): recen el Rosario.
But it's not just the traditional Rosary. Fatima brings something new: a prayer that will be inserted at the end of every ten, known as the "prayer of Fatima" or "jaculatory of Fatima," taught by the Virgin herself in the apparition of July 13, 1917. And the legacy of the Angel provides a form of inner preparation - the prostration, worship, the consciousness of reparation - that gives the Rosary of Fatima a particular spiritual density.
The message of Fatima has three pillars that transform the way of praying the Rosary: the penitencia as reparation for sins, the consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary requested by the Virgin on 13 June 1917, and the reparation communion First Saturday of the month. Those who meditate on the mysteries of the Rosary in the light of these three pillars discover that each mystery is illuminated with a new intensity.
The first visit of the Angel (spring 1916) - The prayer of the prostration
It was the spring of 1916. The three pastoralists kept the flock in the Loca do Cabeço, a foothold between limestone hills near Aljustrel. It had rained, and they had taken refuge under the rocks. Lucia counts on its Memories who suddenly saw a figure like that of a 14-year-old, more brilliant than the glass through the rays of the sun, coming from the side of the west. It was the Angel.
The Angel fell on the ground and taught them to pray prostrate, with his forehead touching the ground. This position is not casual. It is the oldest in Christianity, the complete prostration that the Church reserves for the moments of greater liturgical intensity: priestly ordination, the worship of the Cross on Good Friday. The Angel makes it the ordinary position of the three pastors during their visits.
Prayer of the Angel (first visit, spring 1916)
"Oh my God, I think, I love, I hope and I love you. I ask forgiveness for those who do not believe, do not worship, do not wait and do not love you."
This prayer was taught by the Angel on the first visit. It is repeated three times, as indicated by the Angel himself. In Portugal it is usually prayed at the beginning of the Rosary, before the Creed. Text taken from the Memories of Sister Lucia dos Santos.
The Angel left and the children remained for a long time in that position of worship, repeating prayer. Lucia writes that they felt a presence of God so intense that they did not even dare to speak to each other. Francis, who in these angelic visits did not listen to the words but only saw the luminous figure, learned the prayer of Lucia's mouth and repeated it with the same intensity.
The second visit of the Angel (summer 1916) - The prayer of reparation
On the second visit, the Angel appeared in the well of the orchard of Lucia's parents. He said, "Pray, pray a lot. The Holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary have on you the plans of mercy. Always offer the Most High prayers and sacrifices." And in response to Lucia's question about how they should be sacrificed, the Angel explained to them: "Of all you can, offer God a sacrifice in the act of reparation for the sins with which he is offended and in supplication for the conversion of sinners. Thus bring peace upon your homeland. I am the guardian angel of Portugal."
This second visit introduces the concept of repair that will be central to the whole message of Fatima. The Rosary of Fatima is not a rosary of intimate consolation: it is a rosary of spiritual combat, of prayer that weighs on the balance of divine mercy.
The third visit of the Angel (autumn 1916) - The Eucharist and the prayer of Eucharistic worship
The third angelic apparition was the most overwhelming. The Angel appeared again in the Loca do Cabeço, holding a chalice in his left hand, and on the chalice, a host of which fell drops of blood. He left the chalice and the host suspended in the air, bowed down on the ground with the children and taught them to pray three times the following prayer:
Prayer of Eucharistic worship (third visit of the Angel, autumn 1916)
"Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I deeply worship you and offer you the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the earth, in repair of the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences with which He himself is offended. And for the infinite merits of her Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I ask you to convert the poor sinners."
Taught by the Angel on his third and last visit. This prayer, also known as "Prayer of Eucharistic Reparation," is much prayed in the prayer groups of Fatima, especially in the night Eucharistic adoration. Text of the Memories of Sister Lucia dos Santos.
