SUMARY

THE FIRST MEMOIR OF SISTER LUCIA (1936) ........................ 7

Prayer and Obedience ................................................................... 7
Keeping Secrets ............................................................................ 8
Jacintas Character ...................................................................... 10
Her Natural Characteristics ......................................................... 10
Her Sensitiveness ........................................................................ 11
Her Love for the Crucified Saviour ............................................. 13
Her Delicate Sensibility .............................................................. 13
Jacinta, the Little Shepherdess .................................................... 16
The First Apparition.................................................................... 18
Reflecting on Hell ....................................................................... 19
Conversion of Sinners ................................................................. 20
Family Opposition ...................................................................... 23
Love for the Holy Father............................................................. 24
In Prison at Ourem ...................................................................... 25
The Rosary in Jail ....................................................................... 27
And Finallythe Dance ............................................................. 27
After the Apparitions .................................................................. 28
Prayers and Sacrifices at Cabeo ................................................ 28
Troublesome Interrogations ........................................................ 29
The Saintly Father Cruz .............................................................. 30
Graces through Jacinta ................................................................ 30
More and More Sacrifices ........................................................... 31
Illness and Death of Jacinta ........................................................ 32
Jacintas Illness ........................................................................... 32
Visit from the Blessed Virgin ..................................................... 34
In the Hospital at Ourem ............................................................. 35

Return to Aljustrel ...................................................................... 35

Renewed Visits from the Blessed Virgin .................................... 36
Leaving for Lisbon...................................................................... 38
Epilogue...................................................................................... 38
THE SECOND MEMOIR OF SISTER LUCIA (1937) ................. 40
Foreword .................................................................................... 40
Lucias Childhood ...................................................................... 40
Popular Entertainments ............................................................... 42
Lucias First Communion ........................................................... 43
Our Lady of the Rosary Smiles at Lucia ..................................... 44
Eager Expectancy ....................................................................... 45
The Great Day ............................................................................ 46
Lucias Family ............................................................................ 46
The Apparitions, Lucia the Shepherdess ..................................... 48
A Mysterious Presage in 1915 .................................................... 49
Apparitions of the Angel in 1916 ................................................ 50
Trouble At Home ........................................................................ 52
Apparitions of Our Lady ............................................................. 54
Lucias Doubts and Temptatations .............................................. 56
Encouragement from Jacinta and Francisco ................................ 58
Lucias Mother Has Doubts ........................................................ 60
The Administrators Threats ........................................................ 61
Trouble in Lucias Family........................................................... 62
Imprisonment at Ourem .............................................................. 63
Penances and Sufferings ............................................................. 64
September 13th ............................................................................ 66
Lucias Spirit of Sacrifice ........................................................... 67
A Tall Visitor .............................................................................. 67

October 13th ................................................................................ 68

Questioned by Priests.................................................................. 70
After the Apparitions, Lucia Goes to School............................... 72
Lucia and the Parish.................................................................... 72
Companions in Sympathy and in Sacrifice .................................. 75
Government Opposition .............................................................. 76
Lucias Mother Falls Seriously Ill ............................................... 78
Lucias Father Dies ..................................................................... 79
Serious Illness of Lucias Cousins .............................................. 80
Lucia In Poor Health ................................................................... 82
Lucias First Meeting With The Bishop ...................................... 84
Farewell to Fatima ...................................................................... 85
Epilogue...................................................................................... 86
Further Memories of Jacinta ....................................................... 86
Lucias Magnetic Personality...................................................... 86
Lucias Excellent Memory .......................................................... 87
THE THIRD MEMOIR OF SISTER LUCIA (1941) ..................... 88
Prologue...................................................................................... 88
What Is The Secret? .................................................................... 88
The Vision of Hell ...................................................................... 89
Lasting Impression On Jacinta .................................................... 90
Lucia Looks Back ....................................................................... 91
The Immaculate Heart Of Mary .................................................. 92
Jacintas Visions Of The Holy Father ......................................... 93
Visions of War ............................................................................ 93
Lucia Explains Her Silence ......................................................... 95
Jacinta and the Immaculate Heart of Mary .................................. 96
Epilogue...................................................................................... 97

