The Miracle of the Sun: On May 13, 1917, three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal reported seeing an apparition of the Virgin Mary. Over the course of the next several months, the children claimed to have witnessed several miraculous events, including the "Miracle of the Sun" on October 13, in which the sun appeared to dance in the sky. The events at Fatima have become one of the most famous and controversial apparitions in Catholic history. Source: Wikipedia
At a gathering on 13 October 1951 at Fátima, the papal legate, Cardinal Federico Tedeschini, told the million people attending that on 30 October, 31 October, 1 November, and 8 November 1950, Pope Pius XII himself witnessed the miracle of the Sun from the Vatican gardens. The early and enduring interest in the miracle and related prophecies has had a significant impact on the devotional practices of many Catholics.
There has been much analysis of the event from critical sociological and scientific perspectives. According to critics, the eyewitness testimony was actually a collection of inconsistent and contradictory accounts. Proposed alternative explanations include witnesses being deceived by their senses due to prolonged staring at the Sun