After this prayer, the Angel gave communion to the three pastors: the host to Lucia, the blood of the chalice to Francis and Jacinta. According to Lucia's testimony, they felt a presence of God so overwhelming that they were prostrated on the ground for a long time after the Angel had left.
The prayer of Fatima - Taught by the Virgin on July 13, 1917
In the third Marian apparition, that of July 13, 1917, the Virgin showed the three pastors the vision of hell. Lucia will describe that vision decades later in its Memories with words that impressed the whole world. Immediately after that vision, the Lady explained to them why she had shown them: "You have seen hell, where the souls of the poor sinners go. To save them, God wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If they do as I say, many souls will be saved and there will be peace."
And it was on that same occasion that the Virgin taught them the prayer that today is added to the end of every ten of the Rosary. It is a very brief, three-line prayer, but it condemns all the theology of reparation that underlies the message of Fatima:
Fatima's prayer (Fatima's jaculatory)
"O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, deliver us from the fire of hell, bring to heaven all souls, especially those most in need of your mercy."
Taught by the Virgin Mary in the apparition of July 13, 1917. It is prayed at the end of every ten of the Rosary, after the Our Father, the Avemaría and the Glory. Today it is part of the Rosary prayed all over the world. Text of the Memories of Sister Lucia dos Santos, confirmed by the Synod of Bishops on evangelization (1985) and quoted by Pope John Paul II in Rosarium Virus Mariae (2002).
This little prayer, which a child can learn in thirty seconds, has a universal compassion: it asks not only for "we," but for "all souls," and it preferentially looks at "those most in need of mercy," that is, those who are far from God and at risk of being lost. It is a prayer of intercessor, not of a consoled devotee.
How the Rosary of Fatima Prays
The Rosary of Fatima follows the structure of the traditional Rosary with four series of mysteries - joyful, luminous, painful and glorious - but is enriched by the elements of the message of Fatima. The complete sequence is as follows:
1. Sign of the Cross.
2. (Optional) Angel's prayer: "Oh my God, I believe, I love, I hope and I love you..." (three times, prostrate or inclined).
3. The Creed of the Apostles.
4. One Our Father, three Avemarias (through faith, hope and charity) and one Glory.
5. First mystery announcement.
6. Our Father.
7. Ten Avemarias meditating on the mystery.
8. A Gloria.
9. Prayer of Fatima: "O my Jesus, forgive our sins..."
10. Repeat steps 5-9 for each of the five mysteries.
11. Hail Regina.
12. (Optional) Consecration of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The Gothic Mysteries contemplated from Fatima
The joyful mysteries narrate the beginnings of salvation: the Incarnation, the Visitation, the Birth, the Presentation in the Temple and the Lost and Found Child. From the perspective of Fatima, each of them is illuminated by the question that the message poses to humanity: do I accept God's plan, even if I do not understand it?
The Annunciation of the Angel to Mary
The angel Gabriel presents himself to a young woman from Nazareth and communicates a plan that goes beyond all human understanding: she will be the Mother of God. Mary doesn't fully understand how, but she trusts and says yes. Fatima also begins with an angel who announces something that children do not fully understand. The lesson for our meditation: in both cases, God asks for a "yes" before explaining. The rosary of Fatima invites us to renew that "yes" unconditional to the will of God in every ten.
The Visitation of Mary to Santa Isabel
Maria, who has just received the greatest news in history, does not stand still: she runs to serve her cousin Isabel. The message of Fatima also has this dimension of urgent service: there are souls who need help, there are sinners who need prayer, there is a humanity in danger. The Virgin of Fatima does not call for contemplative passivity, but for active charity that flows from union with God.
The Birth of Jesus in Bethlehem
God enters the world as small as possible: a child in a stable, in the cold of the night, with shepherds for first witnesses. Francis, Lucia and Jacinta were shepherds. Fatima is also a story of little ones whom God chooses for big messages. Here we meditate on the poverty desired for love, the detachment that Our Lady asked of the seers and who also asks those who follow her message.
