A 34-year-old man died Saturday after being stabbed in Aurora. Reported by Denver Post 1 day ago.

Information is provided by Colorado Parks & Wildlife employees and local fishing enthusiasts. Keep in mind that fishing conditions change on a constant basis. Much can change in a week from the time this fishing conditions report is produced. Metro Denver Area Aurora Reservoir Reported by Denver Post 1 day ago.

Photographing the southern (or northern) lights can be a tiresome eventful, involving hours of standing around late at night, hoping to land yourself the perfect shot of cosmic activity.

Hence, we're pretty jealous of Australian photographer David Finlay, who in one night captured the Aurora Australis, a type of space lightning called "lightning sprites," plus meteors and regular lightning. 

Finlay told ABC News he was trying to capture the Lyrids meteor shower, and didn't realise at the time he had also caught some rare sprites over the south coast of New South Wales. It was only when the Kiama local reviewed the footage in slow motion that he saw the instance of space lightning, which happens high over thunderstorm clouds. Read more...

More about Space Lightning, Lightning Sprites, Southern Lights, Auroras, and Aurora Borealis Reported by Mashable 1 day ago.

Aurora police are investigating a fatal shooting in which a man's body was discovered in a parking lot, police say. Reported by Denver Post 14 hours ago.

Painting company hosts international charity event to give back across Canada and U.S.

Vancouver, BC (PRWEB) May 04, 2017

WOW 1 DAY PAINTING teams across North America, with the help of a number of generous local vendors, participated Friday in their annual system-wide charity event “A Day to WOW.” The campaign had the company’s franchises in Canada and the U.S. giving back to their communities to create the biggest possible impact in a single day.

“With A Day to WOW, we come together as a company to make a big collective impact in our communities in a single day,” said James Alisch, managing director for WOW 1 DAY PAINTING. “It’s immensely gratifying for us to see how these community organizations react to the big changes we’re able to make in their spaces in such a short timeline.”

WOW’s big crews of painters helped paint interiors and exteriors of buildings for organizations including Easter Seals House in Vancouver B.C.; Ronald McDonald House Charities® Southern Alberta; AdaptAbilities in Edmonton Alberta; Army Navy & Air Force Veterans In Canada Club in Kitchener, ON; Big Brothers and Big Sisters of York in Aurora, Ontario; Operation Fix It in Scottsdale, Arizona; Alternatives to Violence in Loveland, Colorado; and the Salvation Army in Moreno Valley, CA; Some franchises chose to undertake projects supporting deserving individual families in need within their communities.    

All painting services were donated by WOW 1 DAY PAINTING franchise partners while paint and supplies were donated in large part by their vendors.

For more information on WOW 1 DAY PAINTING, visit http://www.wow1day.com

-30-

Media Contact:
Anjee Gill, Public Relations Manager
Phone: 1-604-909-3647
Email: anjee.gill(at)wow1day.com

About WOW 1 DAY PAINTING
WOW 1 DAY PAINTING is the only painting company in North America offering to paint your home or business in just one day. Founded in 2010 by serial entrepreneur Brian Scudamore, creator of 1-800-GOT-JUNK? and the franchised junk removal industry, WOW 1 DAY PAINTING provides customers with the quality you’d expect in a timeline that’s unexpected. Reported by PRWeb 11 hours ago.

Hours before an expected vote on the latest Republican healthcare plan, U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman said he would vote against the measure -- a position that puts the Aurora Republican against the administration as Congress prepares to decide the plan's fate. Reported by Denver Post 8 hours ago.

FBI agents and police from various agencies arrested gang members allegedly involved in drug trafficking in raids across Denver on Thursday morning. Reported by Denver Post 8 hours ago.

Romon Enders, 30, was sentenced to 20 years in prison Thursday for the death of his 17-month-old son in 2015. Reported by Denver Post 5 hours ago.

Theman accused in the Aurora double shooting last week of two 18-year-olds, which left one dead and the other wounded, was formally charged Thursday afternoon with first-degree murder. Reported by Denver Post 5 hours ago.

A handful of recent high-profile thefts of drugs by health-care workers were not enough to convince Republicans in the Colorado Legislature to support a plan to require fingerprint-based background checks for nurses and doctors coming to work in the state. GOP members of the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee on Thursday killed House Bill 1121, sponsored by state Rep. Janet Buckner, D-Aurora, which would have instituted such a background check system for health-care professionals… Reported by bizjournals 3 hours ago.

