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A century ago, three shepherd children claimed to have visions of the Virgin Mary.

The two girls and a boy said she told them three secrets, which were later interpreted as foretelling the Second World War, the rise and fall of Communism and the death of a pope.

Pope Francis is due to arrive Friday in their Portuguese hometown of Fatima. He will canonize two of them, while the third child is also on her way to becoming a saint.

Up to a million people are expected to attend the canonization Mass on Saturday.

Their visions marked one of the most important events in 20th century Catholicism and have become known as the "Three Secrets of Fatima."

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Fatima, Portugal

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Wax figurines are placed as offerings, as pilgrims attend the 99th anniversary of the appearance of the Virgin Mary to three shepherd children, at the Catholic shrine of Fatima, Portugal May 12, 2016. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante

A pilgrim walks on her knees to fulfil her vows, as pilgrims attend the 99th anniversary of the appearance of the Virgin Mary to three shepherd children, at the Catholic shrine of Fatima, Portugal May 12, 2016. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante

A pilgrim lies prostrate as she walks on her knees to fulfil her vows, as pilgrims attend the 99th anniversary of the appearance of the Virgin Mary to three shepherd children, at the Catholic shrine of Fatima, Portugal May 12, 2016. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante

Pilgrims attend a candlelight vigil at the Catholic shrine of Fatima, Portugal May 12, 2015. Thousands of pilgrims are on their way to the Fatima Shrine to attend the 98th anniversary celebrations of the first appearance of the Virgin Mary to three shepherd children in 1917. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante

Pilgrims arrive to attend a candlelight vigil, during the 99th anniversary of the appearance of the Virgin Mary to three shepherd children, at the Catholic shrine of Fatima, Portugal May 12, 2016. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante

FATIMA, PORTUGAL - MAY 12: Spanish nuns chat as another reads 'Papa' magazine while they wait for they arrival of Pope Francis at the Sanctuary of Fatima on May 12, 2017 in Fatima, Portugal. Pope Francis will be attending the Sanctuary of Fatima, in Portugal, on May 12 and 13 to canonize two Portuguese shepherds, Jacinta and Francisco Marto, who are said to have witnessed the apparition of what they believed was the Virgin Mary, together with their aunt Lucia Santos, during the 100 anniversary. Thousands of pilgrims and worshippers from around the world are expected to gather at the centenary celebration. (Photo by Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)

FATIMA - PORTUGAL - MAY 12: A Christian pilgrim is seen at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima as he waits the arrival of Pope Francis in Fatima, Portugal on May 12, 2017. (Photo by Pedro Trindade/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

FATIMA, PORTUGAL - MAY 11: A worshipper holds a candle during a night mass in the Sanctuary of Fatima on May 11, 2017 in Fatima, Portugal. Pope Francis will be attending the Sanctuary of Fatima, in Portugal, on May 12 and 13 to canonize two Portuguese shepherds, Jacinta and Francisco Marto. It is said they were witnesses to the apparition of what they believed was the Virgin Mary, together with their aunt Lucia Santos, during the 100 anniversary. Thousands of pilgrims are expected to gather to the centenary celebration. (Photo by Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)

A woman holds a figure of Our Lady of Fatima as she waits for the arrival of Pope Francis at Fatima Sanctuary in Fatima, central Portugal, on May 12, 2017. Two of the three child shepherds who reported apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Fatima, Portugal, one century ago, will be declared saints on May 13, 2017 by Pope Francis. The canonisation of Jacinta and Francisco Marto will take place during the Argentinian pontiff's visit to a Catholic shrine visited by millions of pilgrims every year. / AFP PHOTO / PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA (Photo credit should read PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP/Getty Images)

An Angolan woman pays a promise walking on her knees at Fatima Sanctuary in Fatima, central Portugal, on May 11, 2017. Two of the three child shepherds who reported apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Fatima, Portugal, one century ago, will be declared saints on May 13, 2017 by Pope Francis. The canonisation of Jacinta and Francisco Marto will take place during the Argentinian pontiff's visit to a Catholic shrine visited by millions of pilgrims every year. / AFP PHOTO / PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA (Photo credit should read PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP/Getty Images)

TOPSHOT - A group of pilgrims arrive at Fatima Sanctuary in Fatima, central Portugal, on May 11, 2017. Two of the three child shepherds who reported apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Fatima, Portugal, one century ago, will be declared saints on May 13, 2017 by Pope Francis. The canonisation of Jacinta and Francisco Marto will take place during the Argentinian pontiff's visit to a Catholic shrine visited by millions of pilgrims every year. / AFP PHOTO / PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA (Photo credit should read PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP/Getty Images)

