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As I established in the first part of this series, Catholic author J.R.R. Tolkien discouraged his audience from reading The Lord of the Rings as an allegory. This doesn’t mean that similarities between his fantasy and Catholicism shouldn’t be made, though. In fact, doing so only serves to strengthen our understanding of our Faith.
On July 13, 1917, the third apparition of Our Lady of Fatima occurred: “Mary opened her hands and rays of light from them seemed to penetrate the earth, revealing to the children a terrifying vision of hell full of demons and lost souls amid indescribable horrors.” Even as firm believers, it almost seems shocking that such terrors would be revealed to children as young as Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta. And yet, it is because of their innocence that this divine revelation makes perfect sense.
When Our Lady spoke to the three seers during this event, she warned them that God was going to punish the world for its crimes. However, she offered a solution:
“To prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart …In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me, and she will be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world.”
The position of the World Apostolate of Fatima is that of Sr. Lucia; the consecration of Russia was fulfilled by St. John Paul II in Rome on March 25, 1984.
What does the July 13th apparition and consecration of Russia have to do with Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, then?
In the series, the protagonist Frodo Baggins (who is like the seers in his innocence), is given a task; to bring the One Ring—a corruptible, evil item—to the fiery wasteland called Mordor to destroy it and free Middle Earth from its creator’s destruction of the world. Many readers view Frodo as a representation of the human journey on Earth and/or as a Christlike figure. I’d like to propose a different interpretation relating to the July 13th message.
Not only is Frodo like the Fatima seers, entrusted with the message and mission of hope, but he takes on a similar role as the Holy Father. This comparison by no means suggests that Frodo is the same as the Pope, but instead, recognizes the vital role of both in bringing about peace. Whereas the Holy Father was responsible for consecrating Russia, Frodo is responsible for redeeming the hell-like Mordor. We know that both succeed because in real life and in fiction, a period of peace is granted to the world. Maintaining that peace, however, has been and continues to be the responsibility of humanity’s free will.
The most important aspect to consider when comparing The Lord of the Rings to the July 13 apparition, though, is Mary. It is no coincidence that Tolkien chose March 25 as the day for Frodo to succeed in his mission. Yes, Mary is not explicitly present within Middle Earth. But Tolkien blatantly reminds his audience in picking March 25—the Feast of the Annunciation and, later, the day the consecration of Russia was fulfilled—as the day the One Ring is destroyed, that without her intervention, peace is unachievable. She told us so as well during the July apparition, to “pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary in order to obtain peace for the world, …because only she can help you.”
Elizabeth Turello is the former Communications Associate for the World Apostolate of Fatima, USA. She is now pursuing her graduate degree in English at Seton Hall University.
