From Alan Philpott, Ventnor:
ONE hundred years ago, on May 13, near the village of Fatima in northern Portugal a miracle was witnessed by three young shepherd children, when they saw an apparition of the Virgin Mary.
Word quickly spread and over the next few months more and more people made a pilgrimage on the 13th of each month to the same spot, where each time they were rewarded by Mary’s presence, until her final appearance on October 13, 1917 when the events were witnessed by a crowd of some 70,000 people.
In Fatima, Pope Francis will be celebrating the centenary as well as canonising two of the shepherd children,
At 5pm on May 13, St Alban’s Church in Ventnor will be holding a special mass with a short film about Fatima and all are welcome (especially if you are Portuguese!) and there will be some Portuguese snacks after the service.