Note: I’m currently featuring women saints who knew each other personally–mothers and daughters, grandmothers and granddaughters, sisters, and friends.
The Basics: Lucia dos Santos, born March 28, 1907, in Portugal; died February 13, 2005, in Portugal; named a Servant of God, February 13, 2017; woman religious. Jacinta Marto, born March 11, 1910, in Portugal; died February 20, 1920, in Portugal; canonized May 13, 2017, by Francis; feast day, February 20; believer.
The Story: The cousins were just children, but in those days in Portugal, even children sometimes had a lot of responsibilities. That particular day in 1916 likely started out as many other days, with Lucia, Jacinta, and Jacinta’s brother Francisco (canonized with her) shepherding the family’s herds. But it proved to be a day unlike any other they had known before. In that year, the Angel of Peace would appear to them three times, followed by the Blessed Virgin Mary’s appearances seven times in 1917. The Blessed
Virgin encouraged them to say the rosary and to make sacrifices. She also shared a number of messages with them.
Lucia remembered Jacinta, almost exactly three years younger than her, as a child how loved to dance and sing… and who worried greatly about people in hell. Indeed, she was known to deprive herself of pleasures in hopes of reducing their suffering. Jacinta and her brother both died in a flu epidemic in 1920. Lucia went on to become a Discalced Carmelite nun, and died in a convent about 50 miles from Fatima.
It’s important to remember that Jacinta and Francisco were not canonized (nor Lucia named a Servant of God) because of Mary’s appearance to them. Rather, Jacinta and Francisco were canonized for their heroic virtues. Acknowledging that it is indeed rare for children to be capable of such heroism, the Church pointed toward their steadfast faith in refusing to deny the Blessed Virgin had appeared to them, despite threats of kidnapping and other nastiness by authorities including the local mayor.
Jacinta’s Wisdom: Lucia was with Jacinta not long before the child’s death. Jacinta told her cousin: “Tell everyone that God grants us graces through the immaculate heart of Mary; that people are to ask her for them; and that the heart of Jesus wants the immaculate heart of Mary to be venerated at his side.”
What We Can Learn from Jacinta and Lucia’s Relationship: Siblings and cousins “get” us in ways the best of friends don’t. Talk with a family member about a special faith experience you have shared.
To Learn More About Jacinta and Lucia: Visit the site for the Shrine of Fatima… or consider making a real-world trip there.
To Learn More About Other Women Saints and Blesseds: Come back next week, or consider buying my book, Sisterhood of Saints: Daily Guidance and Inspiration.
