Witnesses of Apparitions of the Angel of Peace and Blessed Virgin Mary:
Born:
Francisco = June 11, 1908
Jacinta = March 5, 1910
Aljustrel, Fátima, Ourém, Portugal
Died:
Francisco :
April 4, 1919 (Aged 10)
Aljustrel, Fátima, Portugal
Jacinta :
February 20, 1920 (Aged 9)
Lisbon, Portugal
Venerated in: Roman Catholic Church
Beatified: May 13, 2000
Pope John Paul II
Canonized: May 13, 2017
Pope Francis
Major shrine: Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, Fátima, Portugal
Feast: February 20
Patronage:
Bodily ills, Portuguese Children, Captives, People Ridiculed for their Piety, Prisoners, Sick People, Against Sickness
On a beautiful Sunday afternoon, May 13, 1917, three children were laughing and chatting as they kept watch over their families’ sheep. This afternoon they were building a playhouse out of brush and rocks. Suddenly a bright light flashed. They thought it was lightning. Then it flashed again. They saw a ball of light descend upon a little green evergreen tree. Within the light was a beautiful woman dressed in white.
Three holy children saw the Blessed Virgin Mary appear to them in Fatima, Portugal, from May to October 1917. As with all saints, holiness is particular to their own state in life — and these seers are no exception. While it would be inappropriate to discuss all three as saints at this time — since the eldest, Lucia, is not yet beatified — the two younger children were beatified in 2000. Both Francisco and Jacinta Marto died less than three years after their last vision of Mary.
While some who have witnessed an apparition of the Blessed Mother have been beatified/canonized, not all have been, as being the recipient of such a privilege is not what makes one a saint. The life of holiness is the cause. At the time of their beatification, they were the youngest non-martyrs ever raised to this dignity by the Church, which many regarded as the fulfilment of Vatican II’s teaching on the universal call to holiness.
The visions of Fatima changed the lives of the three young children who saw Mary at the Cova da Iria. She appeared to average Portuguese peasant children. Although illiterate, they were not dumb.
As Lucia lived many years after her two cousins — dying in 2005 at the age of 97 — she wrote memoirs of those events, including character details of her fellow seers. Francisco is described as a musically gifted boy, pensive and easygoing. Jacinta loved to sing and dance, and she was quite affectionate.
The apparitions didn’t change their personalities but they did help form their holiness. Francisco chose to “console Jesus for the sins of the world” in private prayer. A jarring vision of hell given to the children in one of the apparitions made a big impression on Jacinta. It prompted her desire to save sinners with prayer and penance, making sacrifices as instructed by Mary. Both Francisco and Jacinta participated in strict self-mortification in response to this as well.
The holy siblings knew their deaths wouldn’t be far off because Mary told them that she’d take them to heaven soon. During World War I, they were just two of the multitude of victims of influenza the world over. Despite their lingering illnesses, Francisco and Jacinta were consistent in making Eucharistic holy hours, lying prostrate for hours at a time in response to the holy angel’s directive at the apparitions.
Francisco embraced his suffering lovingly, without complaint. He refused to go to the hospital, and died a day later on April 4, 1919, with a smile on his lips. Jacinta went on to suffer even more greatly. After going to the hospital, she received an operation and several minor procedures, all of which were attempts to preserve her life. None of them worked. She offered her continuing pain for the conversion of sinners. The hospital chaplain came to hear Jacinta’s confession on Feb. 19, 1920. At that time, she asked also for Holy Communion and anointing, but the priest denied her, saying he would return the next day. But she didn’t last that long.
In his homily at their beatification, Pope St. John Paul II said these holy children of Fatima show us the fruits that can be borne of a total oblation to our Blessed Mother. “Devoting themselves with total generosity to the direction of such a good teacher, Jacinta and Francisco soon reached the heights of perfection,” he said. He concluded by imploring, “May the message of their lives live on forever to light humanity’s way!”
Francisco and Jacinta were canonized on May 13, 2017, by Pope Francis! Their feast day is Feb. 20.
Saints Francisco and Jacinta Marto, you saw Mary at Fatima and prayed for our conversion—pray for us!
Prayer:
May the prayer and integrity of the Saints, O Lord, we pray, obtain help for your faithful, that they may gain a share in the eternal inheritance of those whom they celebrate with devotion. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen!