The Fatima Apparitions of 1917: Miracle or Extraterrestrial Encounter?

The events that unfolded in Fatima, Portugal in 1917 represent one of the most compelling and widely witnessed anomalous phenomena of the 20th century. While traditionally interpreted as religious apparitions of the Virgin Mary, numerous researchers have proposed alternative explanations, including the possibility that what occurred was actually an early mass UFO encounter. This report examines the evidence surrounding the Fatima incident, analyzing both religious and ufological perspectives to provide a comprehensive assessment of this extraordinary case.

Historical Background and Timeline of Events

The Fatima phenomenon began unfolding in 1916 when three shepherd children—Lucia Santos (age 9) and her cousins Francisco (age 8) and Jacinta Marto (age 6)—reported encounters with what they initially described as “a figure like a statue made of snow which the rays of the sun had turned somewhat transparent” while tending sheep near their village of Aljustrel in central Portugal¹. This preliminary encounter was followed by additional sightings in September 1914 and July 1915.

The more famous series of apparitions commenced on May 13, 1917, when the children claimed to see a luminous female figure who requested they return to the same location on the 13th of each month for six consecutive months. As word spread, increasing crowds gathered at the site, culminating in an estimated 30,000 to 70,000 witnesses for the final apparition on October 13, 1917².

What makes the Fatima case particularly intriguing is that while only the three children claimed to see and communicate with the apparition itself, thousands of witnesses reported observing extraordinary aerial phenomena during the final appearance—an event known as the “Miracle of the Sun.” Observers described seeing “a weird disk…emitting a bright flash…turning rapidly…plunging in zig-zag fashion”¹. Others reported the sun appearing to “dance,” displaying unusual colors, and moving across the sky while pulsating and emitting brilliant light rays³.

A remarkable but lesser-known aspect of the Fatima events is that they were apparently predicted months in advance. Portuguese spiritualists and psychics documented in newspaper advertisements and articles that something extraordinary would occur on May 13, 1917—the precise date when the apparitions began⁴. These predictions were published in prominent Portuguese newspapers including Diario de Noticias, O Primeiro de Jeneiro, Jornal de Noticias, and Liberdade as early as March 1917⁴.

Ufological Interpretation: Beyond Religious Paradigms

While the Catholic Church has interpreted the Fatima events as Marian apparitions, several researchers have proposed alternative explanations that align more closely with the UFO phenomenon. Jacques Vallee, a renowned computer scientist and UFO researcher who inspired the character of Claude Lacombe in Spielberg’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” has conducted detailed analysis of the Fatima events, suggesting they bear striking similarities to modern UFO encounters¹.

In his book “Dimensions,” Vallee argues that “what many see as a visit by the Virgin Mary, he views as something closer to a UFO encounter with an alien being”¹. This perspective is further developed by Portuguese historians Joaquim Fernandes and Fina d’Armada in their groundbreaking work “Heavenly Lights: The Apparitions of Fatima and the UFO Phenomenon,” published in 2005⁵.

Fernandes and d’Armada were granted unprecedented access to the original Fatima documents in 1978, which had been kept secret in Church archives since 1917⁶. Their analysis of these primary sources revealed significant discrepancies between the children’s original testimonies and the later Church-approved narrative. According to their research, the entity the children encountered was initially described as:

Less than three feet tall
Appearing to be bald
Never explicitly stating it came from heaven (merely pointing upward when asked)⁴
Communicating without visible mouth movement, with the children reporting they heard words through a “buzzing sound”⁴

These details were systematically altered over time to conform to the expected image of the Virgin Mary. The authors argue in their follow-up book, “Celestial Secrets: The Hidden History of the Fatima Cover-up” (2006), that “the Jesuits concealed evidence of alien contact at Fatima”⁶.

The “Miracle of the Sun” itself bears remarkable similarities to contemporary UFO reports. The description of a spinning, flashing disc performing unusual aerial maneuvers, emitting colored lights and heat, aligns perfectly with countless UFO accounts from later decades. As one analysis puts it, the witnesses observed “a bright disc-like object spinning through the sky and swooping over the crowds below”⁴.

