+ March 11, 1910: Jacinta is born
+ From May 13 to October 13, 1917: the Blessed Mother appears to the three little shepherds
+ October 1918: Jacinta’s illness begins
+ February 20, 1920: Jacinta dies
A mystery to many
“Why should I read an article about Jacinta?” you may ask. “What can I
get out of it? I already know everything about Fatima: the Blessed
Mother appeared in Portugal to three little shepherds in 1917, told them
to pray the rosary, and Jacinta was a very lucky little girl even
though she died very young... she is now another little angel among the
angels! How does it concern my life? How can I relate to a little girl
who lived almost 100 years ago? Will I find it interesting at all?”
As you read this article you will discover that which is still a
mystery to many, namely, why, during the apparition of July 13, 1917,
the Blessed Virgin showed Hell to the three children: Lucia, 10,
Francisco, 9, and Jacinta, 7.
Yes, the Blessed Virgin showed Hell to a little girl of seven, with
demons in the form of horrible monsters, and souls of the damned burning
in a huge fire! Why would she do such a thing?
That vision transformed Jacinta’s life: from then on she agreed to
suffer so that sinners could convert, and therefore avoid losing their
souls forever. As you read these few pages, you will see how the love of
neighbor, including sinners, can lead a child to a heroic acceptance of
suffering.
And how she suffered! Small, ignorant, poor and sick, through
suffering Jacinta is transformed into a giant of virtue, a universal
model of wisdom, inner richness and strength.
I am convinced that Jacinta has something very special to convey to
you. Read her story, look her in the eyes, and discover for yourself
what her questioning look suggests.
“How I have pity for souls who go to Hell!”
The concept of eternity was one of the things that most impressed
Jacinta in the vision of Hell. At times she would stop in the middle of a
game and ask her cousin,
“But look. So, after many, many years, will Hell still not be over? And you never get out of there?”
“No.”
“Even after many, many years?!”
“No. Hell never ends. Neither does Heaven. Whoever goes to Heaven
never leaves. And those who go to Hell don’t either. Don’t you see that
they are eternal, that they never end?”
Also:
“And those people burning there do not die? They do not turn into
ashes? If we pray a lot for sinners, does Our Lord deliver them from
there? And with sacrifices too? Poor ones! We will pray and make many
sacrifices for them...How good that Lady really is! She has already
promised to take us to Heaven!”
The vision of Hell had caused Jacinta such horror that all the
penances and mortifications she could make seemed little to prevent a
few souls from falling into it.
How could Jacinta, so small, understand and accept such a spirit of mortification and penance? Lucia explains,
“It seems to me that it was first by a special grace God wished to
grant through the intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary;
secondly, by seeing Hell and the terrible state of the souls that fall
into it.
“There are people, even pious ones, who do not want to talk about
Hell to children so as not to frighten them. But God did not hesitate to
show it to a seven-year-old child, knowing that she was going to be
horrified, I would almost venture to say, to the point of dying of
terror.”
Often, Jacinta would sit on a stone, and plunged into her thoughts, would say:
“Hell! Hell! What pity I have for the souls that go to hell! And the people burning alive there, like wood in a bonfire!”
Then, shuddering, she would kneel down, clasp her hands and recite aloud the prayer which the Blessed Virgin had taught them:
“O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell,
lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy.”
“There are so many who go there!”
Jacinta remained on her knees for a long time, repeating the same prayer. From time to time she stopped to call her companions:
“Francisco, Francisco, are you praying with me? We need to pray a lot to deliver souls from hell. So many go there! So many!”
One day Lucia went to see her cousin and found her sitting in bed, pensive.
“Jacinta, what are you thinking about?”
“About the war that is to come. So many people will die! And almost
all will go to hell! Many houses will be razed and many priests killed.
Look, I am going to Heaven. And as soon as you see that night light the
Lady said will come before [the war], make sure to flee there too!”
“Don’t you see that one can’t flee to Heaven?”
“It’s true! You can’t. But do not be afraid! In Heaven I will pray
very much for you, for the Holy Father, for Portugal* so the war does
not come here, and for all priests.”