Notes........................................................................................... 97
Confidence and Abandonment .................................................... 98
Inspiration in the Attic ................................................................ 98
Unction of the Spirit ................................................................... 99
Franciscos Character, His Spirituality...................................... 100
Natural Inclinations................................................................... 102
Francisco Sees the Angel .......................................................... 103
Impressions of the First Apparition ........................................... 104
Impressions of the Second Apparition ...................................... 106
Francisco Strengthens Lucias Courage .................................... 107
Impressions of the Third Apparition ......................................... 108
Francisco in Prison ................................................................... 108
Impressions of the Last Apparitions .......................................... 110
Anecdotes And Popular Songs .................................................. 111
Francisco the Little Moralist ..................................................... 114
Francisco, Lover of Solitude and Prayer ................................... 116
Francisco Sees the Devil ........................................................... 117
Francisco and His Feathered Friends ........................................ 118
Franciscos Love and Zeal ........................................................ 119
Franciscos Illness .................................................................... 122
Franciscos Holy Death............................................................. 124
THE FOURTH MEMOIR OF SISTER LUCIA (1941) ............... 126
The Story of the Apparitions ..................................................... 126
Apparition of the Angel ............................................................ 127
Lucias Silence ......................................................................... 130
The 13th of May, 1917.............................................................. 131
The 13th of June, 1917.............................................................. 133
The 13th of July, 1917 .............................................................. 134

The 13th of August, 1917 ......................................................... 135

The 13th Of September, 1917 ................................................... 136
The 13th of October, 1917 ........................................................ 138
Epilogue.................................................................................... 139
Notes On Fr. Fonsecas Book ................................................... 139
Prologue.................................................................................... 139
Annotations............................................................................... 140
Interrogation by the Author Antero de Figueiredo .................... 142
Final Annotations...................................................................... 145
Jacintas Reputation for Sanctity............................................... 146
Jacinta, Reflection of God ......................................................... 146
Jacinta Model Of Virtue............................................................ 148
Francisco was Different ............................................................ 150
A Wonderful Cure .................................................................... 152
The Prodigal Son ...................................................................... 153
Epilogue.................................................................................... 154

THE FIRST MEMOIR OF SISTER LUCIA

(1936)
Prayer and Obedience

Having implored the protection of the most Holy Hearts of Jesus

and of Mary, Our Tender Mother, and sought light and grace at the
foot of the Tabernacle, so as to write nothing that would not be solely
and exclusively for the glory of Jesus and the most Blessed Virgin, I
now take up this work, in spite of the repugnance I feel, since I can
say almost nothing about Jacinta without speaking either directly or
indirectly about my miserable self. I obey, nevertheless, the will of
Your Excellency, which, for me, is the expression of the will of our
good God.
I begin this task, then, asking the most holy Hearts of Jesus and
Mary to deign to bless it, and to make use of this act of obedience to
obtain the conversion of the poor sinners, for whom Jacinta so
generously sacrificed herself. I know Your Excellency does not expect
a well written account from me, for you know how incapable and
inadequate I am. I am going to tell you, then, what I can remember
about this soul, for by Gods grace I was her most intimate confidante.

I have such high regard for her holiness, that I greatly esteem and
respect her and dearly cherish her memory.

Keeping Secrets
In spite of my good will to be obedient, I trust Your Excellency
to permit me to withhold certain matters concerning myself as well as
Jacinta, that I would not wish to be read before I enter eternity. You
will not find it strange that I should reserve for eternity certain secrets
and other matters. After all, is it not the Blessed Virgin Herself who
sets me the example? Does not the holy Gospels tell us that Mary kept
all things in Her heart? And who better than the Immaculate Heart
could have revealed to us the secrets of the Divine Mercy?
Nonetheless, She kept them to Herself as in a garden enclosed, and
took them with Her to the palace of the Divine King.
I remember, besides, a saying that I heard from a holy priest,
when I was only eleven years old. Like so many others, he came to
question me, and among other things, about a matter that I did not
wish to speak. After he had exhausted his whole repertoire of
questions, without succeeding in obtaining a satisfactory answer on
this subject, realizing perhaps he was touching on too delicate a
matter, the good priest gave me his blessing and said: You are right,
my child. The secret of the Kings Daughter should remain hidden in
the depths of the heart.
At the time, I did not understand the meaning of what he said,
but I realized that he approved of my manner of acting. I did not
forget his words, however, and I understand them now. This saintly
priest was at that time the vicar of Torres Novas. Little does he know
all the good these few words did for my soul, and that is why I
remember him with such gratitude. One day, however, I sought the
advice of a holy priest regarding my reserve for such matters, because
I did not know how to answer when they asked me if the most Blessed
Virgin had not told me anything as well. This priest, who was then the
vicar of Olival, said to us:
You do well my little ones, to keep the secret of your souls
between yourself and God. When they put that question to you, just

