Sts Jacinta and Francisco

In 1917, between May 13th and October 13th the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to 3 Portuguese children in a field near Fatima in Portugal. Blessed Francisco, who was 9, and Blessed Jacinta, who was 7, were brother and sister. They had been taking care of their flock of sheep, with their cousin Lucia dos Santos, when Mary the Mother of Jesus appeared to them. Mary appeared 6 times to the children, always on the 13th of the month. During each of these times, she had specific messages for them. One of the messages was that the rosary be prayed daily for peace in the world and for an end to war. Both Francisco and Jacinta died only a few years after the apparitions. In 2000, they were beatified, which is the first step to becoming Saints. Today millions of people visit the shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, where the apparitions happened.