Catholic Answers Live – Episode #12468

Did the Miracle of the Sun Actually Happen? (November 21, 2025)

Host: Sy Kellett
Guest: Tim Staples (Senior Apologist, Catholic Answers)

Overview

This episode of Catholic Answers Live explores the famed "Miracle of the Sun" at Fatima: what happened on October 13, 1917, and whether Catholics are required to believe it actually occurred. Tim Staples addresses the evidence, historical records, Church teaching on private revelations, skeptics’ perspectives, and why the event remains so compelling. The episode also fields listener questions on various other Catholic topics.

The Miracle of the Sun at Fatima

What Is the Miracle?

• Historical context: In 1917, in Fatima, Portugal, three shepherd children claimed to see apparitions of the Virgin Mary, culminating in a promised miracle on October 13.
• The event: Tens of thousands gathered, including skeptics and government officials intending to debunk the event. Witnesses reported seeing the sun "dance in the sky," emit multicolored light, and plunge to treetop level before returning to its place. Despite downpours before, everyone and the ground were inexplicably dry after the event.

"We first have to clarify...the Church does not require faith in any private revelation or apparition or anything like this."
— Tim Staples, [03:22]

Are Catholics Required to Believe?

• Not a dogma: Belief in the Fatima event is not a matter of "divine and Catholic faith" or required assent.
• Church position: Church approval means the apparition is "worthy of pious belief," not obligatory.
• Personal perspective: Staples’s seminary professor:

"You're not required to believe it, but you'd be crazy if you don't. Right. Because when the Church says it's worthy of pious belief, it's worthy of pious belief."
— Tim Staples (quoting Fr. Patrick Brannan), [04:37]

Evidence Cited

• Eyewitnesses: An estimated 70,000 people saw the phenomenon, including atheists, communists, journalists, and government officials.
• Media coverage: Photographs and newspaper coverage (even international — photos appeared in a Los Angeles newspaper) from both supporters and skeptics.
• Physical effects: Ground and people were dry immediately after standing in hours of rain and mud.
• Unconverted observers: Many present were skeptics who converted because of what they saw.

"You had people there that were not only skeptics, but were there to quash the thing. That is what makes this particularly believable."
— Tim Staples, [07:47]

Memorable Story

Staples recounts a personal anecdote: a friend's grandmother, not Catholic at the time, followed reports from the U.S., saw photos of the event, and converted as a result — leading to a large Catholic family descended from her ([08:45]).

What Actually Happened?

• Not literal: Church does not teach the sun physically moved; rather, this was a supernatural sign, a phenomenon visible to many, not explainable by science.
• Staples’s take: "God just gave a sign...it certainly appeared to all the onlookers that the sun came down to the point of treetop level...it was such an incredible miracle because after the sun comes down...everybody there was just dry as a bone. The dirt that had been inches of mud was pristine." ([09:51])

Historical and Conversion Impact

• Governmental context: Portugal had a communist, anti-Catholic regime trying to suppress the faith.
• Result: The miracle, intended as a public proof, instead convinced many skeptics and converted non-believers.

"Extraordinary numbers of conversions because of this inexplicable [event]."
— Tim Staples, [13:50]

Notable Witnesses and Reports

• Avelino de Almeida: Noted journalist (O Seculo, a secular-leaning newspaper), present as a skeptic.
• Alfonso Lopes Vieira: Portuguese poet who witnessed the event from afar.
• Coverage in U.S.: Stories and photographs in international newspapers.
• Converts: Many non-Catholics, including the relative in Staples’s anecdote, became Catholic after the event.

"My friend, her grandmother...saw the event. She was not Catholic when she saw it. She converted as a result of that miracle."
— Tim Staples, [16:15]

Notable Quotes

• On Church requirement:
  "The Church does not require faith in any private revelation or apparition or anything like this...But when the Church says it's worthy of pious belief, it's worthy of pious belief."
  — Tim Staples, [03:22] & [04:27]
• On conversions:
  "There were folks that were there as skeptics...a whole lot of folks became believers as a result."
  — Tim Staples, [15:45]
• On skeptics and belief:
  "To me, I'm impressed with people like St. Paul who set out to disprove it, and then they fully embrace it. To me, those are the most convincing witnesses. There’s a lot of those people at Fatima."
  — Sy Kellett, [11:06]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Setting up the Miracle of the Sun Topic: [03:02-04:22]
• Are Catholics required to believe it? [03:22-04:22]
• Eyewitness evidence & details of the event: [04:22-11:06]
• Impact on skeptics and conversions: [11:06-13:54]
• Historical note about specific witnesses: [15:15-17:07]

Additional Notable Segments

(Other questions/topics covered after the Fatima discussion — key themes, not exhaustive.)

1. Danger of Health-and-Wealth/Prosperity Gospel

• Staples addresses a caller's concerns about the "manifesting blessings" heresy, roots in bad theology, and the true Catholic understanding of suffering, prayer, and God's will ([17:18-25:59]).

2. Eucharist, Confession, and Forgiveness of Sins

• Is the Mass propitiatory? Are mortal sins forgiven at Mass? When must one receive confession? Staples unpacks ordinary/extraordinary means of forgiveness and why Church discipline is structured as it is ([29:00-42:58]).

3. Sacraments in the Acts of the Apostles

• What is happening with Ananias and his laying on of hands on St. Paul? Is it ordination, healing, or something else? Staple’s analysis of the passage and Church tradition ([44:48-50:03]).

4. Mary’s Perpetual Virginity and Josephus

• How to respond when non-Catholics argue that "brothers of Jesus" in Josephus and elsewhere disproves the Church’s teaching. Staples explains Greek/Hebrew language, culture, and textual tradition ([50:20-54:39]).

Memorable Moments

• On answering skeptics:
  "I challenge this for my unbelieving friends. Check out the facts. Check it out."
  — Tim Staples, [07:54]
• On the aftermath for witnesses:
  "When this massive fireball goes back up into the sky, everybody there was just dry as a bone. The dirt that had been inches of mud was pristine."
  — Tim Staples, [09:51]
• Personal family anecdote:
  Describes the conversion of a U.S. woman who became Catholic and started a large Catholic family thanks to seeing coverage of Fatima.

Conclusion

Main takeaway: The Miracle of the Sun remains one of the best-documented alleged supernatural events in modern Catholic history, with ample eyewitness and journalistic support. While Catholics are not mandated to believe in private apparitions, Church approval declares such events "worthy of pious belief." The sheer number, credibility, and transformation of witnesses, many of whom went from skeptic to believer, makes dismissing the Miracle of the Sun a difficult proposition for reasonable skeptics.

For Further Listening/Reading

• Tim Staples, “Behold Your Mother: A Biblical and Historical Defense of the Marian Doctrines”
• Official Fatima documentation
• Historical news reports from 1917

For timestamps and context, see above sections for easy reference to key arguments and evidence in the episode.