Front cover of Gaeta’s book (photo of cover taken by KJS)

In November of 2023, the Italian journalist Saverio Gaeta published the book I segreti di suor Lucia – Fatima, la verità mai detta (The Secrets of Sister Lúcia: Fátima, the Truth not Told).[1] Comprised of a prologue and ten chapters, Gaeta’s book purports to be based upon documents from Sr. Lúcia’s canonization process that were confidentially provided to him.[2] Gaeta makes some very serious claims pertaining to the third part of the Secret of Fátima, and I’d like to discuss them.

The Structure of Gaeta’s Book

Gaeta’s book is largely structured as a biography of Sr. Lúcia. The prologue prefaces this biography with questions that cast suspicion upon the Vatican’s interpretation of the third part of the Secret that was published in the booklet The Message of Fatima in the year 2000, and affirmed in subsequent years by Church officials.[3] To this end, Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone (who, from the years 2000 to 2007, played a significant role both in publishing and defending the Vatican’s interpretation) is specified in the prologue.[4

The first three chapters are standard “boiler-plate” material on the history of Fátima, with some interesting pieces of information added. Gaeta begins to move away from a basic history and into more controversial areas in chapter four (A single secret divided into three parts). Chapter five (The game of three envelopes), is a total break from a basic history as the discourse goes more deeply into controversial aspects of the history.

Gaeta deserves approbation for debunking, for an Italian audience, some misinterpretations. He deftly debunks the notion that the third part of the Secret was comprised of 20-25 lines.[5] He also affirms that there were not two texts, the vision and the explanation, written in January of 1944.[6] Lastly, Gaeta concludes that the phrase “In Portugal, the dogma of the faith will always be preserved” ends the second part of the Secret, and is not the opening line of the third part.[7]

Gaeta and the Third Part of the Secret

In terms of the third part of the Secret, Gaeta places a lot of stress upon a new letter, dated August 22, 1967, from Sr. Lúcia to Pope St. Paul VI. This letter resurfaced (riemersa) during the process of her canonization.[8] Those familiar with the history of Fátima might first take note of this date, written after Paul VI’s pilgrimage to Fátima (May 13, 1967). While at Fátima, Lúcia wanted to speak privately with the Holy Father—a fact long known among Fátima enthusiasts and historians alike. What wasn’t known was the reason for her desire, and Gaeta claims to provide the answer with this new letter of August 22, 1967.

According to Gaeta, Sr. Lúcia wished to ask him for some clarification about the rules imposed upon her regarding visitations at her convent in Coimbra: “What I would have liked to say to Your Holiness was in the hope of hearing a word that would serve me as a rule in cases that create complications according to the rules given by the Holy See regarding me.”[9] Gaeta claims that Sr. Lúcia also explained why this clarification was necessary: “[There] are some details that seems prudent not to become known for the moment.” After elaborating a bit to the pope, Gaeta says Lúcia wrote the following “sentences heavy as lead” (frasi pesanti come piombo)

One of the questions that has been asked to me lately is: has the entire Message already been delivered to the Church? I answered yes. I should have said that: as far as the facts are concerned, yes, but as far as the perspective and particular aspects are concerned, no. However, I have not given this answer, so as not to give rise to further questions which it would not be convenient to answer.[10]

Gaeta further claims that Sr. Lúcia specified three aspects of the Message that she had not discussed further the “perspective and particular aspects.” The second aspect that she specified was Our Lady’s words “In Portugal, the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved.” Of these words, Sr. Lúcia wrote to Paul VI, “I said and these words are published, but not their meaning.”[11]

To summarize the above information, Sr. Lúcia was somewhat troubled by the question of whether or not the entire message of Our Lady at Fátima had been revealed. She would essentially answer it with a mental reservation. Moreover, she made this distinction and reservation because if she verbalized the distinction, it would invite further questions that she didn’t want to answer. Gaeta believes this letter proves there was something else about the Secret of Fátima that was not disclosed to the public, but this fact was established in October of 2013.

At that time, the Carmelites of the St. Teresa convent in Coimbra (Sr. Lúcia’s convent) published their biography of her, Um caminho sob o olhar de Maria. Within the pages of this book, Our Lady’s words from January, 1944 were, for the first time, revealed to the public regarding the writing down of the third part of the Secret. Based upon Sr. Lúcia’s private journal (O meu caminho/My Pathway), Our Lady’s words were as follows: “Write what they command you, but not that which is given to you to understand of its meaning.”[12] Gaeta acknowledges the existence of the 2013 revelation in his book, but only once, and outside of its proper place in the history he recounts.[13]

There is another important disclosure in Gaeta’s book, but one that does not receive much attention. Gaeta claims that the Holy See received copies of Sr. Lúcia’s journal O meu caminho in 1969.[14] If the Holy See had copies of Sr. Lúcia’s journal since 1969, then a very serious question is before us: what did Vatican officials know, and when did they know it? This journal is the only known place where Sr. Lúcia wrote down Our Lady’s words from January, 1944 that governed the writing down of the third part of the Secret. If the Vatican had access to this information for 31 years, did the Vatican consult these writings while writing The Message of Fatima booklet?

