Francisco Marto

“Her cousin Francisco was born on June 11, 1908. The sixth child of Manuel Pedro Marto and his wife Olimpia, he was a sturdy boy with a round, plump face that always had a smile on it.”

“The hamlet of Aljustrel, where Lúcia, Jacinta, and Francisco lived, was part of the village of Fatima, which got its name from a legend.”

“Francisco's sister Jacinta was born exactly twenty-one months after him, on March 11, 1910.”

“The three little seers in the year 1917: Lúcia, Francisco, and Jacinta.”

“Several months later, in the spring of 1916, Lúcia, Francisco, and Jacinta were watching their herds on the eastern slope of the Loca do Cabeso mountain.”

“Lúcia and Jacinta heard these words, but not Francisco, who only saw the angel.”

“Late in August the angel showed himself for the third time. This time the children were on the mountain slope between Preguiera and Lapa de Cabeco, overlooking Aljustrel.”

“"Then he stood up and took hold of the chalice and the host once more. He gave me the host and gave Jacinta and Francisco the contents of the chalice to drink. Then he knelt down again and prayed before he disappeared."”

“On Sunday, May 13, 1917, the three children attended mass at the local church, as they always did. Afterward they went out with the sheep.”

“Suddenly, they were interrupted by a dazzling flash of light. They assumed it was lightning and were worried that a storm was coming, for then they would have to head for home right away.”

“It turned out that only Lúcia had spoken to the Lady. Jacinta had only listened, and Francisco had only seen her lips move. He couldn’t hear anything that she or Lúcia said. It had all taken about ten minutes.”

““Will I also go to heaven?” “Certainly.” “And Jacinta?” “Yes, she will too.” “And Francisco?” “Yes, he will also. But he must pray a lot of rosaries before that.””

““But I really saw her, Mother,” she said softly, and added a while later, “Mama, I’ll pray the rosary with Francisco daily. The Mother of God told us to. We have to say the rosary every day, that’s what she wants.””

“Francisco confirmed her story.”

“Following the instructions of the “White Lady,” Lúcia, Jacinta, and Francisco arrived about eleven o’clock. Their parents had refused to come with them, because they were afraid of being embarrassed if the whole thing turned out to be a fraud.”

“Soon afterward, both Olimpia and Maria Rosa discovered their children were not at home. They knew where to find them, and so together with Ti Marto they went to the Cova da Íria. When they got there, they found the three children surrounded by hundreds of people.”

““ ‘Yes, I shall take Jacinta and Francisco with me to heaven soon, but you have to stay here for a while longer. Jesus wants to make use of you to help people understand and love me.’ ””

“Lúcia recalled, “When she spoke these last words, she opened her hands and for the second time we saw the wonderful light come out of them. I saw Jacinta and Francisco in a beam of light, going up to heaven, and myself in a beam of light that was pouring down on earth.””

“she told them to say the rosary often”

“The children on July 13, 1917, after their “vision of hell” and the revelation of the three secrets.”

“Lúcia respected the wish of the Madonna, who said, “Do not tell anybody about it. You may tell Francisco, though.””

“After they were told the mysterious Third Secret, minutes of uneasy silence followed, during which the children felt overwhelmed, after all they had been shown and told.”

“A photograph taken immediately after the vision shows the anxiety on the faces of the children, who had just seen a symbolic vision of hell.”

“The children reported seeing the apparition six times in all.”

“The cynicism of the outside world did not fail to have its effect, and not even Aljustrel was immune to it. Some people there agreed with the article in the newspaper, awakening fear in the hearts of the families of Lúcia, Jacinta, and Francisco. What would happen if the promised miracle failed to occur? Was there danger that disappointed crowds might become angry and injure the children?”

“'It was on the thirteenth of October 1917... A severe punishment will come to the whole of mankind, not today, not tomorrow, but in the second half of the twentieth century.... The great war will break out in the second half of the twentieth century. Fire and smoke will fall from the sky...'”

“Near the rotating disk of the sun they saw the holy family. To the right was the Virgin in a white robe and a sky-blue cloak, to the left of her Joseph with the child Jesus. They blessed the world with the sign of the cross. After that Jesus appeared by himself, dressed completely in red, and blessed the people.”

“Once more he tried to get the children to tell him the secret, and when that failed, he tried to make them promise never to go to the Cova again.”

““All right, show me that vision of yours, I have to see it to believe it. I'm just like Saint Thomas. ... The children didn't trust this sudden change of heart, and said they would rather go on foot.”