The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple
Mary and Joseph present the child Jesus in the Temple, in compliance with the Law. Simeon prophesies, "And a sword will cross your soul to yourself." The Immaculate Heart of Mary that Fatima asks to consecrate is the heart that already from Bethlehem knows that the way of her Son will pass through the Cross. Here we meditate on the total offering: that which Mary makes of her Son and that which we are invited to make our sufferings united with those of Christ.
The Child Jesus lost and found in the Temple
Mary and Joseph seek the child for three distressing days. "Why did you do this to us?" asked Mary. And Jesus answered, "Did you not know that I should take care of the things of my Father?" Fatima teaches us that there are times when God seems to be absent, moments of spiritual dark night. Francis lived that night in the last year of his life, consumed by fever. The faith of Fatima is a faith that seeks God even when he does not find it, knowing that it is always "in the things of his Father."
The Luminous Mysteries contemplated from Fatima
The luminous mysteries, introduced by Pope John Paul II in 2002 in the Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virus MariaeThey illuminate the public life of Jesus. John Paul II, the Pope most linked to Fatima - attributed the salvation of his life in the 1981 attack to the intercession of Our Lady - introduced them with the awareness that the Rosary needed to embrace the whole life of Christ.
The Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan
Heaven opens and a voice proclaims, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am pleased." Baptism is the beginning of Christ's public mission. The message of Fatima reminds us that our baptismal mission involves reparation and testimony. Each baptized person is called to be, like the seers of Fatima, "an angel of peace" in his own surroundings.
The Wedding of Cana
"Do as He tells you," says Mary to the servants. It is Mary's last sentence in the Gospels: a phrase that sums up her entire mission as a mediator. The Virgin of Fatima says to the pastors, and through them to the Church, essentially the same thing: do what God asks of you, even if you do not fully understand it. The Marian intercession in Cana anticipates the intercession that Fatima asks us to invoke continuously.
The Annunciation of the Kingdom of God and the Call to Conversion
"Become and believe in the Gospel." The whole preaching of Jesus is an urgent call to conversion before it is late. Fatima's message has the same eschatological urgency: the world is in danger, souls are lost, time is now. The Fatima rosary is not a quiet routine devotion: it is an urgent prayer of those who know that there are souls at stake.
The Transfiguration of Jesus in the Tabor
For a moment, the veil of Christ's humanity rises and the apostles see his glory. Lucia, Francis and Jacinta also saw, in the apparitions, flashes of that glory: the Lady "brighter than the sun," says Lucia. The beauty they saw made them desire heaven so intensely that Francis and Jacinta, knowing that they would die soon, barely lamented the news. Here we meditate on the eternal value that suffering acquires when it is united to Christ transfigured.
The Institution of the Eucharist
"Take and eat, this is my Body." The Eucharist is the heart of the Christian faith and, not incidentally, the heart of the message of Fatima: the Angel makes the pastors the first Eucharistic communion as preparation for Marian apparitions. The devotion of the first Saturdays, requested by the Virgin in Fatima, expressly includes communion in a state of grace. The rosary of Fatima naturally culminates in the Eucharist.
The Delicious Mysteries contemplated from Fatima
The painful mysteries are the heart of Fatima's message. The Virgin showed the pastors the vision of hell precisely after explaining the power of prayer and penance. Suffering, in the message of Fatima, is not a scandal or an accident: it is an instrument of salvation when it is freely united with the Passion of Christ.
The Agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane
"My Father, if possible, let this chalice pass from me; but not my will be done, but yours." Jesus, in the garden, sweats blood and asks to be released from the suffering that is coming. But his will is given to that of the Father. The offering that the Angel asks of the shepherds - "offer to God to bear all the sufferings He wants to send you" - is the same as Jesus does in Gethsemane. Here we measure the conformity with God's will even when it hurts.
