In 1917, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared once a month for six months to three children of Fatima, Portugal, in a field above a small holm oak. Pope Pius XI approved the apparitions in 1930.
The children described her as dressed all in white, with a pure white mantle edged with gold, which fell to her feet. In her hands, she held a rosary whose beads shone like stars, its crucifix the most radiant gem of all. She was encircled by rays of clear and intense light, brighter than the sun, that radiated 4 to 5 feet. At the end of her visits, “she rose slowly in the direction of the east, until she disappeared in the immense distance.”
Our Lady of Fatima is often depicted standing on a little cloud, perhaps because witnesses to the apparition reported seeing a little cloud coming and going when the children said Mary was coming and going. In paintings, she is usually shown with an aura of light or with a halo of 12 stars (Rev 12:1). Statues often have a crown on her head to show her role as Queen of Heaven (Luke 1:31-33, Psalm 45:6-11). She is also often shown with the symbol of her Immaculate Heart, since this was the devotion she said at Fatima she wished to be established.
Sources:
- May apparition @ https://www.ewtn.com/fatima/apparitions/May.htm
- June apparition @ https://www.ewtn.com/fatima/apparitions/June.htm
- July apparition @ https://www.ewtn.com/fatima/apparitions/July.htm
- August arrest and apparition @ https://www.ewtn.com/fatima/apparitions/august.htm
- September apparition @ https://www.ewtn.com/fatima/apparitions/september.htm
- Explanation of Queen of Heaven @ http://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/mother.htm
- Papal approval @ http://www.fatima.org/essentials/facts/popeapprov.asp