say, Yes, She did say more but its a secret. If they question you
further on this subject, think of the secret that this Lady made known
to you and say, Our Lady told us not to say anything, so for this
reason we are saying nothing. In this way you can keep your secret
under the cover of Our Ladys.
How well I understood the explanation and guidance of this
venerable old priest! I am already taking too much time with these
preliminaries and Your Excellency will be wondering what is the
purpose of it all. I must see if I can make a start with my account of
what I can remember of Jacintas life. As I have no free time at my
disposal, I must make the most of the hours when we work in silence,
to recall and jot down, with the aid of paper and pencil which I keep
hidden under my sewing, all that the Holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary
want me to remember.
To Jacinta

Swift through the world

you went a-flying,
Dearest Jacinta,
In deepest suffering
Jesus loving.
Forget not my plea
And a prayer to you:
Be ever my friend
Before the throne

10

Of the Virgin Mary.

Lily of Candour,
Shining pearl,
Up there in Heaven
You live in glory.
Seraphim of love,
With your little brother
At the Masters feet
Pray for me.

Jacintas Character
Her Natural Characteristics
Your Excellency, before the happenings of 1917, apart from the
ties of relationship that united us, no other particular affection led me
to prefer the companionship of Jacinta and Francisco to that of any
other child. On the contrary, I sometimes found Jacintas company
quite disagreeable, on account of her oversensitive temperament. The
slightest quarrel which arose among the children was enough to send
her pouting into a corner tethering the donkey as we used to say.
Even the coaxing and caressing that the children knew so well how to
give on such occasions, were still not enough to bring her back to
play; she, herself had to choose the game, and her partner as well.
Her heart, however, was well disposed. God has endowed her
with a sweet and gentle character which made her at once lovable and
attractive. I dont know why but Jacinta and Francisco had a special
liking for me, and almost always came in search for me when they
wanted to play. They did not enjoy the company of the other children,
and they used to ask me to go with them to the well down at the
bottom of the garden belonging to my parents. Once we arrived there,
Jacinta chose which games we were to play.
The ones she liked best were usually Pebbles and Buttons,
which we played as we sat on the stone slabs covering the well, in the
shade of an olive tree and two plum trees. Playing Buttons often left
me in great distress, because when they called us in for our meals, I
used to find myself minus buttons. More often then not, Jacinta won

11

them all, and this was enough to make my mother scold me. I had to
sew them on again in a hurry. But how could I persuade Jacinta to
give them back to me, since besides her pouty ways she had another
little defect, she was possessive! She wanted to keep all the buttons
for the next game, so as to avoid taking off her own! It was only by
threatening never to play with her again that I succeeded getting them
back! Not a few times, I found myself unable to do what my little
friend wanted.
One of my older sisters was a weaver and the other a seamstress,
and both were at home all day. The neighbors, therefore, used to ask
my mother if they could leave their children in my parents yard,
while they themselves went out to work, in the fields. The children
stayed with me and played, while my sisters kept an eye on us. My
mother was always willing to do this, although it meant considerable
waste of time for my sisters. I was, therefore, charged with amusing
the children, and watching to see that they did not fall into the pool in
the yard.
Three large fig trees sheltered us from the scorching sun. We
used their branches for swings, and an old threshing floor a dining
room. On days like these, when Jacinta came with her brother to invite
me to go with them to our favourite nook, I used to tell them that I
could not go, because my mother had ordered to stay where I was.
Then, disappointed but resigned, the two little ones joined in our
games.
At siesta time, especially when Lent was drawing near, she said:
I dont want to be ashamed of you when the priest questions you on
your catechism at Easter time. All the other children, therefore, were
present at our catechism lessons and Jacinta was there as well.
Her Sensitiveness
One day, one of these children accused the other of improper
talk. My mother reproved him severely, pointing out that one does not
say such nasty things, because they are sinful and displease the Child
Jesus; and that those who commit such sins and do not confess them,
go to Hell. Little Jacinta never forgot that lesson.