Student Outcomes, Career Success Metrics Used to Rank Top 99 Schools for Overall Excellence

San Francisco (PRWEB) May 05, 2017

LearnHowToBecome.org, a leading resource provider for higher education and career information, has released its list of the Best Colleges in Illinois for 2017. 50 four-year colleges were ranked, with Northwestern University, University of Chicago, Bradley University, Illinois Institute of Technology and Augustana College taking the top five spots on the list. 49 two-year schools were also selected; Carl Sandburg College, Illinois Central College, Richland Community College, Rend Lake College and Lincoln Land Community College were the top five. A complete list of schools is included below.

“The schools on our list have shown that they offer outstanding educational programs that set students up for post-college success,” said Wes Ricketts, senior vice president of LearnHowToBecome.org. “Students exploring higher education options in Illinois can also look to these schools to provide top-quality resources that help maximize the overall educational experience.”

To be included on the “Best Colleges in Illinois” list, all schools must be not-for-profit and regionally accredited. Each college is also evaluated metrics including annual alumni earnings, the opportunity for employment services and academic counseling, the selection of degree programs offered, financial aid availability and graduation rates.

Complete details on each college, their individual scores and the data and methodology used to determine the LearnHowToBecome.org “Best Colleges in Illinois” list, visit:

http://www.learnhowtobecome.org/college/illinois/

The Best Four-Year Colleges in Illinois for 2017 include:
Augustana College
Aurora University
Benedictine University
Blackburn College
Bradley University
Chicago State University
Concordia University-Chicago
DePaul University
Dominican University
Eastern Illinois University
Elmhurst College
Eureka College
Governors State University
Greenville College
Illinois College
Illinois Institute of Technology
Illinois State University
Illinois Wesleyan University
Judson University
Knox College
Lake Forest College
Lewis University
Loyola University Chicago
MacMurray College
McKendree University
Millikin University
Monmouth College
National Louis University
North Central College
North Park University
Northern Illinois University
Northwestern University
Olivet Nazarene University
Principia College
Quincy University
Rockford University
Roosevelt University
Rush University
Saint Xavier University
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville
Trinity Christian College
Trinity International University-Illinois
University of Chicago
University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Illinois at Springfield
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of St Francis
Western Illinois University
Wheaton College

The Best Two-Year Colleges in Illinois for 2017 include:
Black Hawk College
Carl Sandburg College
City Colleges of Chicago - Harry S Truman College
City Colleges of Chicago - Malcolm X College
City Colleges of Chicago - Wilbur Wright College
City Colleges of Chicago-Harold Washington College
City Colleges of Chicago-Kennedy-King College
City Colleges of Chicago-Olive-Harvey College
City Colleges of Chicago-Richard J Daley College
College of DuPage
College of Lake County
Danville Area Community College
Elgin Community College
Frontier Community College
Harper College
Heartland Community College
Highland Community College
Illinois Central College
Illinois Valley Community College
John A Logan College
John Wood Community College
Joliet Junior College
Kankakee Community College
Kaskaskia College
Kishwaukee College
Lake Land College
Lewis and Clark Community College
Lincoln Land Community College
Lincoln Trail College
MacCormac College
McHenry County College
Moraine Valley Community College
Morton College
Oakton Community College
Olney Central College
Parkland College
Prairie State College
Rend Lake College
Richland Community College
Rock Valley College
Sauk Valley Community College
Shawnee Community College
South Suburban College
Southeastern Illinois College
Southwestern Illinois College
Spoon River College
Triton College
Wabash Valley College
Waubonsee Community College

###
About Us: LearnHowtoBecome.org was founded in 2013 to provide data and expert driven information about employment opportunities and the education needed to land the perfect career. Our materials cover a wide range of professions, industries and degree programs, and are designed for people who want to choose, change or advance their careers. We also provide helpful resources and guides that address social issues, financial aid and other special interest in higher education. Information from LearnHowtoBecome.org has proudly been featured by more than 700 educational institutions. Reported by PRWeb 19 hours ago.

Building a brand by moving a signature event from place to place hasn’t been a commonly accepted strategy since the days of traveling medicine shows. But don’t tell that to Josh Sampson. When Sampson’s The Big Wonderful opens its fourth season spotlighting local retailers, restaurants, brewers and bands today, it will be at its fourth different location. Born in the former Sustainability Park in Denver’s River North neighborhood, it spent time last year in Littleton and Aurora as well before… Reported by bizjournals 14 hours ago.

The 800,000 square foot Aurora Sky project could make or break this pot stock. Reported by Motley Fool 14 hours ago.

Warner Bros. debuted a brand new “Wonder Woman” trailer during Sunday night’s MTV Movie & TV Awards, and to put it plainly, it looks awesome. 

