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TAYLORSVILLE - Ninety years ago today, near Fatima in Portugal, Catholics believe 70,000 people bore witness to a miracle.

Three peasant children had reported that, starting in May 1917, the Virgin Mary had appeared before them on the 13th of every month. She spoke of the importance of reciting the rosary and asked the children to say it daily. This was during World War I, and she said the rosary was key in securing peace, personally and globally. She shared with them secrets, including a vision of hell and tips for saving souls and converting others, including Russian Communists. Their reports, and the people who flocked to the area as a result, were deemed a nuisance and, at one point, landed the children in jail. To show that they spoke the truth, they were promised a miracle so that others would believe. It came on Mary's sixth visit to them.

The rains fell hard that day as thousands congregated beneath a darkened sky. Suddenly, the sun broke through and was said to dance and spin, moving toward the Earth while radiating colors. By the time the sun came to rest, drenched clothing and puddles had dried, the blind could see and the sick were healed.

On this 90th anniversary of what's often called "the miracle of the sun" and to honor Our Lady of Fatima, also known as Our Lady of the Rosary, more than 2,000 public rosary rallies are being held across the country. Two Utah women, Helen Corena of West Jordan and Tilly Garcia of Salt Lake City, are firm believers in the power of prayer and have led the charge locally. Today, from noon to 2 p.m., they will gather with others in front of Salt Lake City's Utah Women's Clinic, a place where abortions are performed, to say the rosary and offer peaceful prayers.

"We'll pray for world peace and the ending of abortions," said Corena, 46, who doesn't know how large the crowd will be. "Regardless of how many people show, I know we're not doing this in vain."

The massive campaign for rosary rallies was launched by The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property, a Pennsylvania-based organization founded by concerned Catholics in 1973 as a reaction to perceived U.S. crises, including - as stated on the group's Web site - "liberal, socialist and communist trends." Francis Slobodnik, coordinator for the nationwide rallies, said in a written statement from the campaign offices in Topeka, Kan., "Participants will proclaim their faith publicly, pray for America, and send a clear message to secularists who want to ban God from the public square."

The two Utah organizers met last year, when they were protesting the release of the film "The Da Vinci Code." Both women, over lunch Thursday, spoke of concerns about media, the fictionalization of Jesus and the disregard for the sanctity of life - whether that be in a women's clinic, at a shopping mall or in the arena of war. Both have experienced times in their lives when they questioned God's intentions, but now they stand firm in their faith and hope others will find the same source of comfort.

Their gathering today is open to those who are familiar with the rosary and those who are not, explained Tilly, 55, as she held before her a set of turquoise rosary beads, one of the many thousands created for distribution during this special occasion.

"If anything, we hope people will join in," she said. Honoring the 90th anniversary of a miracle, after all, "only happens once in a lifetime."

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* JESSICA RAVITZ can be reached at jravitz@sltrib.com or 801-257-8776. Send comments to the religion editor at religioneditor@sltrib.com.

To learn more about The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property, visit http://www.tfp.org.