12

The very next time the children came, Jacinta said: Will your
mother let you go today?
No.
Then, Im going with Francisco over to our yard.
And why wont you stay here?
Our mother doesnt want us to stay when those other children are
here. She told us to go and play in our own yard. She doesnt want me
to learn these nasty things, which are sins and which the Child Jesus
doesnt like.
Then she whispered in my ear: If your mother lets you, will you
come over to our yard?
Yes.
Then go ask her.
And taking her brother by the hand, she went home.
Speaking of Jacintas favourite games, one of them was
Forfeits. As Your Excellency probably knows, the loser has to do
whatever the winner tells him. Jacinta loved to send the loser chasing
after butterflies, to catch one and bring it to her. At other times she
demanded some flower of her own choosing. One day, we were
playing Forfeits at my home, and I won, so this time it was I who told
her what to do. My brother was sitting at the table writing.
I told her to give him a hug and a kiss, but she protested: That,
no! Tell me to do some other thing. Why dont you tell me to go and
kiss Our Lord over there? There was a Crucifx hanging on the wall.
Alright I answered, get up on a chair, bring the Crucifix over here,
kneel down and give him three hugs and three kisses; one for
Franisco, one for me and the other for yourself. To Our Lord, yes,
Ill give him as many as you like, and she ran to get the Crucifix.
She kissed it and hugged it with such devotion that I have never
forgotten it. Then, looking attentively at the figure of Our Lord, she
asked: Why is Our Lord nailed to the cross like that? Because He
died for us.
Tell me how it happened, she said.

13

Her Love for the Crucified Saviour

In the evening my mother used to tell stories. My father and my
older sisters told us fairy stories about magic spells and princesses
robed in gold and royal doves. Then came along my mother who told
stories of Passion, Saint John the Baptist, and so on. This is how I
came to know the story of Our Lords Passion. As it was enough for
me to have heard a story once to be able to repeat it in all its details, I
began to tell my companion, word-for-word, what I used to call Our
Lords Story.
Just then, my sister passed by and noticed that we had the
crucifix in our hands. She took it from us and scolded us saying that
she did not want us touching holy things. Jacinta got up and
approached my sister saying: Maria, dont scold her! I did it, but I
wont do it again. My sister caressed her, and told us to go and play
outside because we never leave anything in the house in its proper
place.
Off we went to continue the story at the well I have already
mentioned. As it was hidden behind some chestnut trees and a heap of
stones and brambles, we chose this spot some years later for our
intimate talks, our fervent prayers, and to tell you everything, our tears
as welland sometimes very bitter tears they were. We mingled our
tears with the waters of the same well from which we drank. Does this
not make this well itself an image of Mary, in whose heart we dried
our tears and drank of the purest consolation?
But, let us come back to our story. When the little one heard me
telling of the sufferings of Our Lord, she was moved to tears. From
then on, she often asked me to tell it to her all over again. She would
weep and grieve saying: Our poor dear Lord! Ill never sin again! I
dont want Our Lord to suffer any more!
Her Delicate Sensibility
Jacinta also loved going out at nightfall to the threshing floor
situated close to the house; there she watched the beautiful sunsets,
and contemplated the starry skies. She was enraptured by the lovely
moonlit nights. We vied with each other to see who could count the

14

most stars. We called the stars Angels lamps, the moon Our Ladys
lamp and the sun Our Lords.
This led Jacinta to remark sometimes: You know, I like Our
Ladys lamp better; it doesnt burn us up or blind us, the way Our
Lords does. In fact, the sun can be very strong there on summer
days, and Jacinta, a delicate child, suffered greatly from the heat.
She Looks and Learns
As my sister belonged to the Sodality of the Sacred Heart of
Jesus, every time a childrens solemn communion came round, she
took me along to renew my own. On one occasion my aunt took her
little daughter to see the ceremony, and Jacinta was fascinated by the
angels strewing flowers. From that day on, she sometimes left us
while we were playing, and went off to gather an apron-full of
flowers. Then she came back and strewed them over me, one by one.
Jacinta, why on Earth are you doing that?
Im doing what the little angels do: Im strewing you with flowers.
Every year, on a big feast, probably Corpus Christi, my sister
used to prepare the dresses for the children chosen to represent the
angels in procession. They walked beside the canopy, strewing
flowers. I was always among the ones chosen, and one day after my
sister had tried on my dress, I told Jacinta about the coming feast, and
how I was going to strew flowers over Jesus. The little one begged me
to ask my sister to let her go as well. The two of us went along to
make our request. My sister said she could go, and tried a dress on
Jacinta. At the rehearsals, she explained how we were to strew the
flowers before the Child Jesus.
Will we see Him? asked Jacinta.
Yes. replied my sister. The parish priest will be carrying Him.
Jacinta jumped for joy, and kept on asking how much longer we
had to wait for the feast. The longed-for day arrived at last, and
Jacinta was beside herself with excitement. The two of us took our
places near the altar. Later, in the procession, we walked beside the
canopy, each of us with a basket full of flowers. Whereever my sister