The Flagellation of Jesus
The body of Christ receives the blows of the soldiers. In Fatima, the Angel taught children that every body sacrifice - cold, heat, hunger, thirst - can become prayer and reparation if offered with love. Jacinta, who died at the age of nine in a hospital in Lisbon, spent her last weeks with a sick rib that caused her atrocious pain. He offered that suffering without complaint, saying, "I suffer everything for the love of Jesus and the Virgin."
The Coronation of thorns
The mockery, public humiliation, contempt. The Virgin of Fatima asked the pastoralists to also accept the moral suffering: the incomprehension of their families, the mockery of the neighbors, the interrogation of the council administrator who locked the three children away threatening them with death. None of them gave in. Here we meditate on the strength of those who suffer the humiliation without revenge, as Christ crowned with thorns.
Jesus on the Cross
The road to Calvary. Each fall is a new offering, each step is a new option by the will of the Father. The Rosary of Fatima reminds us that each day has its own cross, and that the invitation of the Angel - "continually offer prayers and sacrifices" - makes the daily "way of the Cross" an act of love with redeeming value.
The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus
"Everything is consumed." Love comes to an end. The Virgin of Fatima appeared with the Immaculate Heart surrounded by thorns in the third apparition, an image of how the sins of men make the heart she loves without limit suffer. Here we measure the price of salvation and the gratitude that that price deserves: a life of prayer, of reparation, of generous love.
The Glory Mysteries contemplated from Fatima
The glorious mysteries are the Father's response to the Son's obedience. Fatima, which seems to be a grim message by its insistence on penance and reparation, always ends in glory: the conversion of sinners, the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, peace in the world. The Rosary of Fatima is, on its ultimate horizon, a rosary of hope.
The Resurrection of Jesus
"He's risen, he's not here." The empty grave is God's ultimate response to all the suffering of the world. The message of Fatima, with all its gravity, is wrapped in the promise that "in the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph." The Resurrection is the guarantee of that triumph.
The Ascension of Jesus to Heaven
Christ ascends to the Father and promises to send the Holy Spirit. Francis and Jacinta, who died in 1919 and 1920 respectively, fulfilled the promise of the Virgin: "I will soon take Francis to heaven. To Jacinta also, a little later." The Ascension and death of these two holy children are intertwined in the meditation of Fatima: to die is to go to the Father, if he has lived with love.
The Coming of the Holy Spirit in Pentecost
The fire of the Spirit transforms the frightened apostles into brave witnesses. The Rosary of Fatima implicitly requests this transformation: that prayer and penance open us to the Holy Spirit and make us instruments of conversion in our surroundings. The peace that Fatima promises is not a political peace: it is the peace that only the Spirit can give.
Mary's Assumption to Heaven
The blemish body of Mary, who was never touched by sin, is brought to heaven in body and soul. The Immaculate Heart of Mary that Fatima asks to consecrate is the same that now reigns in heaven with her Son. The devotion of Fatima to the Heart of Mary is a devotion that already looks to heaven.
The Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth
Mary is crowned Queen. And the Queen says, "In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph." These words, delivered on July 13, 1917, are the promise that holds the whole message of Fatima. It is not a vague promise: the Virgin links her to the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart and to the communion of repair on the first Saturdays. Here we meditate on the sovereignty of Mary and our confidence that history has a good end.
The Rosary of Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
In the devotional tradition linked to Fatima, a "Rosary of Repair" has also emerged, especially in the groups that practice the devotion of the first Saturdays. It is not a different rosary in its structure, but the same Rosary prayed with a specific intention: to repair the offenses made to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The Virgin explained to Sister Lucia, in the apparition of December 10, 1925 in Pontevedra (Spain), that her heart was offended by five types of blasphemy:
1. The blasphemies against the Immaculate Conception.
2. The blasphemies against his perpetual Virginity.
3. The blasphemies against his divine motherhood and the refusal to recognize her as the Mother of men.
4. The blasphemies of those who publicly inculcate in the hearts of children the indifference, contempt and hatred of this Immaculate Mother.