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Credibility Assessment: Evaluating the Evidence

The Fatima case deserves serious consideration due to several factors that strengthen its credibility:

1. Multiple Reliable Witnesses

What distinguishes Fatima from many other UFO cases is the sheer number of witnesses—between 30,000 and 70,000 people reportedly observed the “Miracle of the Sun”². These included not only local villagers but also journalists, skeptics, and educated visitors from throughout Europe and America³. This mass observation effectively eliminates explanations based on individual hallucination or fabrication.

2. Contemporary Documentation

The events were extensively documented in real-time through newspaper accounts, signed affidavits, and photographs. The predictions made before the apparitions by Portuguese spiritualists were published in newspapers months in advance, providing compelling evidence that something anomalous was anticipated⁴.

3. Physical and Physiological Effects

Many witnesses reported physical effects during the “Miracle of the Sun,” including the sensation of heat and the rapid drying of previously rain-soaked clothes and ground⁴. Such physical effects suggest an objective phenomenon rather than a purely psychological experience.

4. Consistent Testimonies

Despite not being able to see the apparition itself, thousands of witnesses provided remarkably consistent descriptions of the aerial phenomena they observed, describing similar patterns of movement, color changes, and unusual behavior of the “sun”³.

5. Institutional Response

The seriousness with which both religious and secular authorities treated the events indicates they recognized something significant had occurred. Local authorities even imprisoned the children temporarily in an attempt to suppress the growing public interest². The Catholic Church conducted extensive investigations before officially recognizing the apparitions as supernatural in origin.

Alternative Explanations and Skeptical Perspectives

While the ufological interpretation of Fatima presents a compelling framework, several alternative explanations have been proposed:

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Skeptics suggest the events can be explained through psychological mechanisms such as mass suggestion, pareidolia (finding familiar patterns in ambiguous stimuli), or collective delusion. The socio-political context of Portugal in 1917—during World War I and amid social unrest—created conditions where religious visions might provide comfort and meaning.

2. Meteorological Phenomena

Some researchers have proposed that unusual atmospheric conditions could explain the “Miracle of the Sun.” Possibilities include sun dogs (atmospheric ice crystals creating the illusion of multiple suns), cloud formations, or optical effects caused by atmospheric dust. However, these explanations struggle to account for the reported movements and behaviors described by witnesses.

3. Astronomical Events

Solar phenomena such as unusual sunspot activity or solar flares have been suggested as potential causes. However, no significant solar events were recorded on that date by observatories elsewhere in the world.

4. Deliberate Hoax or Manipulation

Some critics have suggested the children might have been coached or manipulated by adults with religious or political agendas. This theory is undermined by the consistent testimonies the children provided even when separated and questioned individually. Additionally, the physical and emotional suffering they endured—including imprisonment—suggests genuine belief in their experiences.

Scientific interpretation of the Fatima events is challenging because “comparing the Fatima events with UFO events is questionable because other observations are not supported by the same quality of witnesses and documentation”⁷. This paradoxically highlights the exceptional nature of the Fatima case—it has stronger evidential support than many later UFO incidents.

Cultural Impact and Significance in UFO Discourse

The Fatima apparitions have had a profound and lasting impact across multiple domains:

1. Religious Significance

Fatima became one of Catholicism’s most important pilgrimage sites, drawing millions of believers annually. The Church’s interpretation of the events reinforced Catholic doctrine and inspired renewed religious devotion during a period of increasing secularization.

2. UFO Research and Theory

For ufologists, Fatima represents a pivotal case that challenges conventional categorization. As Jacques Vallee has argued, it exemplifies how the interpretation of anomalous phenomena is filtered through cultural and religious paradigms of the time¹. Had the events occurred today, they might have been immediately recognized as a UFO encounter rather than a religious miracle.

Richard Stanley, who partnered with the Portuguese Ufology and Unusual Phenomena Club (CPOFI) to produce a documentary on Fatima, noted that it may have been “the biggest UFO sighting of the 20th century”⁸. This perspective has influenced how researchers approach the overlap between religious visions and UFO experiences.

3. Academic Study of Anomalous Phenomena

The establishment of Project MARIAN (Multicultural Apparitions Research International Academic Network) at the University Fernando Pessoa in Porto, Portugal, demonstrates the ongoing scholarly interest in the Fatima events⁹. This transdisciplinary approach represents an evolution in how academics engage with phenomena that cross traditional boundaries between religion, psychology, and anomalistics.