The almost three-minute clip, titled “Rise of the Warrior,” focuses primarily on the films action sequences, with Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) wielding her sword, blasting through windows, and rising up into the air like a phoenix from the ashes. It’s pretty epic. 

Upon seeing the new trailer, Twitter was abuzz with positive reactions.


WONDER WOMAN looks... good as hell?

— Richard Lawson (@rilaws) May 8, 2017


WONDER WOMAN IS SUCH A BABE OH MY GOD

— leahschmeah (@schwinnyy) May 8, 2017


Hope Wonder Woman will be as good as it looks

— L boogie (@LaurenDeshaun) May 8, 2017


Been awhile since I've gone to the movies, but King Arthur & Wonder Woman are definitely on my list

— Jasmine (@njasminev) May 8, 2017


NOW THE WORLD HAS WONDER WOMAN pic.twitter.com/6FyhIyZHaK

— hannah the bee (@emiliasbitch) May 7, 2017


THE WONDER WOMAN TRAILER

— тнıa (@flawlesslawrnce) May 8, 2017


Wonder Woman looks flames

— bby k ✨ (@_SincerelyKen) May 8, 2017


DAMN that Wonder Woman sneak peak!!!! #MTVAwards

— Aurora Please (@xprettybirdx14) May 8, 2017


trailer final de wonder woman pic.twitter.com/bpAqYOXRtP

— sue (@spideywomaw) May 8, 2017

We feel the same. 

“Wonder Woman” hits theaters on June 2. 

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 1 day ago.

Camelia and Firethorn home plans win Platinum and Silver Best in American Living™ Awards.

Mount Pleasant, S.C. (PRWEB) May 08, 2017

Carolina-based homebuilder Sabal Homes won two 2016 Best in American Living™ Awards (BALA), the residential building industry’s premier awards program, for its Camelia and Firethorn plans.

Both winning builds are situated in Summerville, S.C., where the homes are popular models at Summers Corner.

Sabal’s Camelia plan garnered Platinum, the highest honor in its square-footage range. Judges were fans of the home’s under-stairs storage and “beautiful proportions.” Outdoor features including the board and batten siding and porch flooring completed the ideal Southern home. As the judges noted: “every southern porch needs a porch swing.”

The Firethorn plan nabbed the Silver in the ‘detached home built for sale’ category, 2,501 – 3,000 square feet. Among the home’s fun and functional features are the butler’s pantry, spa-like master bath, and the additional living space provided by the bonus room above the detached, alley-loaded garage.

“As a South Carolina builder, it’s a huge honor to be nominated – and to win - alongside major industry names,” says Sabal Homes Co-Founder Jason Simpson. “Our team takes great pride in our customized designs and we are thrilled to receive this national recognition.”

The builder has garnered numerous accolades for its home design. Charleston City Paper named Sabal Homes the 2016 “Best Custom Homebuilder.” Camelia and Firethorn were also prize-winners last summer at the 35th Annual Aurora Awards, where the models earned four awards. The prestigious design competition is affiliated with the Southeast Building Conference and the Florida Home Builders Association.

Offering high quality, locally inspired homes and floor plans is a trademark of Sabal Homes. Customizations like corner fireplaces, chef’s kitchens and materials upgrades are chief characteristics of this company’s most popular builds.

The Best in American Living™ Awards (BALA) honors the most creative and talented builders, those who have redefined design excellence for homes and communities throughout the nation and internationally. 

###

ABOUT SABAL HOMES
Located in Mount Pleasant, S.C. and founded in 2005 by Carolina natives Matt Jones, Jason Simpson and Todd Ussery, Sabal Homes is one of South Carolina’s premier homebuilders. From custom to move-in ready homes, Sabal Homes offers numerous floor plans in 14 communities in greater Charleston, Myrtle Beach and Greenville.

The Sabal Homes team has extensive experience in land acquisition, product development, construction and customer service and commits to providing a unique buying experience for every homebuyer. For more information, call 844-MYSABAL or visit SabalHomesSC.com, facebook.com/SabalHomes or twitter.com/SabalHomes. Reported by PRWeb 15 hours ago.

Affordable Housing Investment Brokerage, Inc. represented the seller of the 102-unit Sage Crest Apartments in Aurora, Illinois. All the units of the multifamily property are covered by a Project-Based Section 8 HAP Contract not set to expire until 2031.

Glen Ellyn, Ill. (PRWEB) May 08, 2017

Affordable Housing Investment Brokerage, Inc. (AHIB) represented a private investor in the sale of the Sage Crest Apartments to Preservation Partners Development III, LLC, a national developer of affordable housing. The buyer completed the acquisition with tax exempt bonds and 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. AHIB procured multiple offers on the suburban Chicago property after one month of marketing, achieving a price of $9,700,000.

