The Heroic Virtues of
Sts. Jacinta and Francisco
The beatification process for the Fátima seers Francisco and Jacinta Marto began in 1952 and was finished in 1979. On 15 February 1988 the final documentation was presented to John Paul II and to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. They were declared "venerable" on 13 May 1989 and Beatified by Pope John Paul on May 13, 2000. Their long awaited Canonization also took place at Fatima on May 13, 2017 by Pope Francis.
Their memorial is on the day of Jacinta's death February 20. Most of this post after giving background information will detail the Heroic Virtues of the two but especially Jacinta our little victim soul for poor sinners. What she suffered grown men would find difficult to endure. It is trough the Immaculate Heart of Mary that she completed the mission Our Lady gave to her at Fatima. This little soul sets an example for all of us in humble submission of sufferings and the trial of life.
Above photo taken after the children saw the vision of Hell in July
The Vision of Hell
This experience Our Lady gave them deeply impressed them and changed their lives. This vision became the motivation for Jacinta's Heroic Sacrifices for the conversion of poor sinners who may end up there. Jacinta often separated from the others and alone by herself would fall to her knees to pray for sinners. Then calling Lucia and Francisco she would ask: "Are you praying with me? It is necessary to pray much to save souls from hell!... How sorry I am for sinners! If I could only show them hell!" Even after she was taken sick, which eventually led to her death, she would get out of bed to bow her head to the floor, and pray as the Angel had taught for the glory of God, Jesus in the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference by which God is offended and to beg for the conversion of poor sinners. A priest finally had to tell her, as she would fall over at times doing this, that she should say the prayer in bed.
The Vision of the Holy Father
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| John Paul II after assassination attempt |
Jacinta's vision recorded by Sr. Lucia in her memoirs is connected to the third part of the secret revealed on May 13, 2000 by Pope John Paul II. Jacinta said "I cannot say how, but I saw the Holy Father in a very large house, kneeling beside a table with his hands on his face. He was crying. Many people were outside the house. Some were throwing stones at him; others were cursing him and saying foul words to him. Poor Holy Father, we have to pray much for him!"
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| Benedict XVI @ Fatima May 2010 |
Another time in August of 1917, while sitting on the boulders of the knoll of Cabeço, Jacinta suddenly began to say the prayer the angel had taught them and, after a deep silence, said to her cousin: "Do you not see so many thoroughfares, roads, and fields full of people weeping with hunger and having nothing to eat? And the Holy Father praying in a church before the Immaculate Heart of Mary? And many people praying with him?" Sister Lucia adds: "Some days later, she asked me: "'Can I say that I saw the Holy Father and all those people?'' Lucia answered her: "No. Don't you see that this is part of the secret?! That would give it away!"
Bl. Jacinta Marto Last Visions
At the end of October 1918, Francisco and Jacinta fell ill, almost at the same time. When Lucia visited them, she found Jacinta elated she said;"Our Lady came to see us and said that she is coming to take Francisco to heaven very soon. She asked me if I still wanted to convert more sinners. I told her I did. She told me I would be taken to a hospital and that I would suffer greatly there, but that I should suffer for the conversion of sinners, in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and for the love of Jesus. This is what hurts me most. She said to Lucia: "My mother will take me there, and after that I will remain there all alone!"
Surgery Without General Anesthetic
Dr. Castro Freire who received Jacinta at the hospital diagnosed "purulent pleurisy of the large left cavity, with fistula; osteitis of the seventh and eighth ribs of the same side." On February 10, 1920 Jacinta was operated on. She had much to suffer, for they could not give her a general anesthetic, because of her extreme weakness, and they had to be content with a local anesthetic, a method which was still imperfect at the time. She suffered greatly from it, and the pain was revived each time it was necessary to bandage the wound. But the result was clinically rather good, with two ribs being extracted from her left side, leaving a wound into which a grown-ups hand could be comfortably inserted. Jacinta was an accommodating and stoic patient, and though the required daily dressings of the great wound in her side were a frightful agony, her only cries were repetitions of her beloved Lady's name. The doctor in Lisbon who operated on Jacinta considered her a saint Jacinta never complained even when the local anesthesia did not work. The doctor heard her say to Our Lord: "Now Jesus You can save many souls because I suffer very much."
