A Prophecy of an Assassinated Pope
Was the Secret of Fatima Truly Revealed?
Editor’s Note: See the first post in this ongoing series about a fascinating mystery which has inspired exciting fiction:
The secret revealed by the pope in 2000 was transcribed by sister Lucia based on what the Virgin Mary told her in 1917. It did indeed attract a lot of attention. Among other revelations, it predicted that a “priest in white” would be assassinated. The only priest who wears white is the pope. On May 13, 1981, Pope John Paul II was shot and almost killed by Mehmet Ali Agca in St. Peter’s Square. What adds to the spookiness of the prediction is that May 13 is the anniversary of the first appearance of the Virgin Mary to the children in Fatima! These amazing predictions notwithstanding, to this day, many Catholics believe that the release of the secret was a Vatican ruse to deflect any further investigation into the secret of Fatima. They believed that the real secret was never revealed because it was too startling or even apocalyptic and the Vatican didn’t want any more discussion of it.
There is another related event worth mentioning. In 1978, the College of Cardinals elected Pope John Paul I, who succeeded Pope Paul VI. John Paul I was known as the “smiling Pope” because of his good nature. But on September 29, 1978, Pope John Paul I died of a heart attack just 33 days after his election.
As my novel, “The Secret of Fatima” opens, we see Pope John Paul I as he exercises his right as Pope to read the fabled secret of Fatima. Upon reading it, he dies instantly of a heart attack, just 33 days after he became the leader of the Catholic Church. The coverup begins immediately. The Secret is instantly resealed and sent back to the Vatican archives. The true reason for the Pope’s demise will never be revealed. And so the story begins.