“We created enough competition amongst qualified buyers to drive a price that covered the Seller’s agency debt pre-payment,” said AHIB Managing Director Kyle Shoemaker. “This allowed for the asset to be renovated and preserved as affordable housing.”

The buyer plans extensive renovations to the property including exterior improvements, unit interior remodeling, improved accessibility, updates to the community room, and energy efficiency upgrades. Funding provided by the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program commits the property to maintain affordability for tenants for at least the next thirty years.

About Affordable Housing Investment Brokerage, Inc.
Affordable Housing Investment Brokerage, Inc. was founded by Kyle Shoemaker in February 2013 after identifying a need for an investment brokerage company dedicated to the specific needs of the affordable housing industry. Driven by a passion for maximizing client wealth and serving an industry that provides a vital social need, AHIB's principals have sold over $1 billion in niche real estate investments, including Project-Based Section 8, Section 42, and HUD-financed properties. Reported by PRWeb 11 hours ago.

An Aurora man has filed a civil lawsuit claiming racial profiling in U.S. District Court in Denver using a recording and video from the officer's body camera to make his case. Reported by Denver Post 5 hours ago.

Sean Crumpler, 50, was sentenced to 50 years in prison Monday for bringing underage boys from California to live in his Aurora home where they were made sex slaves for him and other men. Reported by Denver Post 1 hour ago.

Pathways Bioscience’s technology to upregulate cell protection mechanisms and decrease inflammation to be used to develop therapeutics for oral mucositis supported by SBIR grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research.

Aurora, CO (PRWEB) May 09, 2017

Pathways Bioscience, LLC announced today that the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) has awarded the Company a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I grant to pursue research and development of its PB201 topical formulation for use against oral mucositis, a common cancer therapy side effect that impacts hundreds of thousands of patients in the US each year. PB201 activates the Nuclear Factor, Erythroid 2 Like 2 (NFE2L2, also known as Nrf2) transcription factor pathway, which regulates the expression of a large group of cell protective and anti-inflammatory genes.

“We have discovered that PB201 potently activates the Nrf2 pathway and increases the expression of a wide variety of cytoprotective genes, making it a promising agent for use in the prevention or treatment of a variety of health conditions including oral mucositis,” said Dr. Joe M. McCord, Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and cofounder of Pathways Bioscience, LLC.

In the project entitled “A Topical Nrf2 Activator for Oral Mucositis,” NIH Award number R43DE026086, scientists at Pathways Bioscience will collaborate with Dr. Stephen Sonis and his team at Biomodels. “Oral mucositis remains a devastating and critically dose-limiting side effect of the most common forms of cancer therapies for which there are no effective interventions. In the upcoming preclinical study at Pathways Bioscience and Biomodels, we will evaluate the potential of the topical Nrf2 activator PB201 to mitigate the pathophysiology of oral mucositis,” said Stephen T. Sonis, DMD, DMSc, Senior Surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Chief Scientific Officer at Biomodels, LLC.

“Dysregulation of inflammation and increased oxidative stress play important roles in the pathophysiology of oral mucositis,“ said Brooks M. Hybertson, PhD, President and CEO of Pathways Bioscience and Principal Investigator on the project. “Our preliminary data with our PB201 formulation have been very encouraging, demonstrating strong Nrf2 activation and increased transcription of genes that are involved in protection against inflammation and oxidative stress. We are honored and grateful to receive this SBIR award from NIDCR to pursue the development of much-needed therapeutics that help patients avoid the devastating problem of oral mucositis.”

The research reported above is supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R43DE026086. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

About Pathways Bioscience

Pathways Bioscience LLC is a biomedical sciences company focused on discovering and developing new agents, both small molecule drugs and dietary supplements, that influence gene expression pathways and exert beneficial effects, with particular emphasis on the Nuclear Factor, Erythroid 2 Like 2 (NFE2L2, or Nrf2) gene transcription factor, known as the master regulator of cell protection mechanisms. These activities are based on the concept that the best way to improve healthspan and overcome the health and wellness problems associated with aging is to support the body’s own defense mechanisms that allow it to protect and heal itself. The company's headquarters are in Aurora, Colorado. For further information regarding Pathways Bioscience, LLC, please visit the Company’s Website at http://www.pathwaysbio.com.

About NIDCR

The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) is the US federal government's lead agency for scientific research on dental, oral and craniofacial health and disease. NIDCR is one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For more information about NIDCR and its programs, visit http://www.nidcr.nih.gov.