Jacinta's Last Sacrifice
Her Request for Viaticum
Her Request for Viaticum
On the evening of that 20th of February, at about 6 o'clock, Jacinta said that she felt worse and wished to receive the Sacraments. The parish priest was called and he heard her confession about 8 o'clock that night. Jacinta was convinced that she would die and asked for Viaticum, but the priest thought she looked fairly well, and so he promised to bring her Holy Communion in the morning. She died that night, all alone, as Our Lady had told her, and without having received Holy Communion. But she died in peace, in perfect conformity to the Divine Will. She has much to teach us on how to accept the misfortunes of our lives in the spirit of sacrifice. Bl. Jacinta Victim Soul for poor sinners, pray for us so that we may be made worth of the promises of Christ.
Father John De Marchi,I.M.C.
On Jacinta's Last Comments
Fr. DeMarchi is an author of numerous articles and books on Fatima, in particular Fatima Today, and Fatima the Full Story. He lived in Fatima from 1946 until his death in 2003. He Established a seminary for the Consolata Priests and a Convent for the sisters at Fatima. The museum of Fatima in 1990 and the Blessed Nuno Hotel for pilgrims. He became close to Sr Lucia interviewing her many times on the events of Fatima as well as her family, friends and other witnesses. His books especially Fatima the Full Story are considered to be authentic historical documents.
I was blessed to know him and have him as a spiritual friend, father and "brother" as he appended his notes and cards to me. I made acquaintance with him over the years as He often visited my parish on his mission appeals for Ethiopia. Whenever I went to Fatima he would meet me there show me the sacred spots and take me to wherever he was offering Holy Mass often at the convent of the Alianca de Santa Maria. The last time I saw him was at the Beatification of Bl. Jacinta and Francesco in 2000. He was sick then but filled with great joy at seeing the fulfillment of his spiritual aspirations as the shepherd children were raised to the honors of the altar. I never wanted to leave Fatima. Each time I went I left a part of my heart behind. Fr. De Marchi told me: "You must return to America and bring the Fatima Message to your country."
Speramus-We Hope
Fulfillment of Fr. De Marchi's Directives:
"Go Bring the Fatima Message to America!"
Speramus-We Hope
Fulfillment of Fr. De Marchi's Directives:
"Go Bring the Fatima Message to America!"
Fr. De Marchi entered Eternal Life on January 1, 2003, after suffering a long illness in the spirit of Jacinta of Fatima. His spirit still lives on in the hearts of all who knew him and loved him. May he rest in peace and continue to pray for us in the Divine Liturgy of Heaven until we reach with him the heavenly home land with Our Lord, Our Lady and the Shepherds. Requiescat in pace! (Note: I still pray for him and to him leaving the judgement to the church but I believe Father De Marchi is at home in Heaven!)
Jacinta's Last Words
Compiled by Fr. John De Marchi, I.M.C.
In Lisbon Jacinta was also attended by Mother Maria da Purificaçao Godinho, who wrote down her last words - though not always verbatim. Many, imbued with a prophetic tone and full of unction. During her short stay in the hospital, Jacinta was favored with new visits of Our Lady, who told her the day and hour she would die. Her conversations with Mother Godiñho were filled with instructions on the spiritual life, as well as with prophecies which are still being fulfilled.
On Priests and Rulers
+ "My godmother, pray much for sinners! Pray much for priests! Pray much for religious! Priests should only occupy themselves with the affairs of the Church. Priests should be pure, very pure. The disobedience of priests and religious to their superiors and to the Holy Father greatly offends Our Lord.
On Sin
+ "The sins of the world are very great."
+ "Many marriages are not good; they do not please Our Lord, and they are not of God."
+ "If men knew what eternity is, they would do everything to change their lives."
+ "The sins that lead more souls to hell are the sins of the flesh."
+ "Fashions that will greatly offend Our Lord will appear. People who serve God should not follow fashions. The Church has no fashions. Our Lord is always the same."
+ "Men are lost because they do not think of the death of Our Lord and do not do penance.
On Christian Virtue
+ Talking in Church: Noticing that many visitors chatted and laughed in the chapel of the orphanage, Jacinta asked Mother Godinho to warn them of the lack of respect for the Real Presence this represented. When this measure did not bring about satisfactory results, she asked that the cardinal be advise that "Our Lady does not want people to talk in church."
