On a day like today but in 1908, Saint Francis Marto was born, one of the three shepherds who witnessed the apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Fátima (Portugal).
Francisco Marto was born on June 11, 1908, and was baptized when he was ten days old. At the age of eight, and together with his sister Jacinta, he began to shepherd his parents’ flock in the region of Cova de Iría.
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Both brothers and their cousin Lucía witnessed the apparitions of the Virgin Mary, who between May and October 1917 left them messages of penitence and conversion.
After the apparitions, Francisco continued with his daily activities. Lucía went to school, just as the Virgin asked her, and two of her cousins accompanied her. On the way they passed by the church and greeted Jesus in the Eucharist.
The boy, knowing that he would not live long and driven by his desire to console the heart of Jesus, said: “You go to school, I will stay here with Jesus Hidden.”
Thus, when they left school, the girls found him in an attitude of recollection as close as possible to the tabernacle.
Little Francis was the most contemplative of the three and wanted to console God, so offended by the sins of humanity. On one occasion, Lucia asked him: “Francis, what do you prefer: console the Lord or convert sinners?”, and he responded: “I prefer to console the Lord.”
“Did you not see how sad Our Lady was when she told us that men should no longer offend the Lord, who is already so offended? I would like to console him and, later, convert the sinners so that they do not offend him anymore,” she assured.
“Then I will be in Heaven. And when I arrive, I will greatly console Our Lord and Our Lady,” he added.
On October 18, 1918, Francis fell ill with bronchopneumonia, known as the Spanish flu, which devastated Portugal and caused the death of thousands of people. As the months passed, the boy’s health deteriorated.
According to the Sanctuary of Fátima, on April 2, 1919, the little shepherd confessed and received Communion for the last time “with great lucidity and piety,” as the parish priest of Fátima wrote in the obituary when registering his death two days later.
“He confirmed that he had seen a Lady in Cova de Iría and Valinho,” indicated the priest.
Little Francisco’s body was buried in the Fátima cemetery. His remains were exhumed on February 17, 1952 and transferred to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima in March of that same year, where they remain to this day.
Francisco Marto was canonized along with his sister Jacinta by Pope Francis on May 13, 2017, within the framework of the celebrations for the centenary of the apparitions of the Virgin of Fátima.
The miracle that allowed the canonization of the brothers was the healing of a Brazilian boy named Lucas, who when he was five years old fell from a window from a height of 6.5 meters and remained in a coma.
Originally published on June 11, 2018 by Rafael Tavares in ACI Digital. It has been updated for republication.
Central Editorial
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