A pilgrim holds a rosary on her hand as she walks on her knees at Fatima Sanctuary in Fatima, central Portugal, on May 11, 2017. Two of the three child shepherds who reported apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Fatima, Portugal, one century ago, will be declared saints on May 13, 2017 by Pope Francis. The canonisation of Jacinta and Francisco Marto will take place during the Argentinian pontiff's visit to a Catholic shrine visited by millions of pilgrims every year. / AFP PHOTO / PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA (Photo credit should read PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP/Getty Images)

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For days, pilgrims carrying candles, rosaries and roses have made their way to the statue dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima, with some completing the last part on their knees.

Portugal has boosted security ahead of the pontiff's visit and has reinstated border controls restricting freedom of movement from other European states.

In a video message to the people of Portugal before his journey, Pope Francis said he would "present" himself to the Virgin Mary.

Visions of the Madonna are very important in the Catholic faith and the story of Fatima is universally known among Catholics.

What are the 'Three Secrets of Fatima'?

While grazing their sheep on May 13, 1917, Francisco and Jacinta Marto and their cousin Lucia dos Santos said they saw the first of several visions of the Virgin Mary who had three messages for the world.

Two years later, both of the Martos siblings died of influenza leaving Lucia to share the secret messages with the world.

At first, the children were not believed. But their visions were accepted as authentic apparitions by the Church in 1930.

According to the prophecies written down by Lucia, the first vision the children saw was one of hell and came with a call to prayer and conversion, which if not heeded would lead to another world war.

The second was that Russia would "spread her errors" throughout the world if people did not turn to God.

It wasn't until 2000 that the Vatican disclosed the long-awaited third secret, describing it as a prediction of the 1981 assassination attempt of Pope John Paul II.

John Paul II had credited the Virgin Mary with saving his life and one of the bullets fired at him was placed in the crown of a statue of her in Fatima.

Lucia died in 2005 and is currently on the track for beatification, the first step towards becoming a saint. However, the process could not start until after her death.

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Kids who Catholics believe foretold WWII, Communism to become saints - AOL

In 1944, when he wrote his book, Hayek noted that the crimes of the German National Socialists and Soviet Communists were, in great part, the result of growing state control over the economy. As he explained, growing state interference in the economy leads to massive inefficiencies and long queues outside empty shops. A state of perpetual economic crisis then leads to calls for more planning.

But economic planning is inimical to freedom. As there can be no agreement on a single plan in a free society, the centralisation of economic decision-making has to be accompanied by centralisation of political power in the hands of a small elite. When, in the end, the failure of central planning becomes undeniable, totalitarian regimes tend to silence the dissenterssometimes through mass murder.

Political dissent under socialism is difficult, because the state is the only employer. To quote Trotsky again, In a country where the sole employer is the State, opposition means death by slow starvation. The old principle: who does not work shall not eat, has been replaced by a new one: who does not obey shall not eat. A free economy, in other words, is a necessary, though not a sufficient condition, for political freedom.

Obviously, not everyone feels that dictatorship and mass murder are too high a price to pay for equality. Eric Hobsbawm, the British Marxist historian, for example, was once asked whether, if Communism had achieved its aims, but at the cost of, say, 15 to 20 million people as opposed to the 100 million it actually killed in Russia and China would he have supported it? His answer was a single word: Yes. Even today, many people, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau among them, fawn over Cuban dictatorship, because of its delivery of supposedly free health and education to the masses.

I wrote supposedly, because under socialism, bribes (cash payments, for example, or favours) are ubiquitous. Medical practitioners, who dont feel that they are being paid enough by the state, demand bribes in order to look after their patients. Teachers, who feel the same, promote the children of doctors in order to get better access to health care. This process goes all the way down the food chain.

Often, bribery and theft go hand in hand. In socialist countries, the state owns all production facilities, such as factories, shops and farms. In order to have something to trade with one another, people first have to steal from the state. A butcher, for example, steals meat in order to exchange it for vegetables that the greengrocer stole and so on.

Under socialism, favours can be obtained in other ways as well. In East Germany, for example, people often spied on their neighbours and, even, spouses. The full-time employees of the secret police and their unofficial collaborators amounted to some two per cent of the entire population. Once occasional informers are accounted for, one in six East Germans were at one point or another involved in spying on their fellow citizens.