At other times, she would ask,
“Why does Our Lady not show Hell to sinners? If they only saw it they
would no longer sin to avoid going there! You must tell the Lady to
show hell to all those people [present at Cova da Iria at the time of
the apparition]. You will see how they will convert.”
Then, somewhat dissatisfied, she would ask Lucia,
“Why didn’t you tell Our Lady to show hell to those people?”
“I forgot,” she replied.
“I did not remember it either!” Jacinta said sadly.
At other times she also asked,
“What sins do these people commit to go to hell?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps the sin of not going to Mass on Sunday, stealing, saying ugly words, cursing, swearing.”
“And they go to hell just because of a single word?!”
“Of course! It’s a sin!”
“What would it cost them to keep silent and go to Mass? What a pity I have for sinners! If only I could show them hell!”
And then she would take Lucia by the arm and insist,
“I am going to Heaven, but you who stay here if Our Lady lets you,
tell everyone what hell is like so they don’t sin anymore and don’t go
there.”
At other times, after a period of reflection, she would say,
“So many people falling into hell, so many people in hell!”
To reassure her, Lucia would remind her:
“Do not fear; you are going to Heaven.”
“I am,” she said peacefully, “but I wanted all those people to go there too.”
Suffering to Save Sinners
Jacinta would not miss any opportunity of making sacrifices to obtain the conversion of sinners.
When Jacinta would not eat to mortify herself, Lucia would tell her:
“Jacinta! Come on, now eat!”
“No. I offer this sacrifice for sinners who overeat.”
And when, already very affected by illness, she would go to Mass during the week, Lucia tried to prevent her:
“Jacinta, don’t come, you cannot. Today is not Sunday!”
“It does not matter. I am going for the sinners who do not even go on Sunday.”
And if she happened to hear unseemly words uttered by some people, she would hide her face with her hands and say,
“O my God! Don’t these people know that by saying these things they
can go to hell? Forgive them, my Jesus, and convert them. Surely they do
not know that, with this, they offend God. What a pity, my Jesus! I
pray for them.”
The three little shepherds knew children of two poor families who
begged for alms from door to door. Seeing them one day when leading her
flock, Jacinta proposed to Lucia and Francisco:
“Shall we give our lunch to those poor people for the conversion of sinners?”
And she ran to take her lunch to them.
Of course, in the afternoon, the three little shepherds got hungry.
To remedy that, Francisco climbed up a green oak tree and filled his
pockets with long, sweet and nutty acorns. But Jacinta suggested that
they could instead eat acorns from great oaks to make the sacrifice of
chewing something very bitter.
That became one of her usual sacrifices. She also gathered olives
before the brine bath that would cut down their bitterness. The acorns
and olives were so bitter that one day Lucia said to her:
“Jacinta, do not eat that, it’s very bitter!”
“That’s why I eat it, to convert sinners.”
Jacinta seemed insatiable in offering sacrifices. In her generosity
as a little victim, all she thought of was to suffer to save sinners.
For this end, she frequently accepted the harsh conditions of life as it
presented itself.
Everyday Sacrifices to Save Sinners
Jacinta's mother knew well her little girl’s repugnance for milk. One
day, she brought her a cup of milk and a nice bunch of grapes.
“Here, Jacinta,” she told her, “if you can’t take the milk, just leave it and eat the grapes.”
“No, mother, I do not want the grapes, you may take them. Let me have the milk.”
And without showing the slightest repugnance, she drank it. Her
mother was happy, thinking that her daughter's distaste for milk was
gone. Then Jacinta told Lucia:
“I craved those grapes so much, and it was so hard to drink the milk!” But I wanted to offer this sacrifice to Our Lord.”
One morning, Lucia found her with an altered countenance and asked if she felt any worse.
“Tonight,” she replied, “I’ve had many pains and wanted to offer Our
Lord the sacrifice of not going back to bed, so I did not sleep at all.”