If Gaeta’s claim about the copies in 1969 is authentic, there are some very sensitive questions that only the Holy See can answer. Some observations can be put forward in this regard:

1. Lúcia’s journal coming into the possession of the Vatican in 1969 neither proves nor disproves that officials involved in the publication of The Message of Fatima booklet in 2000 were aware of this information. Consider that one might own thousands of books, but that does not mean the owner has read them all or recalls the information in them. As the Vatican’s holdings are vast, no individual person can know what they all say.
2. In view of #1 above, was it likely that officials involved in the publication of The Message of Fatima knew about the information in Sr. Lúcia’s personal journal? When the copies were (allegedly) acquired in 1969, there is a significant possibility that nobody read them or read them thoroughly. If they were read, that would have likely happened around 1969, and the likelihood of that person still working at the Vatican 31 years later is not strong. He or she might even have been dead.
3. If someone read the journal entry with Our Lady’s words around 1969, would they have understood the context of the words? At that time, the third part of the Secret was known only to a few select individuals. If someone reading Lúcia’s private journal was not one of these people, would they have understood the import of Our Lady’s words, much less have known enough to report them to higher Vatican officials?
4. Even if the officials who drafted The Message of Fatima booklet knew what Lúcia’s private journal said, the journal did not contain the interpretation of the vision. Therefore, officials still needed to formulate their own views on what the vision meant. This was done by Pope St. John Paul II and his associates (Ratzinger, Bertone, Sodano, etc.).
5. Further to #4, if there was any question or confusion on the part of Vatican officials, Sr. Lúcia was still alive in 2000. What would be simpler to do, consult many documents, or directly consult the writer of the documents? There were indeed some questions posed to Sr. Lúcia because Bertone himself asked her about the note on the envelopes containing the third part of the Secret, whether it was Our Lady who gave the date of 1960.[15]

These considerations all revolve around the humanity of the events in question. Sadly, this “human factor” is not always the most fashionable and can be quite mundane. Controversy sells, as the old saying goes, and people might be disappointed to learn that there was no great cover-up by the Vatican with the third part of the Secret. Certainly, some legitimate questions have arisen in the 24 years that have passed since the publication of The Message of Fatima booklet.[16] These questions require a serene and balanced approach.

Conclusion

Saverio Gaeta has provided material that, if authenticated, might help us to understand better the development and work that went into The Message of Fatima booklet. He might also help us to understand more deeply why the Vatican chose the interpretation that it did. There is a deep richness yet to be explored with respect to the facts on Fátima and its interpretation. Saverio Gaeta offers some intriguing new details, and perhaps an impetus for people to explore.

Saverio Gaeta
I segreti di suor Lucia – Fatima, la verità mai detta
Piemme, 2023.

[1] Milano: Piemme, 2023.
[2] Roberta Damiata. “La verità sul terzo segreto di Fatima: la (vera) profezia della Madonna.” Il giornale.it (December 2, 2023). I believe it wise to refer to Gaeta’s claims as “unconfirmed.” This is not intended to offend. Gaeta is a respected journalist in Italy, yet at this time, none of the authorities on Fátima have confirmed his disclosures.
[3] Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, The Message of Fatima (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2000).
[4] Gaeta, 7-14. Bertone interviewed Sr. Lúcia in April of 2000 about the third part of the Secret, and was part of its publication on June 26, 2000 in the booklet The Message of Fatima. He spoke with Sr. Lúcia again in 2001, oversaw her funeral in February, 2005, and defended the Holy See in 2007 against Antonio Socci’s The Fourth Secret of Fatima (2006).
[5] Gaeta, 104-107. This matter was addressed in my 2017 book, On the Third Part of the Secret of Fátima (St. Louis: En Route Books and Media, 2017), 59-84.
[6] Gaeta, 101, see also Symonds, 312-315.
[7] Gaeta, 86-88, see also Symonds, 181-216.
[8] Gaeta, 135.
[9] Gaeta, 136-137. Ciò che avrei desiderato dire a Vostra Santità era per la speranza di ascoltare una parola che mi servisse da norma nei casi che creano complicazioni secondo le norme date dalla Santa Sede a mio riguardo.
[10] Gaeta, 137-138. Una delle domande che ultimamente mi è stata rivolta è: Se tutto il Messaggio è già stato consegnato alla Chiesa? Risposi di sì. Avrei dovuto dire che: quanto ai fatti sì, ma quanto alla prospettiva e agli aspetti particolari invece no. Però non ho dato questa risposta, per non dare adito a ulteriori domande alle quali non sarebbe conveniente rispondere.
[11] Gaeta, 138. Ho detto e sono pubblicate queste parole, ma non il loro significato.
[12] Carmelo de Santa Teresa – Coimbra, Um caminho sob o olhar de Maria: Biografia da Irmã Lúcia de Jesus e do Coração Imaculado, O.C.D. (Coimbra, Portugal: Edições Carmelo, 2013), 266.
[13] Gaeta, 136. Earlier, in chapter 5, when Gaeta recounts the events of January, 1944, he neglects to discuss Our Lady’s words more in depth (cf. Gaeta, 91-92).
[14] Gaeta, 222.
[15] Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, The Message of Fatima, 29.
[16] I addressed some of these matters in a webinar series entitled Revisiting the Vision, the text of which is available on my website.