SISTER LUCIA, LAST FATIMA SEER, DEAD AT 97
Fatima, Feb. 14 (CWNews.com) -
Sister Lucia, the last survivor among the three Portuguese
children to whom the
Virgin Mary appeared at Fatima, has died at the age of 97.
Sister Lucia died on February 13 at her Carmelite convent in
Coimbra, Portugal, after a long illness. Living in isolation in
the cloistered convent, Sister Lucia had reportedly lost her
eyesight and hearing in the months preceding her death.
Born on March 22, 1907, Lucia dos Santos was only 10 years
old when the Virgin appeared to her and her two young cousins,
Francisco and Jacinta Marto, on a field outside the town of
Fatima, on May 13, 1917. The apparitions continued through
October 13 of that same year, and the seers conveyed Mary's
predictions of World War II, the rise of Russian Communism, and
the urgent need for the faithful to pray the Rosary. Sister
Lucia also revealed the famous "third secret" of Fatima, which
was kept secret by successive Popes until May 2000, when John
Paul II revealed the text of a mystical vision involving a
"bishop dressed in white" who was struggling toward the Cross,
over the bodies of martyrs, until he himself was felled by
gunfire. Pope John Paul concluded that the vision referred to
the attempt on his own life. Some Catholics continue to insist
that aspects of the "third secret" have not yet been disclosed,
although the Vatican insists that there is nothing more to
reveal.
Sister Lucia had spoken of the Fatima promises in four
published memoirs, but kept the "third secret" hidden. She
divulged that secret to the Bishop of Leira, Portugal, in
January 1944; he confided the secret to Pope Pius XII. Sister
Lucia had said that the secret should be revealed at the Pope's
discretion, but not because 1960.
The first Pontiff to meet privately with Sister Lucia was
Paul VI, when he visited Fatima in May 1967. Pope John Paul II
met with her on three separate occasions: in 1982, when he made
a pilgrimage to Fatima to thank the Virgin for saving him from
assassination; in 1991, on the 10th anniversary of the shooting;
and in 2000, for the beatification ceremonies.
Francisco and Jacinta Marto were beatified by Pope John Paul
in ceremonies that took place at Fatima on May 13, 2000-- the
anniversary of the first apparition there. Both Francisco and
Jacinta had died in their youth-- in 1919 and 1920,
respectively. Sister Lucia made a rare journey outside the
Carmelite cloister to take part in the ceremony.
After the Fatima apparitions, and subsequent personal visions
of the Virgin in 1923 and 1929, Lucia dos Santos entered
religious life-- first in Spain and later, in 1948, as a
Carmelite in Portugal.
The body of Sister Lucia will be in the Coimbra cathedral on
Tuesday, February 15, so that the faithful can pay their
respects. A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday.
Questioned as to whether Sister Lucia could be canonized, as
were the other two young Fatima seers, Cardinal José Saraiva
Martins was non-committal. The prefect of the Congregation for
the Causes of Saints reminded reporters that the Church
ordinarily requires a 5-year interval between an individual's
death and the opening of a formal "cause" for beatification.
Moreover, the Portuguese cardinal observed, "sanctity is a
strictly personal thing." He added: "The fact that all three
children saw the Holy Virgin does not show anything about the
sanctity of each one."
Back