15

had told us to strew the flowers, I strewed mine before Jesus, but in
spite of all my signs I made to Jacinta, I couldnt get her to strew a
single one. She kept her eyes fixed on the priest, and that was all.
When the ceremony was over, my sister took us outside the
church and asked: Jacinta, why didnt you strew your flowers before
Jesus?
Because I didnt see Him. Jacinta then asked me: But did you see
the Child Jesus?
Of course not. Dont you know that the Child Jesus in the Host cant
be seen? Hes hidden! Hes the one we receive in Communion!
And you, when you go to communion, do you talk to Him? Yes, I
do.
Then, why dont you see Him?
Because Hes hidden.
Im going to ask my mother if I can go to Communion too.
The parish priest wont let you until you are ten years old.
But your not ten yet, and you go to Communion!
Because I know the whole catechism, and you dont.
After this, my two companions asked me to teach them the
catechism. So I became their catechist, and they learned with
exceptional enthusiasm. But though I could answer any question they
put to me, when it came to teaching, I could only remember things
here and there.
This led Jacinta to say to me one day: Teach us some more; we
know all those.
I had to admit, I could remember things only when people
questioned me on them, and I added: Ask your mother to let you go
to the church to learn your catechism.
The two children, who so ardently desired to receive the
Hidden Jesus, as they called Him, went to ask their mother, and my
aunt agreed. But she rarely let them go there, for she said: The

16

church is a good way from here, and you are very small. In any case,
the priest wont give Holy Communion before youre ten years old.
Jacinta never stopped asking me questions about the Hidden
Jesus, and I remember how, one day, she asked me: How is it that so
many people receive the little Hidden Jesus at the same time? Is there
one small piece for each person?
Not at all! Dont you see that there are many Hosts, and that
there is a Child Jesus in all of them.
What a lot of nonsense I must have told her!
Jacinta, the Little Shepherdess
I was old enough now to be sent out to mind our sheep, just how
my mother had sent her other children at my age. My sister Carolina
was then thirteen, and it was time for her to go out to work. My
mother, therefore, put me in charge of our flock. I passed on the news
to my two companions, and told them that I would not be playing with
them anymore; but they could not bring themselves to accept such a
separation. They went at once to ask their mother to let them come
with me, but she refused. We had no alternative but to accept the
separation.
Nearly every day after that, they came to meet me on my way
home at dusk. Then we made for the threshing floor, and ran about for
a while, waiting for Our Lady and the Angels to light their lampsor
put them, as we used to say, at the window to give us light. On
moonless nights, we used to say that there was no oil for Our Ladys
lamp!
Jacinta and Francisco found it very hard to get used to the
absence of their former companion. For this reason, they pleaded with
their mother over and over again to let them, also, look after their
sheep. Finally my aunt, hoping perhaps to get rid of such persistent
requests, even though she knew that the children were too small,
handed over to them the care of their own flock. Radiant with joy,
they ran to give me the news and talk over how we could put our
flocks together every day.

