On this day in 1917, something extraordinary happened in a muddy field in Portugal, witnessed by tens of thousands of people. Something which, to this day, remains one of the most remarkable events in modern Christian history. Three shepherd children at Fatima had claimed that the Blessed Virgin Mary was appearing to them. They also said that a miracle would take place on 13 October, so that people would believe. As a result of their claims an enormous crowd gathered, perhaps 50,000–70,000 people, including many sceptics, hard nosed journalists and those who simply wanted to see what would happen. It had been pouring with rain and the ground was soaked meaning that people stood ankle-deep in mud. Then something astonishing happened. Witnesses described the clouds parting and the sun appearing like a brilliant silver disc. Many reported that it began to spin, throwing extraordinary colours across the landscape, before apparently plunging towards the earth. People screamed, fell to their knees and begged God for mercy. Some even thought the world was ending. When it was over, witnesses reported that their previously soaked clothes and the ground had suddenly dried. There is much that makes this fascinating but what particulary fascinates me is that this wasn't just a story told by three children. There were thousands of witnesses, including journalists who were openly sceptical of the Church. The secular newspaper O Século published an extraordinary eyewitness account. Of course, people still debate precisely what happened in my own experience you find that miracles can lose their immediacy over time. But consider the circumstances: three children predicted an extraordinary public event, tens of thousands turned up, and something happened that people were still struggling to explain years later, isn;t that remarkable? Perhaps the most interesting thing about Fatima is the message itself. Our Lady wasn't asking people to become obsessed with miracles. She was calling them to prayer, repentance and conversion, directing them towards her Son, Jesus Christ, and that is really the point. What if God is real? What if He loves us, knows us personally and is trying to get our attention? We can spend our lives dismissing such questions, but Fatima is a rather extraordinary invitation to consider them seriously. Perhaps the greatest miracle isn't what happened in the sky that afternoon, but what happens when someone finally opens their heart to God.