First apparition of Mary
Our Lady of Pilar= while Mary living in Jerusalem, supernaturally appears (bilocated) to the Apostle James in 40 AD while preaching in Spain
“This event is the first known and earliest recognized apparition of Our Lady, and one which took place while she was still living on earth. It is interesting to consider that in her book, The Mystical City of God, the Venerable Mary of Agreda wrote that the Blessed Virgin was transported to Spain from Jerusalem carried in a cloud by angels. It was these angels who also crafted the pillar of marble and created the statue of Mary, their queen, holding her Divine Son.”[1]
Church asked to be built, stand to end of time, work miracles for those under my patronage.
Pg 692 The Mystical City of God
Disheartened James not making converts. Instruction & hope from the beginning. Predominant themes. Miracles & conversion were experienced.
- Prequel to Fatima pg 30- 31 St. Michael the Archangel 1147 AD, 1385 AD, 1917 AD
12 th century, breakup of the unity of state and religion, scientific knowledge and theology
Most sinister, the era of controversial popes, which knocked the Church to her foundations.
1147 AD in the vicinity of Fatima the Santarem Castle was occupied by the Moors. St. Michael encouraged the Christian knights and they prevailed in expelling the Moors. On this same day a siege in Lisbon began against the Moors, which ended in victory for the knights. On August 13, in Lisbon, the first miracle of the sun occurred over the besieged city. [For a complete history of the eviction of the Moors from Spain see Warren Carroll’s Isabel of Spain: The Catholic Queen Longest recorded conflict in human history 722-1492 AD. 700+ yrs]
1385 AD “On August 13, 1385, an army under the command of St. Nuno Alvares Pereira (also known as St. Nuno of St. Mary) halted for a rest near the church in the village of Seica. As the knights rested before the imminent battle (against the Castilians as supreme commander of Portugal)[2], St. Nuno begged the Blessed Virgin Mary throughout the night for the grace of victory.
The next day, the army marched through what is now Fatima. As the soldiers passed through the village, they heard angels singing high up in the sky and saw St. Michael the Archangel in front of them, sword raised, as a sign of victory. The apparition began when St. Nuno later was riding through a valley called Cova da Iria. He jumped off his horse, fell to his knees. Then divinely inspired, he called out the ground on which he was kneeling was sacred. It was precisely there that the Fatima children would meet the Mother of God.”[3]
After the death of his wife at age 27, Nuno chose a life of celibacy. At the age of 63 yrs he entered the Carmelite monastery in Lisbon as a lay brother eschewing his military honors and the prestige of being respected by the nobility.
Nuno was born illegitimate, his parents never married and his father a professed brother with 32 illegitimate children. A year after his birth, by royal decree he was legitimatized. This allowed for him to receive a knightly education. Nuno’s grandfather was the 97 th archbishop of Braga.
Beatified by Benedict XV 1918
Canonized Benedict XVI 2009
Compassionate people, preparing the people for her appearance at Fatima.
[1] https://www.roman-catholic-saints.com/our-lady-of-the-pillar.html accessed June 29, 2022
[2] https://catholicnewsherald.com/faith/189-news/faith/faith-nov/5089-st-nuno-alvares-pereira-also-known-as-st-nuno-of-saint-mary accessed June 17, 2022
[3] Laszewski, 31
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