Socialism, in other words, is not only underpinned by force, but it is also morally corrupting. Lying, stealing and spying are widely used and trust between people disappears. Far from fostering brotherhood between people, socialism makes everyone suspicious and resentful.

I have long held that the greatest harm that socialism caused was not economic. It was spiritual. Many of the countries that abandoned socialism rebuilt their economies and became prosperous. The same cannot be said about their institutions, such as the rule of law, and the behaviour of their citizens, such as the prevalence of corruption. Prosperity is a consequence of removal of barriers to exchange between free people. But how does one make a society less corrupt and more law-abiding?

The true legacy of socialism, in other words, is not equality, but immorality.

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Socialism's True Legacy Is Immorality - Swarajya

COLUMBUS Five-year-old Cora Owens adjusted the pink feather boa around her neck before carrying on a conversation with others seated at her table.

Her sister Faith Owens, 3, was too busy nibbling on a cookie to join the chat.

Both girls were dressed to the nines in dresses, hats and a touch of makeup for a fancy afternoon of tea on Saturday.

About 40 children and their parents visited Lavender Thyme in downtown Columbus for the tea party. The young guests were invited to bring along stuffed animals and dolls to join them.

The event served childrens tea, a special type suited for young taste buds sold at the store inside Pioneer Plaza, along with sliced strawberries, petit fours, mints and cookies.

Linda Sutton, owner of Lavender Thyme gift shop, set up the event using pieces from her own collection of decorative tea cups and kettles to serve the guests.

I do tea parties with my grandkids and I thought it would be fun, she said.

She and other adults served the children. Hats, boas and necklaces were handed out for the guests to wear as they enjoyed sipping tea and their light snacks.

A fashion show was also part of the day. Children dressed in clothing from the store before sashaying along a makeshift catwalk.

Participants were able to keep the clothes they modeled.

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Children's tea party a fancy affair | Local | columbustelegram.com - Columbus Telegram

By Vanessa Williamson and Theda Skocpol By Vanessa Williamson and Theda Skocpol May 11

The next four years are likely to see a lot of activism on both left and right. Observers and activists have compared the contemporary resistance to President Trump to the tea party movement that opposed President Barack Obama eight years ago. Already, activists on the left have had some success using tea party tactics, turning the repeal of the Affordable Care Act from a presumed certainty into a drawn-out battle.

How much more is there to learn from the tea party?

We studied the tea party movement as it happened, documenting the movement at its grass roots, in the conservative media, and at the elite levels, and demonstrating how these forces combined to push the Republican Party to the right. Based on our research, here are four lessons that todays activists might learn from the experience of the tea party.

1. Engage in state elections and party politics.

About 900 grass-roots tea party groups were active in 2009 and 2010. Many of these local activists were very politically sophisticated. Tea party groups followed local politics closely, and their members showed up at school boards, town meetings, and state legislature hearings when issues they cared about were up for debate. Even when activists held very inaccurate views of actual policies for instance, believing that the Affordable Care Act contained death panels they knew how to navigate our political institutions to have a real impact on policymaking.

[Why did Trump win? More whites and fewer blacks actually voted.]

This is particularly relevant for activists on the left, who sometimes suffer from the opposite problem: a high level of policy knowledge with a naive vision of politics. In recent years, Democrats have tended to focus on the federal government and especially the presidency, neglecting the state and local races that have huge effects on whether and how policies get implemented.

This is one reason liberals have been losing. After the November elections last year, the Republican Party had control of 32 state legislatures (they had veto-proof majorities in 17 of these) and 33 governorships an almost unprecedented level of dominance at the state level. Republican state level control limited the impact of the 2008 Democratic wins at the national level. As of Jan. 1, 19 states had chosen not to adopt the Medicaid expansion that would have brought health-care coverage to millions of their citizens.

The tea party activists we met had a pragmatic relationship with the Republican Party. Tea party activists were mostly very conservative Republicans, and were often disgusted by their own politicians compromises. However, that disgust did not turn tea party members away from the party; instead, it strengthened their motivation to engage in party processes. For example, some tea party activists became precinct captains. Others involved themselves in sleepy local Republican Party meetings and quickly came to dominate those committees. This gave them far more power over local Republican officials than they had as individual voters.