Another time she confided to Lucia,
“When I am alone, I get out of bed to say the prayers of the angel;
but now I can no longer reach the ground with my head because I fall. I
pray only on my knees.”
Concerned, Lucia mentioned it to the confessor who knew how to guide
her. He ordered that Jacinta should no longer get out of bed to pray but
say all the prayers she wanted in bed, without tiring too much. She
hastened to pass the message on to Jacinta, who asked:
“Will Our Lord be pleased?”
“He will,” I replied. “Our Lord wants us to do what the pastor tells us.”
“Then it’s fine; I will never get up again.”
“I saw the Holy Father crying, and people insulting him”
On
one very hot day, the children spent the siesta hour on the well at the
back of the garden of Lucia’s house. Jacinta asked her cousin,
“Haven’t you seen the Holy Father?”
“No!”
“I do not know how it happened! I saw the Holy Father in a very large
house, on his knees, in front of a table, with his hands on his face,
crying. Outside the house were many people and some threw stones at him,
others cursed and told him many ugly words. Poor little Holy Father! We
have to pray a lot for Him!”
Another day, two priests who had gone to interrogate them explained
who the Pope was and asked the children to pray for him. Jacinta then
asked Lucia,
“Is he the same I saw crying, and of whom the Lady spoke in that secret?”
“Yes.”
“Certainly that Lady also showed him to these priests! See? I was not mistaken. We must pray a lot for him.”
In fact, Jacinta was taken with such a love for the Holy Father that
every time she offered one of her sacrifices to Jesus, she added:
“And for the Holy Father.”
At the end of each rosary she always recited three Hail Marys for the pope and sometimes would say,
“I wish I could see the Holy Father! So many people come here and the Holy Father never comes.”
Another time, the three little shepherds had gone to their favorite
rock hollows on Cabeço hill, where the angel had appeared to them.
Prostrating with their foreheads on the ground, they fervently recited
the prayer he had taught them. After a moment, Jacinta arose and asked,
“Don’t you see many roads, paths and fields full of people crying
with hunger, who have nothing to eat? And the Holy Father in a church,
praying before the Immaculate Heart of Mary? And many people praying
with Him?”
After several days, she asked Lucia:
“Can I say that I have seen the Holy Father and all those people?”
“No. Don’t you see that it is part of the secret and they would soon discover it?”
“All right, then I won’t say anything.”
Jacinta’s illness
One year after the last apparition, towards the end of October 1918, Jacinta fell ill, followed by Francisco.
The
flu epidemic affecting so many people at the time was undoubtedly the
cause of her very strong bronchopneumonia, which never healed but
degenerated into an infected pleurisy with an external abscess, and
ultimately tuberculosis.
On the eve of her illness, she said to Lucia,
“My head hurts so bad and I am so thirsty! But I do not want to drink in order to suffer for sinners.”
Despite her pain, she would not complain. Her only confidante was Lucia:
“I feel such pain in my chest! But I do not say anything to my
mother; I want to suffer for Our Lord in reparation for the sins
committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the Holy Father, and
for the conversion of sinners.”
One morning, when Lucia came to see her, she asked,
“How many sacrifices did you offer to Our Lord tonight?”
“Three: I got up three times to say the prayers of the angel.”
“I have offered Him many, many; I do not know how many, for I had many pains and did not complain.”
At the hospital of Vila Nova de Ourem: “I am not going there to be healed”
On July 1, 1919, Jacinta, who had been ill for almost a year, was
taken to the hospital at Vila Nova de Ourem, the same town where she had
been imprisioned by the Mayor back in August, 1917.
Her father carefully arranged her thin and feverish body on the back
of a mule for the three-mile journey from their hamlet to the town.
She knew very well that she was not at the hospital to be cured, but
to suffer for the conversion of sinners. The Lady had told her so.
