IN 1917, three young shepherd children experienced visions of the Virgin Mary near the village of Fatima, Portugal. The apparition of Mary appeared to them six times, always on the 13th of the month.

During the six visitations, Mary revealed several predictions to the children, including the impending death of two of the children, Jacinta and Francisco Marto, who both died of the flu a few years later. The third child, Lucia dos Santos, who went on to become a nun, revealed two of the three secrets in 1941: the end of the First World War, the beginning of the Second World War, and the rise and fall of Soviet Russia as a world power.

When Sister Lucia became ill in 1944 she wrote the third secret in a letter with instructions that it was to be read to the world by the Pope in 1960.

Pope John XXIII opened the letter in 1960, and after having read it to himself, returned it to its envelope, saying only that “this is not for our time”. Every Pope since has read the letter, and declined to share its contents with anyone.

On May 13, 1981, Pope John Paul II was shot by would-be assassin Mehmet Ali Agca, a Turkish extremist. Agca testified at his trial that his attempt to kill the Pope was linked to the third secret of Fatima.

On May 13, 2000, the Pope finally revealed the third secret to the public. It predicted, among other things, the apparent assassination of the Pope.

Sister Lucia died last week, aged 97, in Portugal. In a condolence message, the Pope said he had “always felt lifted by the daily gift of her prayers”.