Of course, tea party activists were voters, too. Occasionally a tea party-infused Republican primary cost the activists a seat or two, when the Republican candidate was too far out of the mainstream to win in a general election. But tea party activists did not only organize on behalf of ideologically pure conservatives. They were ready to campaign and to vote for candidates, like Scott Brown in Massachusetts, who were far from their ideal legislator but vastly more conservative than their Democratic opponents.

What this suggests for activists is that power comes from engaging with the political process at all levels. States power will matter in the Trump era on everything from environmental regulation to immigration enforcement. The major political parties are institutions through which activists can assert themselves.

2. Prioritize policies that build power.

When the tea party-fueled Republican Party came to power, state legislators focused on priorities that make them more likely to continue to be in power in the future. For instance, 20Republican-controlled legislatures have passed legislation since 2010 that is likely to lower voting by traditional Democratic constituencies such as young people, African Americans and Latinos. Seven states have passed laws sharply limiting union activity.

These measures fit with the symbolic and ideological commitments of the Republican Party, but they are also clever strategic moves. Crippling unions and reducing minority turnout are bad for the Democrats, who rely on these constituencies. Similarly, efforts to defund Planned Parenthood appeal to social conservatives opposed to family planning. They also undercut a powerful player in Democratic Party politics.

[This is what Americans will really dislike about the House Trumpcare bill]

Right-leaning activists are likely to continue in this vein. Democrats could also prioritize policies that will help build political power for the future. These could include voting reforms that ease the registration process, and social policies with benefits that are easier for voters to recognize and therefore easier to campaign on.

3. Use civic experience and invest in building relationships with fellow activists.

The most memorable organized actions of tea party activists were their big colorful marches. However, it isnt marches that make political engagement last in the long term. As Hahrie Hans research on effective political activism reveals, you cannot just mobilize people for one-off big events and expect to build a movement. Instead, successful movements organize activists in interdependent networks that work together and make decisions together, creating many leaders rather than just a few. This style of organization means investing in personal relationships between activists.

At local tea party meetings, there was always time for socializing, so people got to know one another. The demographics of the tea party helped them they tended to be older people, retirees and small-business people with flexible schedules, and some stay-at-home moms. It also helped that many tea party members had a lot of civic experience to draw from years of church socials and PTA meetings so they knew how to organize a meeting, get volunteers signed up for a committee and set up the kind of structures that keep activists engaged over time.

The tea partys lesson here is that not every event should be a march or policy lecture. Social connections are crucial to effective political organization.

4. Look further afield for inspiration.

Though the movement substantially shifted the Republican Party rightward, the tactics of the tea party should not be the limit of any activists political repertoire. At the grass-roots level, the local tea party groups that were so prominent early in the Obama administration went into decline soon after the 2010 midterm elections. We found that about a third of those local groups had disappeared within a year.

But U.S. history does provide examples of civic organizations that lasted not just a few years, but decades, and created tremendous social and political change. There is also a great deal to learn from movements that have not succeeded, such asa national movement for gun control. Activists of all political stripes can and should draw lessons from recent movements, but also the long history of U.S.political organizing.

Vanessa Williamson is a fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution and author of the new book Read My Lips: Why Americans Are Proud to Pay Taxes.

Theda Skocpol is the Victor S. Thomas professor of government and sociology at Harvard University and director of theScholars Strategy Network.

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Analysis | What can (or should) activists learn from the tea party? - Washington Post

When Central Valley Congressman Jeff Denham this weekfaced a crowd of voters furious with his vote to killthe Affordable Care Act, he like many Republicans around the country might have wondered where all the energized protesters came from.

At least somewereinspired by Ezra Levin and Leah Greenberg, two 30-year-old former congressional staffers who founded Indivisible, an anti-Trump group.In the last five months, a how-to-resist-Trump guide publishedby the D.C.husband-and-wife duo has gone viral and blossomed into a bona fide grass-roots movement. But even as Indivisiblehas energized activists around the country and added a shot of drama to town hall meetings, its also ruffled feathers, including those of some liberal Bay Area politicians.

Levin and Greenberg arehoping to spark a progressive version of the Tea Party movement, in which conservative protesters hounded members of Congress for supporting former President Barack Obamas signature health care law. The two had seen the power of the Tea Party firsthand: Greenberg worked for former Congressman Tom Perriello, a Virginia Democrat who lost his seat in the 2010 Republican wave.

We know what works,Levin, who talks quickly and has a face full of freckles, said during a recent interviewin the Bay Area. Putting aside their racism and their violence, the Tea Party was smart on strategy.