Along the way she remembered a visit the Lady had paid to her and
Francisco when she was doing a little better and would spend her day
sitting on her brother's bed. Immediately afterwards she had called
Lucia to tell her,
“Our Lady came to see us and says that she will soon come to take
Francisco to Heaven. And she asked me if I wanted to convert more
sinners. I told her I did. She told me that I would be going to a
hospital and would suffer a lot there; that I should suffer for the
conversion of sinners, in reparation for sins against the Immaculate
Heart of Mary, and for the love of Jesus. I asked her if you were going
with me. She said no. For me this is the hardest part. She said that my
mother was going to take me and I would be there alone!”
The poor little girl was extremely afraid of staying alone in a place she imagined to be terrible. So she added:
“If you only went with me! The hardest thing for me is to go without
you. Maybe the hospital is a very dark house where you cannot see
anything, and I will be there suffering alone!”
And then she immediately returned to the only thing that really mattered:
“But it is all right; I suffer for Our Lord’s sake, to make
reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the conversion of
sinners, and for the Holy Father.”
In fact, the Saint Augustine Hospital in Vila Nova de Ourem was all
white and flooded with light. But the treatment Jacinta received there
for two months could do nothing to improve her health, and she suffered
greatly.
What had begun as the flu in October 1918 had turned into
tuberculosis, which affected one of her lungs. An abscess had formed and
a wound opened on her left side through which oozed foul-smelling pus.
She received few visits, as distance and daily occupations prevented
her mother from visiting her youngest child as often as she would like.
When she came to see Jacinta, she asked if she wanted anything. Of
course, what Jacinta wanted the most was to see Lucia and converse with
her.
So, as soon as she could her mother brought Lucia with her, not a
small complication as she had to make a round trip of more than twelve
miles in a single day. This trip was made, not in a car or by train, but
as all the poor traveled, by donkey cart.
As soon as Jacinta saw Lucia she kissed her with joy and asked her mother to leave them together while she went shopping.
“Do you suffer much?” Lucia asked her.
“Yes, I do suffer; but I offer everything for sinners and to make reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”
And she began to speak enthusiastically of Our Lord and the Blessed Mother:
“I am so glad to suffer for Their love! To make Them pleased! They love very much those who suffer to convert sinners.”
The visit went by quickly and when Jacinta’s mother asked her again
if she wanted something, she asked her to bring Lucia again when she
came to visit.
The second time around, her cousin found her suffering with the same
joy for the love of God, of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for sinners
and the Holy Father.
Lucia wrote, “It was her ideal; that was what she talked about,” adding:
“She was only a child of ten. As for the rest, she already knew how
to practice virtue and show her love for God and the Blessed Virgin by
practicing sacrifice.”
In Lucia’s opinion, she had an intimate and meticulous knowledge of
the profound meaning of the message which the three had received:
“It seems to me that Jacinta was the one to whom the Blessed Virgin
communicated a greater abundance of grace, knowledge of God and virtue.”
Back from the hospital
After two long months in the hospital of Vila Nova de Ourém, she
returned home. She never complained or showed impatience during the
daily care required by the open and infected wound on her side.
In September 1919, despite her lamentable state, Jacinta was still
moving a little. Weakened and emaciated, she went to Mass at the church
of Fatima. But the Cova da Iria was too far away for her feeble
strength.
In October, a friend of the family found her in a pitiful state,
remarking: “The little one is skeletal. Her arms are woefully skinny.
She continually burns with fever. Her appearance inspires compassion.”
She was again the object of endless visits and questions from people who came to see her now that she could no longer hide.
“I offer also this sacrifice for sinners,” she said with resignation.
“I wish I could go to Cabeço to say a chaplet in our grotto! But I am
no longer able to.”
A new visit by the Blessed Mother: “I will die all alone!”
Again the Blessed Virgin came to see Jacinta, bedridden, to announce
new crosses and sacrifices. She hastened to break the news to Lucia:
“She told me that I am going to Lisbon, to another hospital; that I
will not see you again, or my parents; that, after suffering very much, I
will die alone but should not be afraid, as she is going to take me to
Heaven.”
Jacinta wept as she kissed her cousin:
“I’ll never see you again. You’re not going to visit me there. Look, pray a lot for me, as I am dying alone.”
“Do not think about it,” I told her one day.
