The Fatima Prayer (“O My Jesus”) and All the Prayers of Fatima, with Meaning

The Fatima Prayer, “O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell,” is the short prayer millions of Catholics add after each decade of the Rosary. Our Lady taught it to three shepherd children at Fatima, Portugal, on July 13, 1917. It is one of several short prayers connected with Fatima: two taught by the Angel of Peace in 1916 and three that the children learned during Mary’s apparitions in 1917. Below are all of them in English and in the original Portuguese, what they mean, when to pray them, and the story of Fatima.

The Fatima Prayer (the decade prayer)

When to say it: after the Glory Be at the end of each decade of the Rosary. On July 13, 1917, Our Lady told the children: when you pray the Rosary, say after each mystery this prayer. See how to pray the Rosary.

The original Portuguese words, as Sister Lúcia recorded them:

A literal translation:

The familiar English wording expands the original slightly (“forgive us our sins,” “most in need of thy mercy“). In Portuguese, Mary used the tender word alminhas, “little souls,” a popular expression for the souls of the dead and of sinners. Some translations therefore read “lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need,” and some pray it for the souls in purgatory.

The Pardon Prayer (Angel of Peace, 1916)

In the spring of 1916, a year before Mary’s apparitions, an angel who called himself the “Angel of Peace” appeared to the children, knelt with his forehead to the ground and taught them this prayer, repeating it three times. Our translation:

In Portuguese:

It is a prayer of faith, hope and charity and of adoration, offered also on behalf of those who do not pray.

The Angel’s Prayer to the Holy Trinity (1916)

In the autumn of 1916 the Angel appeared a third time, holding a chalice with a Host above it, from which drops of blood fell into the chalice. Leaving them suspended in the air, he prostrated himself and taught the children this prayer of Eucharistic adoration and reparation. Our translation:

In Portuguese:

The Eucharistic Prayer (May 13, 1917)

At the first apparition of Our Lady, on May 13, 1917, the children found themselves moved by an inner impulse to repeat:

The Sacrifice Prayer (July 13, 1917)

Our Lady asked the children to “sacrifice yourselves for sinners,” and to say this prayer often, especially when making a sacrifice:

The story of Fatima

In 1917, during the First World War, Lúcia dos Santos (10) and her cousins Francisco (9) and Jacinta Marto (7) were tending sheep at the Cova da Iria near Fatima. On May 13, 1917, a Lady “brighter than the sun” appeared to them and asked them to return on the 13th of each month for six months. She asked them to pray the Rosary every day for peace and for the conversion of sinners, to offer sacrifices, and she spoke of devotion to her Immaculate Heart. On October 13, 1917, before a crowd of tens of thousands, the event known as the “Miracle of the Sun” took place.

In 1930 the Bishop of Leiria declared the apparitions worthy of belief. Francisco and Jacinta both died young in the influenza pandemic and were canonized by Pope Francis at Fatima on May 13, 2017, the centenary. Lúcia became a Carmelite nun and died in 2005. The memorial of Our Lady of Fatima is kept on May 13.

The prayers above are known through Sister Lúcia’s Memoirs, written between 1935 and 1941 at the request of her bishop.

A novena to Our Lady of Fatima

Many Catholics pray a novena to Our Lady of Fatima before May 13, the anniversary of the first apparition (May 4–12), or before October 13, the day of the miracle of the sun (October 4–12). A simple way to pray it, using the prayers she and the Angel taught the children:

1. Pray the Angel’s Pardon Prayer three times.
2. Pray five decades of the Rosary, adding the Fatima Prayer after each decade. See the Rosary prayers.
3. Offer the day’s intention (below) and a small sacrifice, praying the Sacrifice Prayer.
4. End with this prayer, written for this page:

Intentions for the nine days: (1) peace in the world, (2) the conversion of sinners, (3) the Holy Father and the Church, (4) families, (5) the sick and suffering, (6) young people and children, (7) the souls in purgatory, (8) reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, (9) your personal intention. See also the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the First Saturdays.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Fatima Prayer part of the Rosary?

It is not one of the official prayers of the Rosary, but it is a beloved custom that is now part of the Rosary for most Catholics. You are free to say it or not.

What does “especially those in most need of thy mercy” mean?

It asks God’s mercy above all for those in greatest spiritual danger: sinners far from God, and, as many understand it, the souls in purgatory.

Did the Church approve the Fatima apparitions?

Yes. The bishop declared them worthy of belief in 1930, and several popes have visited Fatima. Like all private revelations, Catholics are not obliged to believe them, but the Church has warmly encouraged the devotion.

More Rosary and Marian prayers

• First Saturday devotion
• Immaculate Heart of Mary
• Rosary prayers
• Mysteries of the Rosary
• 54-day Rosary novena
• Eucharistic adoration prayers
• Prayer for the souls in purgatory

Texts and sources

• Portuguese texts: the Fatima prayers as recorded by Sister Lúcia of Jesus in her Memoirs (1935–1941). The English translations of the Angel’s prayers, the Eucharistic and Sacrifice prayers, and the literal translation of the decade prayer were made for this page; the decade prayer is also given in its familiar English form.
• Church approval: Bishop José Alves Correia da Silva of Leiria, pastoral letter of October 13, 1930.