About NIH

NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov. Reported by PRWeb 13 hours ago.

Fatima, Portugal, May 9, 2017 / 03:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- This is part two of a two-part series. *Part one* covered the historical context, contents of the apparitions, and Miracle of the Sun.
 
*The secrets of Fatima*

While Mary revealed what came to be known as The Great Secret of Fatima during her third apparition to the shepherd children, it was kept from the public for quite some time, according to instructions from Mary. Sr. Lucia revealed the first two secrets in a memoir in 1941, which had been written at the request of the local bishop at the time. Lucia wrote six memoirs during her lifetime – the first four were written between 1935 and 1941; the English translation was published under the name Fatima in Lucia's Own Words.

The first secret was the vision of hell that Mary had allowed the children to see.

As Sr. Lucia wrote in her memoir: “Our Lady showed us a great sea of fire which seemed to be under the earth. Plunged in this fire were demons and souls in human form, like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, floating about in the conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames that issued from within themselves together with great clouds of smoke, now falling back on every side like sparks in a huge fire, without weight or equilibrium, and amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear. The demons could be distinguished by their terrifying and repulsive likeness to frightful and unknown animals, all black and transparent. This vision lasted but an instant. How can we ever be grateful enough to our kind heavenly Mother, who had already prepared us by promising, in the first Apparition, to take us to heaven. Otherwise, I think we would have died of fear and terror.”

The second secret was a statement that World War I would end, and a prediction of another war that would start during the reign of Pius XI, if people continued to offend God and if Russia were not consecrated to her Immaculate Heart.

As Sr. Lucia recalled in her memoirs, Our Lady said: “You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace. The war is going to end: but if people do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out during the Pontificate of Pope Pius XI. When you see a night illumined by an unknown light, know that this is the great sign given you by God that he is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father. To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the Consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of reparation on the First Saturdays. If my requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred; the Holy Father will have much to suffer; various nations will be annihilated. In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she shall be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world.”

Sr. Lucia believed that an aurora borealis, which appeared in the sky on January 25, 1938, was the “unknown light” to which Mary had referred. The celestial phenomenon could be seen throughout Europe and as far south as Australia, and across the Atlantic to Bermuda and parts of the United States.

Shortly thereafter, Germany annexed Austria, and Japan had already invaded China in 1937. While the European portion of World War II is generally held by Western scholars to have officially started on September 1, 1939, under the reign of Venerable Pius XII, in many ways it was already begun under the reign of Pius XI, as Mary predicted.

Sr. Lucia did not record the third part of the secret in her 1941 memoirs, because she said that Mary had not yet permitted her to reveal it to the world.

However, Sr. Lucia fell seriously ill in 1943. Fearing her death before the third part of the secret was ever revealed, the local bishop asked that she write it down, which she did out of obedience. Sr. Lucia wrote the secret in January 1944, put it in an envelope and sealed it, asking that it not be opened until 1960, at which time she believed the meaning of the message would be clearer, or until she died, whichever came first.

The envelope remained at the bishop’s office until 1957, at which time it was delivered to the Vatican, despite Lucia’s requests that it remain with the bishop.

The secret was not revealed until the year 2000 – 40 years after Sr. Lucia thought it might be released – under the direction of the Holy See.  

Cardinal Angelo Sodano, then the Vatican Secretary of State, announced that on May 13, 2000, 83 years after the first apparition, the Third Secret would finally be published. He said the secret referred to the 20th century persecution of Christians and the failed assassination attempt on St. John Paul II on May 13, 1981, the 64th anniversary of the first apparition.

The text of the third secret was *published by the Vatican* on June 26, 2000:

“After the two parts which I have already explained, at the left of Our Lady and a little above, we saw an Angel with a flaming sword in his left hand; flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they would set the world on fire; but they died out in contact with the splendour that Our Lady radiated towards him from her right hand: pointing to the earth with his right hand, the Angel cried out in a loud voice: 'Penance, Penance, Penance!'. And we saw in an immense light that is God: 'something similar to how people appear in a mirror when they pass in front of it' a Bishop dressed in White 'we had the impression that it was the Holy Father'. Other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious going up a steep mountain, at the top of which there was a big Cross of rough-hewn trunks as of a cork-tree with the bark; before reaching there the Holy Father passed through a big city half in ruins and half trembling with halting step, afflicted with pain and sorrow, he prayed for the souls of the corpses he met on his way; having reached the top of the mountain, on his knees at the foot of the big Cross he was killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him, and in the same way there died one after another the other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious, and various lay people of different ranks and positions. Beneath the two arms of the Cross there were two Angels each with a crystal aspersorium in his hand, in which they gathered up the blood of the Martyrs and with it sprinkled the souls that were making their way to God.”