“Let me think, because the more I think, the more I suffer; and I
want to suffer for the love of Our Lord and for sinners. And then I do
not care! Our Lady is going there to fetch me to Heaven.”
She was also worried she still had not been able to receive communion:
“Am I going to die without receiving the hidden Jesus? If only Our Lady would bring Him to me when she comes to get me!”
And when Lucia asked her what she would do once in heaven,
“I am going to love very much Jesus, the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
pray a lot for you, for sinners, for the Holy Father, for my parents and
siblings, and for all those who have asked me to pray for them.”
If asked whether she needed anything, she replied:
“No, thank you very much, I need nothing.”
After people left, she would say to Lucia:
“I'm very thirsty but do not want to drink; I offer it up to Jesus for sinners.”
On another occasion, Lucia found her kissing an image of the Blessed Virgin and saying,
“O my sweet heavenly Mother, will I then die alone?”
The poor child seemed frightened at the idea of dying alone. To console her, Lucia recalled,
“What do you care if you die alone, if Our Lady will come fetch you?”
“It’s true! I do not care at all. I don’t know what will happen to me
; sometimes I do not remember that she’s coming to get me, just that I
will die without you standing by me."
Lisbon and the death of Jacinta
In mid-January, 1920, Canon Formigão, a priest who had been present
at several of the apparitions and had been able to question the seers
with tact and precision, returned with a doctor from Lisbon, a pious
soul who came to pray at Cova da Iria with Lucia. He then met Jacinta
and her parents.
Although they told him that she had shown no improvement after the
two-month stay at the hospital in Vila Nova de Ourem, and that they knew
the Blessed Virgin would soon take their little Jacinta to heaven, the
doctor finally convinced them to send her to Lisbon.
Knowing that the use of all possible remedies to cure the little
patient was not opposed to the will of God, her parents agreed and her
father went to announce their decision.
Jacinta was saddened by the news but accepted it with resignation.
Her father explained to her that they had to send her to Lisbon so
people would not say they had refused a treatment that could have cured
her.
“Oh, daddy! Even if I recover, another illness will come and I will die. If I go to Lisbon, you can bid me goodbye.”
Shortly before Jacinta left for Lisbon, where she knew she was going
to die away from her family, finding her immersed in her memories, Lucia
told her,
“Do not be sad that I am not going with you. It is a short time; you
can spend it thinking of Our Lady, Our Lord, and often saying these
words that you like so much:
“My God, I love You! Immaculate Heart of Mary! Sweet Heart of Mary!”
“That’s right!” she answered in a lively way. “I will never tire of
saying them until I die! And then I will sing them many times in
Heaven!”
Before leaving her home forever, Jacinta asked her mother to take her
to the Cova da Iria, where she wanted to pray again and see the place
where the Blessed Virgin had appeared.
With the help of a neighbor who lent a mule, they made the journey
which they had traveled so often in the past. The little one got off of
the mule a little before arriving in order to pluck a few flowers. These
she placed in the little chapel that had been built where the little
green oak once stood which served as a support to the Queen of the
Universe.
She prayed on her knees for a long while, and then, rising, showed
her mother the trees over which the Lady would pass when she went back
to Heaven.
Departure from Fatima
The day of departure for Lisbon, January 21, 1920, finally arrived.
Jacinta’s farewells to her dear Lucia were poignant. She embraced her
for a long time, weeping and saying,
“We’ll never see each other again! Pray a lot for me, until I go to
Heaven. Then, there, I will pray a lot for you. Never tell anyone the
secret, even if they kill you. Love Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of
Mary very much, and make many sacrifices for sinners.”
Then Jacinta departed with her mother to take the train to the capital.
At the orphanage of Mother Godinho
Having arrived at the Lisbon station, three ladies came to fetch them
and took them to the orphanage of Our Lady of Miracles, founded and
directed by Mother Godinho, where Jacinta had to wait a little before
being admitted to the hospital.
Her
mother stayed with her for a few days, and after a week returned to the
hamlet, leaving her little Jacinta in the care of Mother Godinho, whom
all the little orphans called “Godmother.”
