Here’s the first-hand account of the Dominican priest and sculptor who worked under the direction of Sr. Lucia — the last surviving witness to the 1917 Marian apparitions in Fatima — as she guided him in perfecting the famed statue of Our Lady of Fatima.

Sr. Lucia insisted Our Lady’s hands be positioned just so, the tunic fall exactly the way she remembered, the star placed on the proper spot on the tunic, and the ball of light around her neck reaching almost to her waist. She would make corrections as Fr. Tom worked, and at times would even take one of the tools and make changes to his model.

Fr. Tom emerged with far more than an exact replica of how Our Lady appeared; he came to understand — and recounts here in these pages — Sr. Lucia’s intimate explanations of what happened in Fatima, the spiritual meanings of the apparitions, whether the Consecration to Russia occurred, why the secrets had to remain secrets for so long, and why Mary chose to appear to three young shepherd children in rural Portugal.

Fr. Tom reminds us that Fatima is a place of miracles, and he points us toward the penitential character of Our Lady’s message, especially the importance of praying the Rosary.

Few books can provide such a penetrating, close encounter with a major Catholic event as Fr. McGlynn’s Vision of Fatima. And only this book leads us into the heart and mind of a Portuguese nun who met face to face with the Mother of God.