*The controversial third secret*

A century after the Fatima apparitions, controversies remain. The two biggest involve whether or not the full and authentic text of the third secret has been revealed, and whether or not Russia has been adequately consecrated to Mary.

In 1960, the year Sr. Lucia intended the third secret to be published, the Vatican issued a press release stating that it was “most probable the Secret would remain, forever, under absolute seal.” Widespread speculation ensued about what this meant for the content of the secret, ranging from “worldwide nuclear annihilation to deep rifts in the Roman Catholic Church that lead to rival papacies,” according to the New York Times.

St. John XXIII and Bl. Paul VI both reportedly read the secret, but decided not to release it to the public.

During the papacy of St. John Paul II, the questions regarding the third Fatima secret intensified. In an interview with German magazine Stimme des Glaubens, published in October 1981, John Paul II was pressed explicitly about the third secret.

He said: “Because of the seriousness of its contents, in order not to encourage the world wide power of Communism to carry out certain coups, my predecessors in the chair of Peter have diplomatically preferred to withhold its publication.”

He added that it would be unhelpful to publish the secret if it led Christians to believe that there were a predicted catastrophe against which they were helpless.

Holding up his rosary, the Pope declared: “Here is the remedy against this evil. Pray, pray and ask for nothing else. Put everything in the hands of the Mother of God.”

On May 2, 1981, an Australian named Laurence James Downey, who claimed to be a defrocked French Trappist monk, hijacked an airplane and demanded that St. John Paul II reveal the Third Secret of Fatima. The man was believed to be armed with a bomb, but the incident was resolved without any injuries to passengers onboard.

In 1984, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said that “if [the Third Secret] is not published … it is to avoid confusing religious prophecy with sensationalism. But the things contained in the Third Secret correspond to what has been announced in Scripture and are confirmed by many other Marian apparitions.”

Widespread speculation and concern led to the secret’s publishing in 2000 by the Vatican. The late release angered many who read the secret and didn’t understand what was so controversial about it that delayed publication by decades.

Conspirators questioned whether the authentic secret, or the secret in full, had actually been revealed. The Vatican version, which is claimed to be a photocopy of the original handwritten note from Sr. Lucia, took up four pages, while some allege that Sr. Lucia had actually written the third secret on just one page.

Some skeptics are also suspicious about the third secret because it does not contain any words directly from Mary, unlike the other secrets.

Some also question the content of the secret, because it does not directly speak of the apocalypse, as was expected from interviews of Sr. Lucia.

Others are also suspicious of Sr. Lucia’s transfer from the Dorothean Sisters, where she initially entered, to a cloistered Carmelite convent, the order she transferred to with permission in 1948. The move to the Carmelite order, which has strict rules about communication with the outside world, is seen by some as part of a larger conspiracy effort to censor her visions and the third secret.

On the other hand, Sr. Lucia herself confirmed several times that the third secret as published by the Vatican is in full and correct. Specifically in a November 17, 2001 statement to the secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone, she confirmed that the Fatima secret has been totally revealed by the Vatican, and Russia has already been consecrated as Mary requested.

Those who affirm that the secret has been fully revealed say that to question the secret’s authenticity is to question the original visionary’s credibility.

The authenticity of the third secret has also been confirmed by the Popes and other Vatican officials.

When the secret was published, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger said that “The events to which the third part of the ‘secret’ of Fatima refers now seem part of the past. […] Those who expected exciting apocalyptic revelations about the end of the world or the future course of history are bound to be disappointed.”

In 2016, an article on Catholic blog One Peter Five included an interview with a German priest who claimed to recall a conversation in which Pope Benedict XVI told him that the third secret had not been fully revealed. In a response on May 21, 2016, the *Vatican released a statement* from Pope Benedict XVI declaring that any claims that the third secret had not been fully revealed were “pure inventions, absolutely untrue.”

*The other controversy: The consecration of Russia*

As Mary promised in the second secret, she came back to ask for the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart. On June 13, 1929, Mary reappeared to Sr. Lucia, who was with the Sisters of St. Dorothy at the time, asking for the consecration of Russia, “promising its conversion through this means the hindering of the propagation of its errors.”

There were three “conditions” of the consecration, explained by Mary in the second part of the secret: The Pope must consecrate the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, with a special mention of Russia, in union with the bishops of the whole world.