Jacinta’s great consolation was to discover that the house where she
was had a passage to the back of the church adjoining the pulpit. She
was installed on a small chair from which she could see the tabernacle
and the altar, and she would stay there for as long as they would allow
it.
She was admitted to communion almost every day: finally, she was able to receive the hidden Jesus in her heart!
Having noticed that many visitors were talking and laughing in the
orphanage chapel, Jacinta asked Mother Godinho to admonish them about
the lack of respect that this represented to the Real Presence. When
that didn’t work, she asked that the cardinal be warned: “Our Lady does
not want us to speak in church.”
It is certain that the Most Holy Virgin came to see her several
times, conversing with her and announcing the day and hour of her death.
Jacinta had someone write this to Lucia, again recommending her to be
very good.
Who can tell the depth of Jacinta’s conversations with the Mother of
God? Knowledge of certain future events and discernment of souls are
also a small indication of what these conversations were like. Following
are several examples:
She confided to Godmother that the Blessed Virgin would have liked
two of her sisters, aged sixteen and seventeen, to become nuns. But
since her mother opposed it, Our Lady would soon take them to heaven,
something that happened shortly after Jacinta’s death.
A doctor who looked after her asked her to pray for him when she was
in heaven. Jacinta said yes, but told him to be prepared, for he too
would soon die.
She likewise predicted to another physician his coming death and that of his daughter.
After hearing the sermon of a priest whom everybody admired, she
said, “Godmother, when you least expect it, you will see how bad this
priest is.” Indeed, shortly after that the priest left the priesthood
and began to live openly in scandal.
She was well aware that, even if she prayed for sinners, their
conversion depended on themselves and if they persisted in sin it was
their own responsibility. Thus, when Godmother asked her to pray for
some people in a miserable spiritual state, she replied,
“Yes, Godmother, but those are already beyond any hope!”
The last hospital – “I am going to die”
She was finally admitted to the hospital on the 2nd of February with
two ribs that were turning necrotic and were about to be removed in the
hope of containing the infection in the lungs.
There she was separated from the company of her good Godmother and
especially from the presence of Jesus hidden in the tabernacle and
frequent communion.
Placed in a large, cold and sad infirmary with many beds, she was as sorry as ever for sinners.
She blamed some nurses and visitors for their frivolous and hardly modest way of dressing:
“What’s all this for? If these people only knew what eternity is!”
She was operated on the 10th of February.
Because of her great weakness they did not use chloroform to make her
sleep, but only the local anesthetic available at the time.
Her greatest suffering, however, was to have her little body
undressed at the hands of doctors, so little attentive to the admirable
modesty of that little Christian girl. She cried a great deal.
Every day they had to tend to the gaping wound, which rekindled
excruciating pain. As they were taking care of her, she groaned softly:
“Ouch! Nossa Senhora! Ouch! Nossa Senhora! (In English it would have been, “Ouch, Mother of God! Ouch, Mother of God)
And then she would add:
“Patience! We must all suffer to go to Heaven.”
For the rest of the time she was never heard to complain. The Most
Holy Virgin, who came to see her several times in this infirmary,
completely removed her pain four days before taking her away.
To her “Godmother,” Mother Godinho who came to see her once a day, Jacinta said,
“Our Lady has appeared to me again; she will soon come for me and has immediately taken away my pains.”
As her Godmother went to sit at a certain place, Jacinta protested:
“Not there, Godmother. That is where Our Lady sat.”
Shortly before her death, someone asked her if she wanted to see her mother. Jacinta replied:
“My family will last a short time and we will soon meet again in
heaven. Our Lady will appear another time, but not to me, for without a
doubt I will die as she told me.”
The day fixed for her departure to heaven, February 20th, a Friday, finally arrived.
About six o'clock in the evening, feeling ill, she asked to receive
the last sacraments. A priest came from the nearby parish and heard her
confession. She insisted that she should be given communion, but the
priest told her that he would bring It the next day.
Once he left, Jacinta insisted again to receive communion, saying she was going to die.
