On May 13, the Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, a series of Marian apparitions to three children in the Portuguese countryside between May 13 and Oct. 13, 1917.

In six apparitions, Mary asked the children to pray the rosary and make sacrifices in reparation for the sins of the world. The apparitions also included prophecies that some say pointed to World War II and a possible future war, explained Barb Ernster, who serves as the national coordinator of the World Apostolate of Fatima (WAF), an organization that spreads devotion to Our Lady of Fatima.

“On October 13th, there was a great miracle that she had promised and 70,000 people witnessed the sun spinning out of its orbit and casting colors all across the land. It (the sun) appeared to plunge to the Earth and people thought it was the end of the world,” Ernster said.

This “miracle of the sun” led to many conversions, including a former atheist who went on to write a Marian hymn that is sung at the site of the apparition.

Ernster, who also serves as president of the archdiocesan WAF division, said devotion to Our Lady of Fatima draws people closer to her son, Jesus.

“If we stay devoted to her, she’s going to lead us nowhere else but to God,” Ernster said. “She is going to keep us tethered, and that’s the whole mission of her role on Earth … especially in these times when it’s become quite difficult to be a Christian in the world.”

Ernster said people can honor Our Lady of Fatima by fulfilling the requests she gave to the children of Fatima, Venerable Lucia and her cousins St. Francisco and St. Jacinta.

First, people “can offer up every day our sufferings and sacrifices for the conversion of sinners to accept and bear patiently what God brings to you. In other words … uniting our will with the will of God every day,” Ernster said.

Another way to honor Our Lady of Fatima is by praying the rosary, especially with the “Fatima prayer” at the end of each decade: “Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy.”

Another way to honor Mary, who is considered the “greatest disciple of Jesus Christ,” is by attending Mass on the first Saturday of every month, which is a day devoted to Mary, Ernster said.

To hear more about ways to honor Mary on the upcoming feast day, as well as to learn more about what happened at Fatima, tune in to the “Practicing Catholic” episode that debuts at 9 p.m. May 10 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM and repeats at 1 p.m. May 11 and 2 p.m. May 12.

Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the program also includes a discussion with Jenny Keller, founder of JK ceramics, about how her pottery leads her to meditate on God. Also, Deacons Derek Gilde and Alexander Rasset share their journeys to the priesthood ahead of their May 25 ordination.

Listen to interviews after they have aired at archspm.org/faith-and-discipleship/practicing-catholic or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.