At an unknown date after this apparition, Sr. Lucia made the request for consecration known to Pius XI. In 1938, the Portuguese bishops asked Pius XI to make the consecration, but no action was taken. Upon the election of Venerable Pius XII in 1939, several clergy repeated the request to the Pope.

In December 1940, with World War II well underway in Europe, Sr. Lucia wrote a letter to Pius XII, requesting the consecration of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary “with a special mention for Russia, and order that all the bishops of the world do the same in union with Your Holiness.”  

More than a year later, on October 31, 1942, Venerable Pius XII consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, though without the involvement of the bishops of the world. War made communications difficult, and many bishops had been imprisoned or even killed. Sr. Lucia said that though this consecration was imperfect, Jesus revealed to her that it was enough to bring a quicker end to World War II, sparing many lives.

In July 1952, Venerable Pius XII consecrated the people of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, but again, because it was done privately and not in conjunction with the bishops of the world, the consecration was incomplete. At least once during his papacy, Blessed Paul VI renewed the Russia consecration, although it did not fulfill the requirements of being in union with the bishops of the world.

Ongoing, dedication political relations with Russia made a consecration that specifically called out the country difficult.

“It’s not that the Church forgot about what the Madonna said about Russia, it’s not that Russia was forgotten, absolutely no,” said Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

“For what regards the consecration of Russia to the heart of Mary, the Church did this, but with an extraordinarily unique diplomatic skill. But she did it.”

According to Sr. Lucia, the consecration was complete during the pontificate of St. John Paul II, who several times attempted to fulfill the requirements of the Russia consecration.

It was finally considered fully complete after the consecration he made on March 25, 1984, as confirmed by Sr. Lucia.

St. John Paul II, “united with all the pastors of the Church in a particular bond whereby we constitute a body and a college,” consecrates “the whole world, especially the peoples for which by reason of their situation you have particular love and solicitude,” he said in the consecration.

“Because the Church...if she would have consecrated Russia to the heart of Mary and nothing else, it would have provoked a terrible reaction on the part of Russia,” Cardinal Martins explained.

“The Pope realized this. It was something, from the standpoint of Russia, completely unacceptable...It certainly would have had extraordinary consequences...But the Church fulfilled what the Madonna asked by consecrating not Russia in particular, but the world; I underline the world, and Russia is part of the world. So was Russia also consecrated to Our Lady’s heart or not? Russia was consecrated. If I consecrate the world to Russia, I also consecrate Italy, the United States, to the heart of Mary. They are part of the world consecrated to the heart of Mary.”

Both St. John Paul II and Sr. Lucia initially seemed uncertain that the consecration has been fulfilled in 1984, but shortly thereafter Sr. Lucia told the papal nuncio to Portugal that the Consecration had been fulfilled. She also confirmed this in a letter to one of her sisters in 1989, and again in a letter to a priest in 1990, as well as in her statement to the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith in 2001.

*A warning against “sensationalism”*

Despite Vatican attempts to quell rumors and hearsay, the Fatima conspiracy theories still persist.

But Benedict XVI several times warned against this “sensationalism” that he says Mary would not have intended as the fruit of her apparitions.

Four years before the third secret’s release, in a 1996 interview with Portugal's main Catholic radio station, Cardinal Ratzinger, who had already read the secret, issued this warning: “To all curious people, I would say I am certain that the Virgin does not engage in sensationalism; she does not act in order to instigate fear. She does not present apocalyptic visions, but guides people to her Son. And this is what is essential.”

Cardinal Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, and visited the apparition site as Pope in 2010.

During a press conference for the visit, he reminded the faithful that the message of Fatima is not about conspiracy theories regarding the end of the world, but about the faithful’s response in “ongoing conversion, penance, prayer, and the three theological virtues: faith, hope and charity.”

“This is our response, we are realists in expecting that evil always attacks, attacks from within and without, yet that the forces of good are also ever present and that, in the end, the Lord is more powerful than evil and Our Lady is for us the visible, motherly guarantee of God’s goodness, which is always the last word in history,” he said.

*Vatican recognition and papal trips to Fatima*

In 1930, Bishop Dom Jose Aleves Correia da Silva of the Diocese of Leiria (now Leiria-Fatima) declared that, based on the results of the investigative commission, the apparitions at Fatima were “worthy of belief.”

Since then, the Fatima apparitions have received significant recognition on the part of the Vatican, and Pius XI granted a special indulgence to those who visited the newly-built Fatima shrine.

Venerable Pius XII encouraged devotion to Our Lady of Fatima so much so that he became known as “the Pope of Fatima.”