17

Each one was to open the pen, whenever their mother decided,
and whoever reached the Barreiro first was to await the arrival of the
other flock. Barreiro was the name of a pond at the bottom of the hill.
As soon as we meet at the pond, we decided where we would pasture
the flock that day. Then off wed go, as happy and content as if we
were going to a festival.
And now, Your Excellency, we see Jacinta in her new life as a
shepherdess. We won over the sheep by sharing our lunch with them.
This meant that when we reached the pasture, we could play at our
ease, quite sure that they would not stray far away from us.
Jacinta loved to hear her voice echoing down the valleys. For
this reason, one of our favourite amusements was to climb to the top
of the hills, sit down on the biggest rock we could find, and call out
different names from the top of our voices. The name that echoed
back most clearly was Maria. Sometimes Jacinta used to say the
whole Hail Mary this way, only calling out the following word when
the preceeding one had stopped re-echoing.
We loved to sing too. Interspersed among popular songsof
which, alas! We knew quite a numberwere Jacintas favourite
hymns: Salve Nobre Padroeira (Hail Noble Patroness), Virgem Pura
(Virgin Pure), and Anjos, Canti Comigo (Angels Sing With Me). We
were very fond of dancing, and any instrument we heard being played
by the other shepherds was enough to set us off. Jacinta, as tiny as she
was, had a special aptitude for dancing.
We had been told to say the Rosary after our lunch, but as the
whole day seemed too short for our play, we worked out a fine way of
getting through it quickly. We simply passed the beads through our
fingers, saying nothing but Hail Mary, Hail Mary, Hail Mary At
the end of each mystery, we paused awhile, then simply said: Our
Father, and so on. In the twinkling of an eye, as they say, we had our
Rosary finished!
Jacinta also loved to hold the little white lambs tightly in her
arms, sitting with them on her lap, fondling them, kissing them, and
carrying them home at night on her shoulders, so that they wouldnt
get tired. One day on her way back, she walked along in the middle of
the flock.

18

Jacinta, what are you doing there, I asked her, in the middle of the
sheep?
I want to do the same as Our Lord in that holy picture that they gave
me. Hes just like this, right in the middle of them all, and Hes
holding one of them in His arms.
The First Apparition
And now, Your Excellency, you know more or less how Jacinta
spent her first seven years of her life, right up to that 13th day of May,
1917, which dawned bright and fair like so many others before it. That
day, by chanceif in the designs of Providence there can be such a
thing as chancewe chose to pasture our flock on some land
belonging to my parents, called Cova De Iria. We chose the pasture as
we usually did, at the Barreiro I have already mentioned. This meant
we had to cross a barren stretch of moorland to get there, which made
the journey doubly long. We had to go slowly to give the sheep a
chance of grazing along the way, so it was almost noon when we
arrived.
I will not delay here to tell you what happened that day, because
Your Excellency knows it well already, and therefore it would be a
waste of time. Except for the sake of obedience, my writing this seems
a waste of time to me as well. For I cannot see the good Your
Excellency can draw from it all, unless it could be that you will
become better acquainted with Jacintas innocence of life.
Before beginning to tell Your Excellency what I remember of
this new period in Jacintas life, I must first admit that there were
certain aspects of Our Ladys apparitions which we had agreed not to
make known to anybody. Now however, I may have to speak about
them in order to explain whence Jacinta imbibed such great love for
Jesus, for suffering and for sinners, for whose salvation she sacrificed
herself so generously.
Your Excellency is not aware that she was the one who, unable
to contain herself with joy, broke the agreement to keep the matter to
ourselves. That very afternoon, while we remained thoughtful and rapt
in wonder, Jacinta kept breaking into enthusiastic exclamations: Oh,
what a beautiful Lady!

19

I can see whats going to happen, I said, youll end saying that to
somebody else.
No, I wont, she answered, dont worry.
Next day, when Francisco came running to tell me how she had
told them everything at home the night before, Jacinta listened to the
accusation without a word.
You see, thats just what I thought was going to happen. I said to
her.
There was something within me that wouldnt let me keep it quiet,
she said with tears in her eyes.
Well, dont cry now, and dont tell anything else to anybody about
what Our Lady said to us.
But Ive already told them.
And what did you say?
I said that the Lady promised to take us to heaven.
To think youve told them that!
Forgive me, I won t tell anything ever again!

Reflecting on Hell
That day, when we reached the pasture, Jacinta sat thoughtfully on a
rock.
Jacinta, come and play.
I dont want to play today.
Why not?
Because Im thinking. That Lady told us to say the Rosary and make
sacrifices for the conversion of sinners, so from now on, when we say
the Rosary we must say the whole Hail Mary and the whole Our

20

Father! And the sacrifices, how are we going to make them?

