The Fatima Prayer

In 1917, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children — Lucia dos Santos and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto — near Fatima, Portugal.

She appeared six times between May 13 and October 13, 1917, giving them messages about prayer, repentance, and devotion to her Immaculate Heart.

During one of these apparitions — specifically the July 13, 1917 apparition — Our Lady showed the children a vision of hell, and afterward she taught them a short prayer to say after each decade of the Rosary.

This is what we now call the Fatima Prayer or the Decade Prayer.

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins,
save us from the fires of hell;
lead all souls to Heaven,
especially those who have
most need of your mercy.

Amen.