It seemed that all Portugal knew it by now. The Blessed
Mother had promised a miracle for October, a miracle so great that
all would believe in the reality of the apparitions…Murmurs of
impatience and disappointment were being heard among the crowd.
But suddenly Lucy exclaimed: “Kneel down, Jacinta, for now I see
Our Lady.” There it was, a familiar flash that heralded the
appearance of the Heavenly visitor. The faces of the children
assumed an ecstatic expression, and once more the bystanders
realized that they were gazing at the beautiful Lady. The Lady kept
her promise to tell them who she was. She announced: “I am the
Lady of the Rosary.” Her face grew grave as she imparted her last
message to the children. “People must amend their lives, ask pardon
for their sins, and not offend Our Lord any more for He is already
too greatly offended.”
As she took her leave of the children she opened her hands,
and from them rays of light extended in the direction of the sun.
“There she goes! There she goes!” shouted Lucy and her words
found echo in a great cry of astonishment from the multitude, by
now observing the first awe-inspiring manifestations of the Miracle
of the Sun…Down it hurtled, closer and closer to earth, staggering
“drunkenly” as it zigzagged through the skies while from all parts of
the now terrified multitude arose cries of repentance and appeals for
mercy.
“It’s the end of the world,” shrieked one woman hysterically.
“Dear God, don’t let me die in my sins,” cried another.
“Holy Virgin, protect us,” implored a third…
While people looked at one another, still trembling from their
terrifying experience and not yet sure that some further disaster
would not overtake them, a cry of astonishment was heard on every
side. Their rain-sodden garments had suddenly dried and everybody
felt comfortable and warm. It was a gracious maternal gesture on the
part of the Blessed Mother, in the wake of the greatest miracle our
generation has ever known.

A Woman Clothed With the Sun – from Pgs. 198, 201, 202 & 203