Fatima Pardon Prayer
The Pardon Prayer of Fatima is a short act of faith, adoration, hope, love, and reparation. The Angel of Peace taught it to Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta in 1916, before Our Lady’s apparitions at Fatima. Through its simple words, the faithful profess their love for God while asking mercy for those who do not believe, adore, hope in, or love Him.
This prayer can be offered during personal prayer, before or after the Rosary, or whenever the heart is moved to pray for souls far from God. The Pardon Prayer had already taught them to offer their faith and love for the conversion of sinners.
Pardon Prayer of Fatima Text
“My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love Thee.
I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope, and do not love Thee.”
Amen.
Meaning of the Pardon Prayer of Fatima
The Pardon Prayer of Fatima is brief, but every word turns the soul toward God. It begins with faith, moves into adoration, hope, and love, and ends with a plea for those who do not give God these acts of the heart. The person praying does not speak only for himself. He stands before God for others, asking mercy for souls who are distant from Him.
“My God, I Believe”
The words “My God” make the prayer personal. The person praying is not speaking about God from a distance but addressing Him as the Lord whom he knows, trusts, and desires to serve. “I believe” is an act of faith. It accepts God’s truth, His promises, and all that He has revealed through Jesus Christ and His Church.
This act of faith has value even when prayer feels dry or God seems far away. Faith does not rest on emotion. It rests on the truth and faithfulness of God. By saying “I believe,” the soul renews its trust in Him and offers that faith for those who doubt, reject Him, or have never learned to know Him.
“I Adore, I Hope, and I Love Thee”
To adore God is to worship Him as Creator and Lord. Adoration belongs to God alone. The soul bows before His holiness and admits that all life, goodness, and grace come from Him.
“I hope” expresses trust in God’s mercy and in His promise of eternal life. Christian hope is not a vague wish that things will improve. It is confidence that God remains faithful, forgives the repentant sinner, and gives the grace needed to reach Heaven.
“I love Thee” is an act of charity, the highest of the Christian virtues. The soul offers its love to God because He is worthy of love above all things. These words also carry a quiet confession: human love is weak, but God can purify it and make it stronger.
“I Ask Pardon of Thee”
The prayer then turns toward reparation. To ask pardon is to plead for mercy because God has been offended by sin. The person praying recognizes that unbelief, indifference, and the refusal to love God are not small matters. They wound man’s friendship with his Creator and place souls in spiritual danger.
The prayer does not excuse sin, but neither does it condemn the sinner. It asks God to show mercy. This is the heart of reparation: offering faith, worship, hope, and love where these have been refused. The faithful soul seeks to comfort the Heart of God by giving Him the love that others withhold.
Praying for Those Who Do Not Know or Love God
The final words make the Pardon Prayer an act of intercession. It is offered for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope, and do not love God. This may include people who have never known the faith, those who have abandoned it, and those who live with little thought of God.
The prayer should never be said with pride, as though the person praying were better than those for whom he prays. Every believer depends upon grace and can fall without God’s help. The proper spirit is humility, sorrow, and love for souls.
By praying these words, a Catholic carries family members, friends, strangers, and even enemies before God. He asks that unbelief may give way to faith, indifference to adoration, despair to hope, and coldness to love.
Origin of the Pardon Prayer of Fatima
Before Our Lady appeared at Fatima in 1917, God sent the Angel of Peace to prepare Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta. During three apparitions in 1916, the Angel taught the children to pray with reverence, offer sacrifices for sinners, and make reparation for offenses against God. The Pardon Prayer of Fatima was the first prayer he taught them.
The Angel of Peace Appears in 1916
Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta were tending their sheep near Fatima when the Angel of Peace appeared to them. He told the children not to be afraid, then knelt and bowed his forehead to the ground. His posture showed them that prayer begins with humility and that God alone deserves adoration.
The children followed the Angel’s example. They knelt with him and listened as he taught them to turn toward God with faith, hope, love, and sorrow for sin. This first meeting began a period of spiritual preparation that changed the way they prayed and lived.
The Children Repeat the Prayer Three Times
The Angel taught the children to say:
“My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love Thee. I ask pardon of Thee for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope, and do not love Thee.”
He then had them repeat the prayer three times. The repetition was not empty or careless. Each time, the children renewed their faith in God and asked mercy for souls who did not know or love Him.
After the Angel disappeared, the children remained deeply moved. They began praying the words often and learned that even a short prayer, offered with love and sacrifice, could become an act of reparation for sinners.
Preparation for the Apparitions of Our Lady
The Angel appeared two more times in 1916. He taught the children to accept daily trials, offer sacrifices for sinners, and adore Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. Through these lessons, they grew in prayer, humility, and concern for souls.
These apparitions prepared Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta for the coming of Our Lady in 1917. When she asked them to pray the Rosary, make sacrifices, and seek the conversion of sinners, the children had already begun living that call. The Pardon Prayer had taught them to answer unbelief with faith, neglect with adoration, despair with hope, and coldness with love.
