Spanish commentator Jorge Fernández Díaz published an article on August 19, 2026, asserting that August 19 deserves special historical recognition for its crucial role in preventing a Third World War. Writing on the date, he argued that major geopolitical events unfolding on August 19 were shaped by divine intervention stemming from Catholic apparitions in Fátima, Portugal.
Fernández Díaz stated that the Marian apparitions in 1917 were intended to avert global catastrophes, describing World War II as the greatest disaster in the 2,026 years of the current era.
According to the article, the First World War was actively underway in 1917 when the Virgin Mary appeared to three young shepherd children in Fátima. She informed them that the conflict, which began in 1914, would end soon, a prediction that was subsequently fulfilled.
Prophecies of Global Conflict and Papal Consecration
Fernández Díaz noted that the Marian message warned that wars were the direct consequence of human sins. The apparition stated that a larger and more destructive conflict would erupt if humanity failed to convert and if the Pope did not consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart.
Because neither spiritual conversion nor the papal consecration occurred at the time, World War II broke out in 1939 as foretold, according to the author.
Decades later, during the height of the Cold War, growing geopolitical tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union threatened a catastrophic conflict sparked by human error. On May 13, 1981, the feast day of Our Lady of Fátima, Pope John Paul II survived a near-fatal assassination attempt in St. Peter's Square.
Fernández Díaz highlighted that Pope John Paul II later testified to divine intervention during the shooting, affirming that while one hand fired the weapon, a maternal hand guided the bullet to save his life.
Following his recovery, Pope John Paul II carried out the long-pending consecration of Russia in 1984, fulfilling the request originally made in 1917.
The Importance of August 19 in Marian History
Fernández Díaz explained that during the original apparitions in 1917, the Virgin Mary appeared on the 13th day of each month from May to October, with one notable exception. In August 1917, local secular authorities detained the three shepherd children in an effort to halt the religious movement.
After public indignation forced the authorities to release the children, the apparition occurred on August 19 instead of August 13. The Virgin Mary subsequently declared August 13 to be a day of sadness and designated August 19 as a day of joy.
The author linked those specific calendar dates directly to major historical milestones in the late 20th century. Construction of the Berlin Wall began on August 13, 1961, matching the date identified as a day of sadness.
Collapse of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union
Fernández Díaz pointed out that although the Berlin Wall physically fell on November 9, 1989, the initial catalyst for its collapse took place on August 19 of that year. That date marked the Pan-European Picnic along the border between Austria and Hungary, an event commemorated today by a border monument that makes no explicit mention of Fátima.
Similarly, while the Soviet Union formally dissolved on December 8, 1991, Fernández Díaz maintained that its ultimate collapse began with the political events of August 19, 1991, when a coup attempt unravelled Soviet power.
Without resorting to violence, both the division of Europe and the Soviet superpower ceased to exist in the years following the 1984 papal consecration, which Fernández Díaz described as the fulfillment of a historical mandate for global peace.