He is reported to have said: “The time for doubting Fatima has passed, the time for action is now.” He was the first Pope to consecrate the world, and then Russia, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Moreover, it was during his papacy, in 1944, that the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary was extended to the entire Roman rite, to be celebrated on Aug. 22, the octave day of the Assumption.

Bl. Paul VI visited the shrine of Fatima, on May 13, 1967, as did Cardinal Albino Luciani, Patriarch of Venice – who was elected Pope in 1978.

St. John Paul II visited the Fatima shrine three times – in 1982, 1991 and 2000. During his 2000 visit, he beatified the two deceased visionaries, Jacinta and Francisco. He also added the feast of Our Lady of Fatima to the General Roman Calendar, to be celebrated May 13.

The Polish Pope had a particularly strong devotion to Our Lady of Fatima. After a close shave with death during an assassination attempt on his life on the 64th anniversary of the first apparitions – May 13, 1981 – the Pope credited his survival to Our Lady of Fatima’s miraculous intervention. As a sign of his gratitude, he placed the bullet from the failed assassination in her crown.

As a cardinal, Benedict XVI had a devotion to Our Lady of Fatima which extended to his papacy, when he visited the Fatima shrine from May 11-14, 2010. In 2008, he waived the typical five-year waiting period in order to open Sr. Lucia’s cause for canonization. The local Church in February 2017 finished collecting documents to examine her heroic virtue.

Pope Francis as well has a strong devotion to Our Lady of Fatima, and consecrated his papacy to her on May 13, 2013.

*What happened to the visionaries after the apparitions?*

As foretold in the apparitions, the sibling pair of Francisco and Jacinta would only live a short while after the apparitions were completed.

Convicted by Mary’s requests and the vision of hell, both children lived lives of prayer and penance after the apparitions, offering themselves for sinners as Mary had asked. Francisco was known for his devotion to the Eucharist and his strict physical mortifications, while Jacinta was especially known for having a heart for the poor and the suffering.

Both children fell victim to the influenza epidemic of 1918 that swept through Europe. In October 1918, Mary again appeared to the sick siblings and promised to take them to heaven soon. On April 3, 1919, Francisco declined hospital treatment for influenza and died the next day, at the age of 11.

Jacinta was given hospital treatment in hopes of prolonging her life, but she knew that she would soon join Francisco in heaven. On February 19, 1920, Jacinta asked the hospital chaplain who heard her confession to bring her Holy Communion and administer the last rites, because she was going to die “the next night.” But the priest said that her condition was not that serious and that he would return the next day. The next day Jacinta was found dead – she had died in her sleep at 10 years old.

As for Lucia, she outlived her cousins by many years, as Mary had predicted. Shortly after the deaths of her cousins, at 14 years old, she was sent to the Dorothean Sisters of Villar for school, and in 1928 became a sister of St. Dorothy. In 1946, she transferred to the convent of the Carmelite Sisters of Coimbra, Portugal and took the name Sister Maria Lucia of the Immaculate Heart.

She received visions and messages from Mary and Jesus on several more occasions throughout her life, including the visions in 1925 that led to the Five First Saturday devotions, which include saying the rosary, receiving communion and confession, and meditation during the first Saturday of five consecutive months.

Besides the four memoirs she wrote between 1935 and 1941, Sr. Lucia had an additional book published in 2001, known as Calls from the Message of Fatima or Appeals of the Fatima Message. She visited the Fatima shrine during Bl. Paul VI’s visit in 1967, and during all three of St. John Paul II’s visits.

Aside from her memoirs and letters to clergy regarding Fatima, she had limited communication with the outside world, per her Carmelite vows.

Sr. Lucia died in 2005 at the age of 97, at the Carmelite convent of Santa Teresa in Coimbra, where she had lived since 1948.

*The canonization of Francisco and Jacinta*

Popularity of the Fatima apparitions spread, and the cause for canonization of Francisco and Jacinta was opened in 1946. Much of what is known about their life and holiness is known through Lucia’s memoirs.

“People may ask: ‘These children died so young, what do we know about them and their lives of faith?’ But a lot was related by Sr. Lucia and the witnesses of the apparitions. Francisco had a devotion to the Eucharist, and Jacinta wanted to help those who were suffering, that was her charism or focus after the apparition. Those are details most of us don’t really know about,” O’Neill said.

Francisco and Jacinta became the youngest non-martyr children to be beatified, on May 13, 2000, the 83rd anniversary of the first apparition. St. John Paul II presided over the Mass.

Pope Francis will canonize Francisco and Jacinta during his trip to Fatima on May 13, 2017 during a Mass at the shrine.

  Reported by CNA 11 hours ago.