Along with friends who had worked in Congress, Levin and Greenberg wrote up a Google Doc distilling what they had learned about advocacy. Their advice: Go to congressional town hall meetings, pressure your representatives to publicly oppose President Donald Trump and his agenda, and keep calling them and showing up at their office until they agree to speak out against the president.

Every single member of Congress cares more about their own re-election than they care about anything that the Trump administration wants to get done, Levin said.

Levin tweeted the document which he says still had a lot of typosfrom his personal account to 650 followers on Dec. 14.

Within a few days, the guide racked up hundreds of thousands of views and wasshared by prominent politicos such as RobertReich, the former secretary of labor, and George Takei, the Star Trek actor andTrump critic. It was way more exposure than we ever expected to get, Greenberg said.

So Levin and Greenberg built a website and encouraged people to make their own groups. Its not very formal with a few clicks, anyone can create an Indivisible group in their own town or neighborhood, and invite other people to events. So far, there are at least two groups in every congressional district in the country, andmore than 900 groups in California. Activists around the country have followed the guides advice, packing town hall meetings and haranguing members of Congress.

Its attracted people likeEmily Morris, 27, a San Mateo woman who works for a nonprofit and was never politically involved before she joined Indivisible San Franciscoin January. The election turned my world completely upside down, she said.

Morris said meetingother outragedDemocrats energized her. Indivisible was this kind of antidote to despair, she said.

Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a longtime political analyst at the University of Southern California, said Indivisible was smart to demand town hall meetings as a tool to put pressure on representatives.

We didnt used to have town hall meetings, she said. They are being demanded by constituents now, to great effect.

She notedthat a desire for ideological purity from Tea Party activists led to several 2010 Senate races in which conservative nominees lost races that moderate Republicans likely would have won.

Levin said it was important for members of Congress to oppose Trump at every turn. While some Democratshadtalked aboutcutting deals with Trump on an infrastructure bill, for example if you dont resist, youre going to have a Muslim refugee ban, and you might build a few roads, hesaid.

Indivisibles activities havent gone over well with congressional Republicans. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach, called members of the groupenemies of American self-government and democracy after protesters with Indivisible got into a scuffle with his staff members in February.

Though the protesters think of themselves as idealists, they engaged in political thuggery, pure and simple, Rohrabacher said.

Indivisible groups have also put pressure on Democrats and liberals. In February, the Indivisible East Bay group requested a meeting with California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and held an Oakland event with an empty chair to represent her when she couldnt make it. Members of the group also showed up at a fundraiser she held in Los Angeles.

Finally, Feinstein agreed to hold public town halls. In two meetings in San Francisco and Los Angeles last month, hundreds of people showed up, booing, jeering and grilling her on why she wasnt doing more to oppose Trump.

In Contra Costa County, members of Indivisible once arrived unannounced at Rep. Mark DeSaulniers district office and demanded to meet with him even though he was in Washington at the time.

DeSaulnier, D-Concord, said in a recent interview that he thought the Indivisible guide unfairly portrayed members of Congress as Pavlovs dog or shameless scum.Still, DeSaulnier said hes enjoyed meetingswith local Indivisible members. Im really pleasantly surprised and really happy that they want to stay engaged in a way that is constructive and respectful, hesaid.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, had never heard of Indivisible when a group of 50 members metwith her earlier this year. Now shes seeingthe busiest town hall meetings of her 22-year congressional career, she said.

None of these people Ive ever seen before in Democratic Party politics, Lofgren said. They want to do something.

The biggest challenge now for Indivisible is how to keep people energized for the long haul. The group has been sending its members training documents, like scripts for phone callswith Republicans who voted to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, or a briefing on why groups should demand an independent investigation into Russian influence over U.S. elections.

Levin and Greenberg have quit their day jobs to work on Indivisible full-time and hired 16 other staff members with funding from donations. Going forward, theyre planning to endorse specific congressional candidates. But they say theyll let the local grass-roots groups lead the movement.

As they wrapped up an interview in a San Jose coffee shop, the guy at the next table Andre Davitoria, a 25-year-old recent grad witha man bun leaned over to say hed overheard their conversation with a reporter.

Noting that hed just signed up to do phone calls for his local Indivisible group, he asked Levin: Can I shake your hand?

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Meet the founders of anti-Trump group Indivisible - The Mercury News - The Mercury News