First Saturday Devotion

“To whoever embraces this devotion, I promise salvation.”

Our world faces an unprecedented political, economic, social, moral, and spiritual crisis for which there is no human solution. God loves us and foresaw these times. In 1917, He sent the Blessed Virgin Mary to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal with Heaven’s solution.

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About the First Saturday Devotion

At Fatima, Our Lady pleaded, “Do not offend the Lord our God any more, for He is already too much offended!” Instead, humanity’s outrages against God have only intensified.

The Great Secret of Fatima

On July 13, 1917, Our Blessed Mother revealed that God wills to establish in the world devotion to Her Immaculate Heart. To prevent divine punishment, Our Lady would return to ask for the Consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. She said:

“If My requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations will be annihilated.”

The Magnificent Promise

As promised, Our Lady returned to request the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. 

On December 10, 1925, She appeared to Lucia in Pontevedra, Spain. By Her side, elevated on a luminous cloud, was the Child Jesus. The Most Holy Virgin rested Her hand on Lucia’s shoulder and showed her a heart encircled by thorns, which She held in Her other hand. Our Lady said: 

“Look My daughter, at My Heart, surrounded with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce Me at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You at least try to console Me and announce in My name that I promise to assist at the moment of death, with all the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the First Saturday of five consecutive months, shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep Me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making Reparation to Me.”

Why Five First Saturdays?

In 1925, indulgenced Saturday devotions to Our Lady already existed, although no indulgence carried the magnificent promise of final perseverance. Lucia asked Our Lord why He wanted to establish a new devotion consisting of five First Saturdays. He answered: 

“It is true, My daughter, that many souls begin, but few persevere to the end, and those who persevere do it to receive the graces promised for it. Souls that make the Five First Saturdays with fervor and to make reparation to the Heart of your Mother in Heaven please Me more than the tepid and indifferent who make the fifteen.”

God in His goodness asks us only for five First Saturdays to obtain Our Lady’s promised graces but emphasizes that we must offer the Devotion with fervor and the intention of making reparation. Our Lord explained to Lucia why He seeks five Saturdays of reparation. 

“There are five types of blasphemies and offenses committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary: 

  1. Blasphemies against Her Immaculate Conception.
  1. Blasphemies against Her Perpetual Virginity.
  1. Blasphemies against Her Divine Maternity, in refusing at the same time to recognize Her as the Mother of men.
  1. Blasphemies of those who publicly seek to sow in the hearts of children indifference or scorn, or even hatred of this Immaculate Mother.
  1. Offenses of those who outrage Her directly in Her holy images.”

Lucia summed up why we must attach such great importance to this devotion: 

“Our Good Lord in His infinite Mercy asked me … to make reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and to implore pardon and mercy in favor of souls who blaspheme against Her, because the Divine Mercy does not pardon these souls without reparation.” 

As promised, Our Lady also returned to request the Consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart in an apparition to Lucia on June 13, 1929

Five Elements of the First Saturday Devotion

Every First Saturday, we should: 

  1. Make a good Confession (within 8 or so days before or after the First Saturday);
  1. Receive Holy Communion;
  1. Pray five decades of the Holy Rosary;
  1. Keep Our Lady company for fifteen additional minutes while meditating on the Mysteries of the Rosary; and
  1. Offer each of the above acts in reparation for the blasphemies and offenses committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Where Are We Now?

The prophecies of Our Lady of Fatima are being realized in our times. Russia has spread her errors throughout the world. The wars of the past century have caused more death and destruction than all the wars in previous centuries combined. The Church has been terribly persecuted from without and within. The threat of the annihilation of nations looms over us as a realistic prospect. 

To date, Our Lady of Fatima’s requests have not been fulfilled. While the Consecration of Russia can only be accomplished by the Pope in union with the world’s Catholic bishops, all of us can practice the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. The First Saturday Devotion is an essential element in establishing in the world devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Every Catholic should learn, practice, and promote this devotion. 

We Must Act Now

On June 17, 1689, Our Lord requested that the King of France publicly consecrate France to His Sacred Heart. The king and his successors failed to do so. One hundred years later to the day, the king was stripped of his power and was later executed as the French Revolution spread grave errors, violence, and terror. 

“Make it known to My ministers, given that they follow the example of the King of France in delaying the execution of My command, they will follow him into misfortune.”

In 1931, Our Lord appeared to Sister Lucia in Rianjo, Spain, and warned the Pope and bishops about their failure to consecrate Russia: 

Accordingly, we have reason to believe that 100 years of the Church failing to fulfill the requests of Our Lady of Fatima may be portentous. The 100th anniversaries of Our Lady’s requests for the First Saturday Devotion and the Consecration of Russia are December 10, 2025, and June 13, 2029, respectively. 

A Great Message of Hope

The First Saturday Devotion can provide the graces necessary for our salvation and help save countless souls. It is one of the most powerful spiritual exercises we can practice to gain the graces necessary for the Consecration of Russia, which will result in Russia’s conversion and a period of world peace.  

As part of the Great Secret of Fatima, Our Lady promised: 

“In the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to Me, she will be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world.” 

While this ultimate outcome is assured, how terrible will the spiritual and physical chastisements be, and how many souls and lives will be lost before then? 

The First Saturday Devotion is the most important thing you can do each month to help bring about the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart!

The Salvation of Others

After completing five First Saturdays for the graces to save our own soul, why not complete another five and offer them for someone else? Our Lady of Fatima urged us to: 

“Pray and make sacrifices for sinners for many souls go to Hell because they have no one to pray and make sacrifices for them.” 

In what better way can we entrust a loved one’s wayward soul to God’s infinite goodness and mercy than by interceding for that soul with the devotion requested by Our Lady of Fatima? Sister Lucia practiced this little devotion of love every month. We do well to imitate her example. 

First Saturday Challenge

We challenge all Catholics to unite and fulfill Our Lady’s request for the practice of the First Saturday Devotion.

We want to offer Her a spiritual bouquet of 100,000 First Saturdays* by the 100th anniversary of Our Lady’s request (December 10, 2025).

Join the First Saturday Challenge – #100by100

Join the First Saturday Challenge by signing up below and start registering your completed First Saturdays (more info on how to do your First Saturday here).


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Frequently asked questions regarding the First Saturday Devotion.

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