On July 28, 1914, the Central powers of Europe, the Middle East, and their respective Allies had been warring, and on that date began World War I. It lasted four horrible years and ended on November 11, 1918, with millions of young men dead.
The principal Central Powers involved were France, Great Britain, Italy, Germany, Russia, and Austria. As its horrors mounted, two years had barely passed when the holy Emperor Charles of Austria sought to end it in early 1917. No one listened to him, the bitter warfare in the trenches went on rentlessly.
Germany raised the war to a new height with submarine warfare and started attacking civilian ships carrying women and children in February, 1917. Many were American citizens. In April of that year, America entered the war. The war was now unrestricted and considered a global confrontation.
Of the major combatants, Russia was the most ill-equipped to continue and was thought soon to withdraw because of her weakening position. Back in Russia, a revolution was in progress, the Tsar was ousted, and the new pro- visional government, weak and ill-disposed, hung on and stayed in the war, much to everyone's surprise.
Germany, the primary instigator of the war, sought to enhance her position by creating further revolution in Russia, hoping to force Russia out of the war. To this end, Germany assisted Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, his best known alias, "Lenin," to return from Switzerland, where he had been "exiled."
He was secreted across Germany in a sealed railway car back to Russia. Emperor Charles sternly warned against this by saying "evil could only breed evil." Charles was ignored and Lenin arrived in Russia April 1917. Churchill eventually said this was analogous to transporting a plague bacilli from one part of the world to another.
Lenin immediately set into motion a counter revolution, while the Russian provisional government doggedly kept in the war, despite its heavy losses in manpower and equipment. Now, the important thing to remember here is that Russia in 1917 was not a world power, and was hardly even known, except vaguely, by the world's citizenry. At most, it was more of a comedy.
Lenin had definite ideas about religion and state: Shortly after his arrival in Russia, he announced that he and his supporters would give no quarter for compromise and support NO government in which his group did have absolute control. He formed the Communist Party. He further said:
"Millions of excrements, defilements, violences, sicknesses, pestilences, are much less to be feared than the most subtle, the most refined, and the most invisible idea of God! God is the most personal enemy of Communist Society."
At this time, another man, powerful in spirit and mind, but weak and frail in body sought to end the war with human means to no avail. He was Pope Benedict XV, God's personal vicar on earth. On September 8, 1914 he decried the ever mounting bloodshed and war and begged for a quick end to the hostilities. He was not heard.
On November 1, 1914, he gave an encyclical, a letter addressed by the pope to all the bishops of the church and for wide general circulation, calling for an end of the war among the Christian nations. The major combatants were Christians with more in common than in differences. The Pope was still not heard.
On May 5, 1917, he spoke with the Italy's secretary of state and reiterated his pleas for peace. The war continued!
He then turned to the greatest power he had at his disposal, the Mother of God. She could not...would not refuse Her Son's Vicar on earth! On that same day in May, he cried out with every fibre of his frail being to the Queen of Peace.
Eight days later, on May 13, 1917, The Mother of God, Virgin Mary answered, not by prodigies, words, graces, or blessings. She came to Fątima, in person, to three ignorant children, at Fątima, Portugal. She appeared to Jacinta and Francisco Marto, brother and sister, ages 7 and 9; and Lucia dos Santos, their cousin, a girl of ten years old. She said, "Say the Rosary every day, to obtain peace for the world, and the end of the war!" This is why Virgin Mary came to Fątima.
It is interesting to note, the Queen of Peace did not appear to the heads of state, but to three poor, ignorant children. She also said if they did what she asked, the war would soon end. It did! In a little over 17 months, an armistice was signed.
She also said a number of other things in Her six visits to the children at this time:
"I come to ask the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the Communion of reparation on the first Saturdays. If they listen to my request, Russia will be converted and there will be peace.
"If not, she will scatter her errors throughout the world, provoking 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."
At this time, Russia was hardly a world power, and anyone was hard pressed to imagine Russia would have the power to "scatter her errors" and arise as an atheistic world-power, as prophesied by the Queen of Prophets. In 1917, Russia was in ruins and an anarchy of internal strife and revolution. The Communist Party was just getting started.
I might add, Communism is not dead, as generally thought. Virgin Mary also gave three secrets to these little Holy Seers. The Third Secret of Fątima says, among other things, at the end of the 20th century there will be a Third World War!...and, again, prayer, penance, and sacrifice can prevent it.