The Pardon Prayer and the Rosary
The Pardon Prayer of Fatima is not part of the traditional order of the Holy Rosary, and Catholics are not required to say it during the decades. It is a separate prayer taught by the Angel of Peace in 1916. Still, its spirit fits naturally with the message of Fatima and with the Rosary’s call to conversion, prayer, and love for souls.
Our Lady asked the children of Fatima to pray the Rosary every day. The Pardon Prayer helps prepare the heart for that meditation by turning the soul toward God in faith, adoration, hope, and love. It also reminds the person praying that the Rosary may be offered for those who do not know God, those who have left the faith, and those who are in need of mercy.
A Catholic may pray the Pardon Prayer before beginning the Rosary or after completing it. It may also be offered apart from the Rosary during personal prayer. There is no fixed place where it must be said. The important point is not where the prayer is added, but that it is offered with humility, love for God, and concern for the salvation of souls.
How to Pray the Pardon Prayer of Fatima
The Pardon Prayer of Fatima may be prayed slowly in a quiet place or offered in the middle of an ordinary day. No special setting is required. What matters is that the words are said with faith, humility, and a sincere desire to love God and pray for souls.
When the Prayer May Be Said
A Catholic may pray the Pardon Prayer upon waking, before going to sleep, or during any quiet moment of the day. It is also fitting before Mass, during Eucharistic Adoration, after an examination of conscience, or before beginning the Rosary.
The prayer may be said once or repeated three times, following the example given by the Angel of Peace to the children of Fatima. It should not be rushed. Each phrase may be offered as a separate act of faith, adoration, hope, love, and reparation.
Praying It for Family and Those Far from God
The Pardon Prayer is especially fitting for family members and friends who no longer practice the faith or who seem far from God. Their names may be held quietly in the heart while the prayer is said.
It may also be offered for those who have never known Christ, those who have lost hope, and those who resist God’s grace. The person praying does not judge them. He places them before the mercy of God and asks that their hearts may be opened to faith, adoration, hope, and love.
This prayer can also be offered for the parish, the Church, sinners throughout the earth, and souls in danger of dying without repentance. In this way, a few simple words become an act of love for many souls.
Using the Prayer as an Act of Reparation
Reparation means offering God love and faithfulness in response to sin, neglect, and indifference. The Pardon Prayer does this by giving God the faith, adoration, hope, and love that many refuse to offer Him.
The prayer may be joined to a small sacrifice, a patient response, an act of charity, or the quiet acceptance of a daily trial. These offerings do not replace the sacrifice of Christ. They are united with Him and gain their value from His Cross.
When the prayer is said after witnessing sin, hearing God’s name misused, or seeing disregard for the Holy Eucharist, it becomes a gentle answer of love. Rather than responding with anger or pride, the faithful soul turns toward God and says, “My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love Thee.”
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Pardon Prayer of Fatima?
The Pardon Prayer of Fatima is a short prayer taught by the Angel of Peace to Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta in 1916. It expresses faith, adoration, hope, and love for God while asking pardon for those who do not believe, adore, hope, or love Him. It is both a personal profession of faith and an act of reparation for others.
Is the Pardon Prayer of Fatima part of the Rosary?
No. The Pardon Prayer is not part of the traditional order of the Holy Rosary. Catholics may freely pray it before or after the Rosary, but there is no required place for it. It is a separate Fatima prayer whose spirit agrees with the Rosary’s call to prayer, conversion, and concern for souls.
Are Catholics required to pray the Pardon Prayer?
No. The Pardon Prayer comes from the private revelation of Fatima and is not required of Catholics. Approved private revelations do not add anything to the deposit of faith. They may help the faithful live the Gospel more faithfully during a particular period of history.
How many times should the Pardon Prayer of Fatima be said?
The Angel of Peace instructed the three children to repeat the prayer three times during his first apparition in 1916. Catholics may follow this example, but the prayer may also be said once or repeated whenever desired. What matters most is that it is prayed attentively and sincerely.
Is the Pardon Prayer the same as the Fatima Decade Prayer?
No. The Pardon Prayer begins, “My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love Thee,” and was taught by the Angel of Peace in 1916. The Fatima Decade Prayer begins, “O my Jesus, forgive us our sins,” and was taught by Our Lady in 1917. The Decade Prayer is commonly said after each decade of the Rosary, while the Pardon Prayer has no fixed place in the Rosary.
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Charles Rogers is a resident of South Carolina and a retired computer programmer by trade. Raised in various Christian denominations, he came to faith in Jesus Christ early in life. In 2012, he began experiencing authentic spiritual encounters with the Blessed Virgin Mary, which led him on a seven-year journey at her hands, that included alcohol addiction, a widow maker heart attack and death and conversion to the Catholic Faith. He is the exclusive author and owner of Two Percent Survival, a website dedicated to and created in honor of the Holy Mother. Feel free to email Charles at twopercentsurvival@gmail.com.
May Our Lady of the Rosary lead you deeper into the grace you have been given. Pray always, and trust the mercy of God while the door remains open.
— Two Percent Survival