5. Those who abuse her directly in her sacred images.
To repair these five offences, the Virgin asked for the "first five Saturdays": confession, communion, Rosary and fifteen minutes of meditation of the mysteries, for five consecutive months on the first Saturdays, with the intention of repairing. Who prays the Rosary with this intention of reparation turns his prayer into an act of concrete love for the Heart of Mary.
Prayer of Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
"O Most Holy Virgin Mary, who has come to Fatima to reveal the gifts of God that have been entrusted to you, and who, in proof of love, you present your Heart surrounded by thorns that men have nailed you with their blasphemies and ingratitudes, prostrated at your feet and with your heart against, we ask you to forgive us and accept the reparation we offer you. Have mercy on those who do not worship you, on those who offend you with their unbelief and their vices. Alcanzal of your Son the grace of conversion so that, by embracing a Christian life, they may come to eternal rest with You in heaven. Amen."
Prayer of Fatimist tradition, usually prayed in the groups of the first Saturdays and in the pilgrimages to the sanctuary of Fatima.
Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary requested in Fatima
On June 13, 1917, in the second apparition, the Virgin showed the children her Immaculate Heart surrounded by thorns and said: "God wants to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart." This request, addressed first to the pastors and through them to the Pope and the bishops, has marked the history of the Church of the twentieth century.
Sister Lucia, in later communications, specified that the Virgin specifically asked for the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary by the Pope in union with the bishops of the world. Pius XII (1942 and 1952), Paul VI (1964), John Paul II (1982 and 1984) and Francis (2022) carried out acts of consecration of the world or of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The individual consecration, accessible to any faithful, is as follows:
Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary (fatigue formula)
"O Immaculate Virgin, Mother of God and our Mother, who in Fatima revealed the treasures of grace hidden in devotion to your Immaculate Heart, today I, N., guided by living faith and the burning desire for your Immaculate Heart to triumph in the world, as promised in your apparitions, I consecrate myself to you and intend to practice the virtues you asked for, mainly penance, prayer and sacrifice.
I consecrate to your Immaculate Heart my person, my family and my country, and I ask you to keep us under your maternal cloak, to convert sinners, to convert unbelievers, and one day we all gather in heaven. Amen. "
The formula of individual consecration of the Fatimist tradition, based on the texts of the Memories and on the forms of the Shrine of Fatima.
The final prayer of Fatima and the seal of the Rosary
Mr Lucia recalled in his Memories that the Virgin, before leaving in every apparition, opened her hands and from them a light sprout that penetrated the children. In October 1917, in the last apparition, the Lady finally identified herself: "I am the Lady of the Rosary." He added his last request, "Let them be amended, let them ask for forgiveness of their sins, let them no longer offend the Lord of ours, who is already very offended."
This final sentence of the October apparition sums up the whole message of Fatima and gives the tone with which the Rosary of Fatima should be prayed: it is not a prayer of those who are already well and want to be more, but the prayer of those who recognize that the world has sinned much and that only the mercy of God, invoked by the intercession of his Mother, can save him.
Final prayer - "O Mary, without sin conceived"
"O Mary, without conceived sin, pray for us that we have recourse to you."
Jaculatory of the Miraculous Medal, adopted also in the devotion of Fatima as final or closing prayer. The Virgin taught this same formula to Sister Catherine Labouré in Paris in 1830, and in Fatima was remembered as a synthesis of the faith in the Immaculate Conception.
The Rosary of Fatima is not a museum devotion. It is a living prayer, prayed today in more than one hundred and sixty countries, which brings at its feet presidents and poor, sick in hospitals and pilgrims in the rain of October in the shrine. In the heart of that prayer, beating like a living heart surrounded by thorns falling one by one, is the promise that the Virgin left in that afternoon of July 1917: In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.