4 minute read
FOREVER YOUNG
SAINTS WHO DIED YOUNG
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Francisco and Jacinta Marto were only nine and seven years old when they witnessed a series of apparitions along with their ten-year-old cousin, Lucia dos Santos, in 1917. The Marto family were so poor they couldn't afford to send the children to school. Instead, they herded the family's flock of sheep around the fields of Fatima.
In 1916, the children believed they had several visits from an angel. The following year, on the 13th of every month from May to October, except for August, when they were prevented from going, they said they had witnessed an apparition of the Mother of God. She told them to say the rosary to bring peace to the world and to make sacrifices for the conversion of sinners. Lucia said that Our Lady told her to learn to read and write so she could spread the news of the apparitions and especially promote devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Even their own families didn't believe the children at first. Portugal was a secular republic with a strongly anti-clerical tinge. Reports of the visions attracted large crowds. A crowd of between 30,000 and 100,000 gathered on October 13, where many claimed to witness an extraordinary event, later called 'the miracle of the sun.'
Francisco and Jacinta were typical peasant children of their age. But from the time of the apparitions, they grew more serious. One of the visions they witnessed was of hell. As a result, the children became very conscious of sin and the need to atone for it. Francisco liked to pray alone, saying this would "console Jesus for the sins of the world." It is said that he often skipped school in order to spend with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. The three children continued to look after the sheep but found time to pray, especially to say the rosary together. They often practised penance by either giving their lunch to other children or even feeding it to the sheep.
Jacinta seems to have had a presentiment that they would die young. In October 1918, she told Lucia that Our Lady had appeared to her and promised to take them to heaven. The entire Marto family, except their father, had fallen ill with the virulent form of flu that ravaged Europe after World War I. Despite their illness, the children continued to pray, often walking to the parish church to spend time before the Blessed Sacrament.
Sensing he was close to death, Francisco asked to be allowed to make his First Communion on April 3, 1919. He died the following morning. He was just two months short of his eleventh birthday.
Little Jacinta lingered for almost a year longer. She was hospitalised and had an operation, but she could not have a full anaesthetic because of her heart condition. She said she hoped her pain would help to convert many sinners. On February 19, 1920, she asked the chaplain for communion and the sacrament of the sick. He said he would come back the following day to check on her, but Jacinta had died before he returned.
Rome believed the children were too young to be canonised, but devotion to them was widespread, with many children taking their names at baptism or confirmation. Eventually, over 300 bishops petitioned the pope. They were beatified on May 13, 2000, and canonised on May 13, 2017, the centenary of the first apparition. Their feast day is February 20.
Reality
Volume 86. No. 6 July/August 2021 A Redemptorist Publication ISSN 0034-0960
Published by The Irish Redemptorists, St Joseph's Monastery, St Alphonsus Road, Dundalk County Louth A91 F3FC Tel: 00353 (0)1 4922488 Web: www.redcoms.org Email: sales@redcoms.org
(With permission of C.Ss.R.)
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