our lady of fatima statuette with crown against shabby wall

The History of the Five First Saturday’s Devotion

On 10 December 1925 God sent the Child Jesus and Our Lady to Lucia of Fatima when she was 18 yrs old and living in the Dorothean convent in Pontevedra.

The Child Jesus asked for the five first Saturday devotions and Our Lady gave Lucia the great promise of the five first Saturdays to share with the world for the salvation of humanity.

Our Lady also revealed her Immaculate Heart pierced with thorns asking for reparation.

Lucia said whether the world has war or peace depends on the practice of the five first Saturday devotions.

This is the story of the request from heaven for the first five Saturdays

On Thursday 10 December 1925, when Lucia was 18 years old, she was in her room when it suddenly lit up and Our Lady appeared with the Child Jesus who was standing on a luminous cloud. The Child Jesus said, “have compassion on the Heart of your most Holy Mother, covered with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment, and there is no one to make an act of reparation to remove them”. Then Our Lady said, “Look my daughter at my heart surrounded by thorns which ungrateful men pierce me every moment with their blasphemies and ingratitude. You at least try and console me.

And then Our Lady gave Lucia The Great Promise of the Five First Saturdays – “I promise to assist with all the graces necessary for salvation all those whom on the first Saturday of five consecutive months, shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of The Rosary, and keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary with the intention of making reparation to me”.

Two months later, on 15 February 1926, the Child Jesus, appeared to Sr Lucia in the convent garden and said, “Many souls begin the first Saturdays, but few finish them, and those who do finish them, do so to receive the graces that are promised. It would please me if they prayed 5 decades with fervour and with the intention of making reparation to their heavenly Mother”.

On Thursday 29 May 1930, Lucia at the end of a holy hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament asked Jesus, why Five First Saturdays. Jesus said, “My daughter, the reason is simple. There are five types of offenses committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary: Blasphemies against the Immaculate Conception, blasphemies against her perpetual virginity, blasphemies against her Divine Maternity, blasphemies of those who seek to sow in the hearts of children indifference and scorn, or even hatred of the Immaculate Mother and the offenses who outrage Her directly in Her holy images.

Sr. Lucia, continued the first Saturday devotions every first Saturday for the rest of her life. She chose to meditate on one mystery of the Rosary each month for the 15 minutes of meditation requested by Our Lady.

Please share with others and encourage them to consider embracing this devotion requested by heaven for the salvation of their own soul and for the souls of all in their loved ones and for peace in the world.

Why Five First Saturdays?

On 29 May 1930, Lucia asked Jesus, why five first Saturdays? Her confessor, Father Gonçalves, had asked her : “Why five Saturdays, he asked, and not nine, or seven, in honor of the sorrows of Our Lady?” That same evening, Lucia implored Our Lord to inspire her with an answer to these questions. A few days later, she shared the following to her confessor.

“When I was in the chapel with Our Lord part of the night of May 29-30, 1930 [we know that it was her habit to make a holy hour from eleven in the evening to midnight, especially on Thursday evenings, according to the requests of the Sacred Heart at Paray-le-Monial], and I spoke to Our Lord about this I suddenly felt myself more intimately possessed by the Divine Presence and, if I am not mistaken, this is what was revealed to me:

“My daughter, the reason is simple. There are five types of offenses and blasphemies committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary:

  1. Blasphemies against the Immaculate Conception.
  2. Blasphemies against Her Perpetual Virginity.
  3. Blasphemies against Her Divine Maternity, in refusing at the same time to recognize Her as the Mother of men.
  4. The blasphemies of those who publicly seek to sow in the hearts of children indifference or scorn, or even hatred of this Immaculate Mother.
  5. The offenses of those who outrage Her directly in Her holy images.

“Here, My daughter, is the reason why the Immaculate Heart of Mary inspired Me to ask for this little act of Reparation”

Ref: A Pathway Under the Gaze of Mary – the story of Lucia of Fatima, Carmel, Coimbra.


The devotion is very simple:

1) Confession
2) Pray the rosary (5 decades)
3) Receive Holy Communion in a state of grace
4) Meditate on the mysteries of the Rosary for 15 minutes while keeping Our Lady company; this is separate to praying on the Rosary.

For the 15 minutes meditation Lucia used to choose one mystery a month eg; January – Annunciation, February – Vistation etc. She also practised the devotion every month for the rest of her life

Our Lady asked that all the above is to be done with the intention of making reparation to God for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Photo – altar in room where the Child Jesus and Our Lady appeared to Lucia. This devotion needs to be taught in every catholic school, Catholic Church and family home. Immaculate Heart of Mary pray for us.

God bless

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