About half-past ten Jacinta died very quietly, but without communion.
Only a young nurse, whom she affectionately called “my little Aurora,”
stood beside her and watched over her remains for the rest of the night.
“In Heaven I will pray much…”
“I will return to Fatima, but only after my death,” Jacinta told
Godmother. She was first buried in the cemetery of Vila Nova de Ourem,
in the vault of Baron de Alvaiazere, protector of her family.
Francisco
was buried in the cemetery of Fatima. On September 12, 1935, Jacinta’s
precious remains were transferred to the Fatima cemetery and placed in a
new grave prepared especially for her and her brother. The tombstone
bore this simple inscription: “Here lie the mortal remains of Francisco
and Jacinta, to whom Our Lady appeared.”
Subsequently (in 1951 and 1952, respectively), the precious remains were moved to the Basilica of Fatima, where they now are.
The preparatory canonical processes for the beatification of the two Fatima seers were officially opened in 1949.
And on June 28, 1999, a decree was issued recognizing the
authenticity of the miracle necessary for the beatification. Finally, on
May 13, 2000, Pope John Paul II went personally to the Sanctuary
of Fatima where he solemnly beatified the servants of God Francisco and
Jacinta Marto before a crowd calculated at 400,000. Their canonical
feast is celebrated annually on February 20th, in the places and
according to the norms of the law.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Jacinta had told Lucia what she would do once in Heaven:
"I am going to love very much Jesus, the
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray a lot for you, for sinners, for the Holy
Father, for my parents and siblings, and for all those who have asked me
to pray for them.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The story of Jacinta Marto is not for
the Catholic inclined to sentimentality. It is a story of a little girl
who saw with her own eyes the Mother of God, but also Hell. As a
consequence of these facts and of her correspondence to graces received,
Jacinta went from being a simple little shepherd girl in the fields of
Portugal to a great Saint.
She understood what really matters in this life as well as the
immense importance and reality of eternity. She was called to be what
the Church calls an “expiatory victim” and she accepted this calling
with great love and generosity. Her life and example stand in sharp
contrast with the 21st century and that is precisely why her story is so
relevant for us today.
Saint Jacinta, Pray for us!
*Indeed, Portugal remained neutral
throughout World War II, despite much pressure. As Jacinta prayed, the
war did not go to Portugal.
Romanus
was just 35 years old when he dedicated his life to that of a hermit,
living humbly in prayer in the Jura Mountains between Switzerland and
France. At first, Romanus lived under the protection of a large tree,
and survived on the seed he had brought with him. Before long, however,
he was joined by his brother, sister and a number of other followers.
The brothers’ built two monasteries and a nunnery for their sister and
each sibling governed their respective establishments.
I
was more than happy to take the statue to visit her at Rex Hospital in
Raleigh, North Carolina. It was painfully clear, when we arrived in the
Intensive Care Unit, that this poor soul was reaching the end.
Anne
was the daughter of William Heigham of Dunmow, Essex, a gentleman of
means and an ardent Calvinist. When Anne and her brother converted to
Catholicism, they were disowned and disinherited by their family. In
1583, Anne married Roger Line, a convert like herself. But shortly after
their marriage Roger was arrested for attending Mass and exiled to
Flanders in Belgium, where he died in 1594.
Alexander
was born in Alexandria, Egypt, and in 313, the gentle mannered man was
made Patriarch of Alexandria because of his kindness, fervent
religiousness and great love of God.
Tarasius
was born around the middle of the eighth century. Raised in a patrician
family, Tarasius was surrounded by earthly wealth and possessions, but
lived a most austere and holy life. His virtue gained the esteem of the
empire, and Tarasius was made Patriarch of Constantinople.
Among
the players of this political drama was Fredegund, mistress of King
Chilperic, a murderous woman responsible for several deaths in the royal
family. Fredegund despised Praetextatus and opposed his return from
exile, but a council in Rouen overruled her interference and reinstated
the holy bishop to his see.
