“I want to announce that this coming Oct. 13, I will be consecrating the archdiocese to Our Lady of Fatima, entrusting to her Immaculate Heart the entire Archdiocese of Denver and all who live here,” said Archbishop Samuel Aquila during his homily at the May 13 ordination Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver.
“The date was chosen to honor the 100th anniversary of Fatima and will promote unity throughout the archdiocese,” Archbishop Aquila added. “It will be on the anniversary of the miracle of the sun witnessed by tens of thousands who came to believe and trust in the truth of the miracle of Fatima”.
“It is five months away, which would give all of us all plenty of time to prepare our own hearts to have [them] formed by Mary and Jesus,” Archbishop Aquila said.
The Miracle of the Sun is an event which occurred on Oct. 13, 1917, after the last apparition of Our Lady of Fatima. The miracle was performed in response to a petition of the three shepherds of Fatima, Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco, who asked the Virgin Mary to perform a miracle so that the people would believe she appeared to them. The miracle consisted of a “dance” of the sun in the sky, which radiant and colorful beams of light. According with the witnesses (around 70, 000 people), the event lasted approximately 10 minutes. The Miracle of Sun was approved by the Catholic Church in 1930.
“It is precisely in the heart of Jesus and in the heart of Mary that we come to discover God´s eternal love and the transformation and purification of our own hearts,” the Archbishop concluded.