+ "Have much charity even for those who are bad. Speak ill of no one and flee from those who do so. Be very patient, for patience leads us to heaven. Mortification and sacrifices greatly please Our Lord."
+ "Confession is a sacrament of mercy. Therefore, one must
approach the confessional with confidence and joy. Without confession there is no salvation."
+ "The Mother of God wants more virgin souls who bind themselves to her by the vow of chastity."
+ "To be a woman religious, it is necessary to be very pure in soul and body."
+ "Do you know what it means to be pure?" asked Mother Godinho. "I do. I do. To be pure in body is to keep chastity. To be pure in soul is not to commit sins, not to look at what one should not see, not to steal, never to lie, always to tell the truth however hard it may be."
+ "Those who do not keep the promises they make to Our Lady will never succeed in their affairs."
+ "Doctors do not have light to cure the sick properly because they do not have love of God."
+ "Who taught you all these things?" asked Mother Godinho. "It was Our Lady, but some I think of myself. I very much like to think."
On War
+ "Our Lady said that there is much war and dissension in the world."
+ "Wars are nothing but punishments for the sins of the world."
+ "Our Lady can no longer hold back the arm of her beloved Son from the world. It is necessary to do penance. If people change their ways, Our Lord will still spare the world; but if they do not, the chastisement will come."
+ "Our Lord is profoundly indignant at the sins and crimes committed in Portugal. For this reason, a terrible social cataclysm threatens our country, particularly the city of Lisbon. It seems that a civil war of anarchic or communist character will break out, accompanied by sackings, assassinations, fires, and devastation of all kinds. The capital will be changed into a veritable image of hell. When Divine Justice, outraged, inflicts so frightful a punishment, all who can should flee from this city. This punishment now predicted should be announced gradually and with due discretion."
+ "If men do not change their ways, Our Lady will send the world a punishment the like of which has never been seen. It will fall first, …upon Spain."
+ Jacinta also spoke of "great world events that would take place around 1940.
A Sign from Heaven
The Face that Gazed on
Our Lady is Incorrupt
The Face that Gazed on
Our Lady is Incorrupt
The Little Miracles
Father Ludwig Fischer who was present at the The first exhumation of Jacinta’s body, on September 12, 1935 Fr. Fischer wrote: "The expression on Jacinta's face was that of great peace, and all who saw her could not help feeling that they were greatly privileged to have been granted such a favor." This was all the more extraordinary because lye was poured into the tomb to hasten disintegration of the body of Francisco who was "buried in 1919. Jacinta was buried in the family plot on top of her brother. Her Nurse Nadeja Silvestre said: In her extreme suffering before she died, Jacinta's face had looked worn and emaciated. But in death, her cheeks had filled out and had taken on a healthy color. "She did not look the same child; she had become radiant and beautiful." When Mother Godinho held vigil beside the coffin, she glanced at the little lamp nearby. She was astonished to see that the lamp contained no oil but still burned brightly. Her body which at times before death did not exude a pleasant odor, because of infection and open sores, and the extreme sufferings which afflicted her, after death exuded the scent of sweet perfume. When her body was carried into the Lisbon Church, the church bells rang while no one was at the ropes, and the tower door was locked. It was thought they were rung by angels. Jacinta once said she had heard the angels sing but "angels do not sing as men sing."
Francisco Contemplative
Consoler of the Hidden Jesus
Consoler of the Hidden Jesus
What Francisco wanted most was to console our Lord offended by the sins of men. For this reason, on the eve of his death, he said to Lucy: "Look! I am very sick; in a little while I will go to heaven. "Then, when you are there, make sure not to forget to pray for sinners, for the Holy Father, for me and Jacinta. said Lucia. "Yes, I will. replied Francisco but look, you had better ask Jacinta to do these things, because I fear I will forget when I see Our Lord! I want to console Him first."On April 4, 1919, Francisco exclaimed at a certain moment: 'Oh my mother, what a beautiful light, over there, next to our window!' And a while later in sweet perplexity: 'I can see no longer' his face became illuminated with an angelic smile. Around 10 o'clock in the morning, without any agony, or groan, he died." Francesco is in Heaven Loving the Lord. Nothing else matters.
Bl. Francisco of Fatima: Ora pro Nobis Teach us also how to Love and Console Our Lord