4. Popular Culture

The Fatima events have inspired numerous books, films, and documentaries, including “Santiago Lutero – The Last Secret of Fatima,” which explores alternative interpretations of the apparitions⁸. These cultural products reflect the enduring fascination with the case and its multiple possible interpretations.

Lingering Questions and Research Directions

Despite extensive investigation over more than a century, several aspects of the Fatima case remain unresolved and warrant further research:

1. The Original Documentation

While Fernandes and d’Armada gained access to previously restricted Church archives in 1978, a comprehensive, public analysis of all primary documents would provide valuable insights. A multidisciplinary team of historians, religious scholars, and ufologists could potentially uncover new details by examining these materials with fresh perspectives.

2. The Third Secret

The apparition allegedly conveyed three secrets to the children. While the first two were revealed in 1941, the third was not disclosed by the Vatican until 2000, leading to controversy about whether the full text was released. Some researchers believe it may have contained references to extraterrestrial contact that were deemed too sensitive to share⁶.

3. The Predictions by Portuguese Psychics

The advance predictions published in Portuguese newspapers deserve deeper investigation. How did these psychics anticipate the events? Were there connections between the psychics and the children or their families? This aspect of the case suggests a more complex phenomenon than either a simple religious miracle or a straightforward UFO encounter.

4. Comparative Analysis with Similar Cases

Systematic comparison of the Fatima events with other cases involving both religious apparitions and UFO encounters could yield valuable patterns. Particular attention should be paid to cases where witnesses report communication through unusual means (such as the “buzzing sound” at Fatima) and where multiple interpretative frameworks compete.

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5. Psychological and Neurological Research

Modern research into altered states of consciousness, shared psychosis, and temporal lobe sensitivity could provide new frameworks for understanding how the children and the crowd might have perceived and interpreted unusual phenomena.

Conclusion: Beyond the Miracle vs. UFO Dichotomy

The Fatima apparitions of 1917 represent a profound challenge to our categorization of anomalous experiences. Whatever occurred at Fatima was witnessed by thousands and has left an indelible mark on both religious and ufological discourse.

The evidence suggests something extraordinary happened—something that transcends simple explanations. As Jacques Vallee observed, “There’s a thin veil that separates us from the world beyond our gaze and it may be stranger than we imagine”¹. The Fatima case exemplifies this liminal domain where religious experience, anomalous phenomena, and potentially extraterrestrial encounters converge.

Rather than forcing the events into either a purely religious or strictly ufological framework, a more nuanced approach recognizes that our understanding of reality itself may be insufficient to fully comprehend what transpired. As one researcher noted, the proper study of such phenomena requires us to “establish the facts to the best of our ability” without presuming we already know the nature of what we’re examining¹⁰.

What remains clear is that on October 13, 1917, thousands of people witnessed something extraordinary in the skies above Fatima—something that continues to challenge our understanding of reality more than a century later. Whether interpreted as divine intervention, extraterrestrial contact, or something yet more profound, the Fatima case stands as one of the most significant mass-witnessed anomalous events in modern history, demanding continued serious investigation beyond ideological boundaries.

References¹ “The Miracle Of Fatima: A Visit By Mary—or Something Stranger?” Patheos, 2021.⁶ “Celestial Secrets: The Hidden History of the Fatima Cover-up.” Google Books, 2025.¹¹ Reddit post on r/UFOs discussing the Fatima incident and similar historical accounts.⁹ “Reading Notes Heavenly Lights: Apparitions of Fatima and the UFO Phenomenon.” Parasociology Blogspot, 2008.³ “Our Lady of Fatima, UFO’s, and September 1994.” Hebrew Streams, 1994.¹⁰ “The National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP).” CIA document, 1964.⁷ “Scientific Interpretation of the Fatima Events.” Academic paper, 2013.⁵ “Heavenly Lights: The Apparitions of Fatima and the UFO Phenomenon.” Goodreads, 1995.² Reddit post by a researcher who studied the Fatima apparition for over 25 years.⁴ “Ancient Angels at Fatima? The Possible Common Origins of Star Gods.” Ancient Origins.¹² “Fatima UFO Sightings | The UFO Chronicles AI Doc.” YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djfmZ3wKex0⁸ “Miracle or UFO Sighting? Richard Stanley Presents Santiago Lutero – The Last Secret of Fatima.” Dread Central, 2020.

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Isaac Koi