Polycarp,
a holy man and bishop of Smyrna, was part of the group of early
bishops. When heresy arose in Asia, violence toward Catholics arose with
it, and Polycarp was persuaded by his friends to go into hiding.
Margaret
ran away with a rich young man. For nine years she lived in sin, and
during that time bore him a son. Her immoral relationship caused great
scandal, and Margaret strove to convince him of marriage, but to no
avail. One day, the man took his dog and went riding. When he did not
return, Margaret became anxious. After some time, his dog returned and
led her to a forest. There Margaret found the broken body of her lover,
dead for some days, and took it as a sign from God to amend her life.
Peter
Damian was born in Ravenna, Italy. His parents died when he was still
very young, and he was adopted by his older brother who sent him to
school, where he excelled in his studies and eventually worked as a
professor.
She
also asked the children if they were willing to pray and sacrifice to
help save the souls of poor sinners. She assured Francisco and Jacinta
that she would take them soon to heaven but that Lucia would stay on
earth longer.
Francisco
spent hours on end in prayer, and contemplation even giving up his
games and play time. Jacinta embarked on a life of prayer and penance,
offering many small sacrifices for the salvation of sinners.
In
1125, desiring to live as an anchorite, Wulfric withdrew to a cell
adjacent to the Church of St. Michael and All the Angels in Haselbury
Plunett, Somerset. He had failed to obtain his bishop’s permission to do
so, but was supported by the Cluniac monks at Montacute and others, who
shared a great respect for his holiness.
Can
I say that the transformation in the souls of Jacinta and Francisco are
the beginning of Our Lady’s reign? Is this not her triumph over the
souls of Jacinta and Francisco, heralds of Our Lady’s message, who
helped others accept the Fatima message through their prayers and
sacrifices? And who still help us today through their prayers in Heaven?
Boniface
was born in Belgium in 1205, and when he was just 17, was sent to study
at a university in Paris. Once he completed his education, he remained
at the university as a teacher, and over the course of seven years,
became a very popular lecturer.
We
are well aware Our Lady is constantly working and spreading her graces
as we travel to homes with the statue of Our Lady of Fatima. On a recent
visit in south Texas, we were surprised to see Our Lady’s visit to one
household as the culmination of a beautiful story of grace, nine months
in the making. 
Born
in 1082 into a wealthy and pious family in northern Portugal,
Theotonius was a nephew to the Bishop of Coimbra and studied with him
from a young age to prepare for the priesthood.
After
some time, as they prayed on the feast of the Assumption, the Virgin
Mary appeared to them, urging them to devote themselves to her service.
Upon making arrangements for their families (two of the seven were
married, and two others were widowers), the men withdrew to Monte
Senario and established a simple and austere community there.
Among
his parishioners were seven devout young women who lived under his
direction. Hoping to establish a religious community for them, he built a
modest house and developed an order based upon the rule of St.
Benedict. Soon, he admitted lay sisters to their community, and later,
as the order gradually spread, lay brothers to provide manual labor.
Lastly, Gilbert included chaplains for the nuns. Thus the Gilbertines,
the only medieval religious order of English origin, developed, with
Gilbert himself eventually becoming head of the order.
Over
the years, Sigfrid made his home at Växjö, and invited his three
nephews to be his assistants. His nephews, who were all religious,
eventually took over the direction of his diocese as he traveled on
missions to other areas. During his absence, a violent group of heretics
came to Växjö and looted the church, killing the three nephews by
severing their heads from their bodies. When he heard the news, Sigfrid
returned to Växjö and enshrined his nephew’s heads, on which occasion,
it is said, the three heads spoke. The king wished to put the murderers
to death, but the holy man interceded in their behalf, and instead the
king fined them heavily. The large sum was offered to Sigfrid, but in
spite of his great poverty, he refused. After missionary work in
Denmark, he died sometime in 1045.
Cyril
and Methodius were born in Thessalonika, Greece. The area was inhabited
by many Slavic people, and the brothers learned their language. They
eventually became priests and were sent to Moravia, a Slav-speaking
nation, to preach to people in their own language upon the request of
Prince Rostislav.