“Santos had abducted the children.”

“After a journey that lasted an hour and a half, the triumphant politician reached his house, led the three children into a little room and told them to wait, then locked the door. He said he would only open the door after they had told him their secret.”

“Meanwhile Santos tried to bribe the children to reveal their secret to him. He then threatened to throw them into kettles filled with boiling oil. For two hours they sat in a cell at the local prison, fearing for their lives.”

““She's already fried!” said Santos. “Now you'll be next, so out with the secret!” “I can't, sir, I can't tell you!””

“On August 15 he loaded them back into his carriage and brought them to Father Ferreira at the rectory at Fatima.”

“On September 27 he had long, separate interviews with each of them, and thanks to his records, we have an accurate report of what happened, free of distortion.”

““What did you see at the Cova during the last few months?” Father Formigao asked. “I saw Our Dear Lady.” ... “Where does she appear?” “On an oak tree.””

““I see her coming from the direction where the sun rises. And then she stops near the oak.” ... “She always comes quickly.””

““No, I have never asked her anything and she only speaks to Lúcia.””

““She looks at all of us but longer at Lúcia.””

““Neither, but she is always very serious.””

““She wears a long dress and a cloak over it, which covers her head and reaches to the hem of her dress.” ... “White. But the dress has threads of gold in it.””

““Like someone who is praying. She holds her hands folded above her waist.””

““She carries a rosary wound around the palm and the back of her right hand.””

““I can’t see her ears—they are covered by the cloak.””

““She is more beautiful than anyone I have ever seen.””

“The once joyful and carefree children had turned into pensive and withdrawn creatures, with only one thought in mind: to fulfill their religious obligations and wait for their eventual journey to heaven.”

““I do not want to become anything at all, I just want to die and go to heaven,” answered Francisco when a lady asked him whether he wanted to become a priest.”

“A year after the visions, in either October or December of 1918 (the record isn’t clear), Jacinta, Francisco, and their mother fell ill with the Spanish flu, which was raging through Europe in those days.”

““Our Dear Lady came to visit us and said she would soon take Francisco with her to heaven. She asked me if I wanted to convert more sinners. I said yes. She then said that I would go to a hospital and suffer a great deal there. I asked her whether you would come with me. She said no, and that is what hurts me the most. She said my mother would take me to the hospital, and after that I would have to stay there alone.””

“On April 4, 1919, the first part of this prophecy was fulfilled. Francisco died after a severe inflammation of the lungs.”

“Two of the three children at Fatima died young, as the Lady had predicted, but Lucia lived secluded in a convent to an advanced age.”

“On September 12, 1934, the remains of Jacinta and Francisco were reburied in a grave chosen especially for them at the cemetery of Fatima.”

“After the beautiful basilica was built at the site of the vision, the bodies were transferred there in 1951 and buried inside the church, close to the altar.”

“Later on in his declaration Cardinal Ottaviani referred to Jacinto and Francisco as Lúcia's "brother and sister."”

“But if he had read it, he would know that the three children were cousins and not siblings.”

““Tell them, Father, that the Most Holy Virgin told my cousins, Francisco and Jacinta, and me, that many nations will vanish from the face of the earth. She said that Russia would be the instrument of punishment, if we do not convert that poor nation before it happens.””

““And what about the three Portuguese children of Fatima, who unexpectedly and shortly before the outbreak of the October revolution heard, ‘Russia will return’ and ‘in the end my Heart will triumph’? It is impossible that they could have invented such statements. They were ignorant of history and geography, knew even less about social movements and ideological developments. And yet, what they announced is exactly what has happened.””

“The rise of Communism could not have been foreseen by three illiterate Portuguese peasant children, and its sudden fall came as a surprise to all of us.”

“In 2000 he beatified Jacinta and Francisco.”

“The pope was coming to Fatima for the third time; this time the official reason for his journey was the beatification of two of the three little shepherds, Francisco and Jacinta, who died in 1919 and 1920.”

“Next came the ceremony of the beatification of Francisco and Jacinta, whose pictures were displayed on both sides of the tower of the basilica.”

“The documentation of a miracle at Fatima by the Vatican Congregation for the Cause of the Saints had finally put Francisco and Jacinta on the road to sainthood.”

“That happened when a sixty-nine-year-old Portuguese woman, Maria Emilia Santos, who had lain in bed paralyzed for twenty-two years, found she could walk again after she prayed to the two children.”