After
due deliberation and frequent prayer for divine assistance, Pope
Francis has officially declared Francisco and Jacinta Marto saints of
Catholic Church in a historic event.
Two child saints, Francisco & Jacinta
Pope Francis on Saturday officially declared Francisco and Jacinta
Marto saints of the Catholic Church in front of hundreds of thousands of
pilgrims at Fatima, Portugal – teaching us that even young children can
become saints.
“For the honor of the Blessed Trinity, the exaltation of the
Catholic faith and the increase of the Christian life, by the authority
of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and
our own, after due deliberation and frequent prayer for divine
assistance, and having sought the counsel of many of our brother
Bishops, we declare and define Blessed Francisco Marto and Jacinta Marto
to be saints,” Pope Francis exclaimed May 13 as the crowd roared with applause.
“We enroll them among the Saints, decreeing that they are to be
venerated as such by the whole Church. In the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
Pope Francis presided over their canonization Mass during his
two-day pilgrimage to Fatima, Portugal May 12-13 to take part in
celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the appearance of Our Lady of
Fatima.
The brother and sister, Francisco and Jacinta, who tended to their
families’ sheep with their cousin Lucia Santo in the fields of Fatima,
witnessed the apparitions of Mary, now commonly known as Our Lady of
Fatima.
In her message to the children, Mary brought with her requests for
conversion, prayer (particularly the recitation of the rosary),
sacrifices on behalf of sinners, and a three-part secret regarding the
fate of the world.
The children followed Mary’s requests, praying often, giving their
lunch to beggars and going without food themselves. They offered up
their daily crosses and even refrained from drinking water on hot days.
With anti-Catholic sentiment very prevalent in the country, the
mayor in the district of Fatima had grown suspicious of the growingly
popular apparitions, and had unsuccessfully tried to get the children to
renounce their story.
Wanting to stop the children from seeing the fourth apparition,
Artur Santos, an apostate Catholic and high Mason who was the local
mayor, devised a ruse to kidnap the children before the scheduled day of
her appearance.
Despite bribes, threats of death by burning oil, and threatening to
lock them in a cell with criminals, the children never recanted their
story.
Convicted by Mary’s requests and the vision of hell, both children
lived lives of prayer and penance after the apparitions, offering
themselves for sinners as Mary had asked. Francisco was known for his
devotion to the Eucharist and his strict physical mortifications, while
Jacinta was especially known for having a heart for the poor and the
suffering.
Both children fell victim to the influenza epidemic of 1918 that
swept through Europe. In October 1918, Mary again appeared to the sick
siblings and promised to take them to heaven soon. On April 3, 1919,
Francisco declined hospital treatment for influenza and died the next
day.
Jacinta was given hospital treatment in hopes of prolonging her
life, but she knew that she would soon join Francisco in heaven. On
February 19, 1920, Jacinta asked the hospital chaplain who heard her
confession to bring her Holy Communion and administer the last rites,
because she was going to die “the next night.” But the priest said that
her condition was not that serious and that he would return the next
day. The next day Jacinta was found dead – she had died in her sleep.
Pope John Paul II beatified Francisco and Jacinta May 13, 2000, on
the 83rd anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady at Fatima. Both
under 12 years old, they were the youngest non-martyrs to be beatified
in the history of the Church.
Sister Lucia, the third visionary, lived much longer, dying in 2005
at the age of 97. The Church is currently examining documents and
collecting testimonies for her beatification cause.
Source: Catholic News Agency
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