Right away, Francisco thought of a good sacrifice: Lets give our
lunch to the sheep, and make the sacrifice of going without it.
In a couple of minutes, the contents of our lunch bag had been
divided among the sheep. So that day, we fasted as strictly as the most
austere Carthusian!
Jacinta remained sitting on the rock, looking very thoughtful,
and asked: That Lady also said that many souls will go to hell! What
is Hell then?
It is like a big deep pit of wild beasts, with an enormous fire in it
thats how my mother used to explain it to meand thats where
people go who commit sins and dont confess them. They stay there
and burn for ever!
And they never get out of there again?
No!
Not even after many, many years?
No! Hell never ends!
And Heaven never ends either?
Theyre eternal, dont you see! They never end.
That was how, for the first time, we made a meditation on hell
and eternity. Even in the middle of a game she would stop and ask:
But listen! Doesnt hell end after many, many years then? or again:
Those people burning in hell, dont they ever die? And dont they
turn into ashes? Poor sinners! We have to pray and make many
sacrifices for them! Then she went on: How good that Lady is! She
has already promised to take us to heaven!
Conversion of Sinners
Jacinta took this matter of sacrifices for the conversion of
sinners so much to heart, that she never let a single opportunity escape
her. There were two families in Moita whose children used to go

21

round begging from door to door. We met one day, as we were going
along with our sheep.
As soon as she saw them, Jacinta said to us: Lets give our
lunch to those poor children, for the conversion of sinners, and she
ran to take it to them.
That afternoon, she told me she was hungry. There were some
holm-oaks and oak trees near by. The acorns were still quite green.
However, I told her we could still eat them. Francisco climbed up a
holm-oak to fill his pockets, but Jacinta remembered that we could eat
the ones on the oak tree instead, and thus make a sacrifice by eating
the bitter kind. So it was there, that afternoon, that we enjoyed this
delicious repast! Jacinta made this as one of her usual sacrifices, and
often picked the acorns off the oaks or the olives off the trees.
One day I said to her: Jacinta, dont eat that; its too bitter!
But its because its bitter that Im eating it, for the conversion of
sinners.
These were not the only times we fasted. We had agreed that
whenever we see any poor children like these, we would give them
our lunch. They were only too happy to receive such an alms, and they
took good care to meet us; they used to wait for us along the road. We
no sooner saw them than Jacinta ran to give them all the food we had
for that day, as happy as if she had no need for it herself.
On days like that, our only nourishment consisted of pine nuts,
and little berries the size of an olive which grew on the roots of little
bell-flowers, as well as blackberries, mushrooms, and some other
things we found on the roots of pine treesI cant remember now
what these were called. If there was fruit available on the land
belonging to our parents, we used to eat that. Jacintas thirst for
making sacrifices seemed insatiable.
One day a neighbor offered my mother a good pasture for our
sheep. Though it was quite far away, and we were at the height of
summer, my mother accepted the offer made so generously and sent
me there. She told me that we should take our siesta in the shade of
the trees, as there was a pond nearby where the flock could go and

22

drink. On the way, we met our dear poor children, and Jacinta ran and
gave them our usual alms.
It was a lovely day, but the sun was blazing, and in that arid,
stony wasteland, it seemed as though it would burn everything up. We
were parched with thirst, and there wasnt a single drop of water for us
to drink! At first, we offered it up generously for the conversion of
sinners, but after midday, we could hold out no longer.
As there was a house quite near, I suggested to my companions
that I should go and ask for a little water. They agreed to this, so I
went and knocked on the door. A little old woman gave me not only a
pitcher of water, but also some bread which I accepted gratefully. I ran
to share it with my little companions, and then offered the pitcher to
Francisco, and told him to drink.
I dont want to. he replied.
Why?
I want to suffer for the conversion of sinners.
You have a drink Jacinta!
But I want to offer this sacrifice for the conversion of sinners too.
Then I poured the water into a hollow in the rock, so that the
sheep could drink it, and went to return the pitcher to its owner. The
heat was getting more and more intense. The shrill singing of the
crickets and grasshoppers coupled with the croaking of the frogs in the
neighbouring pond made an uproar that was almost unbearable.
Jacinta, frail as she was, and weakened still more by the lack of
food and drink, said to me with that simplicity which was natural to
her: Tell the crickets and the frogs to keep quiet! I have such a
terrible headache.
Then Francisco said to her: Dont you want to suffer for the
conversion of sinners?
The poor child, clasping her head between her two little hands,
replied: Yes I do, let them sing!

23

Family Opposition
In the meantime, news of what had happened was spreading. My
mother was getting worried, and wanted at all costs to make me deny
what I had said. One day, before I set out with the flock, she was
determined to make me confess that I was telling lies, and to this end
she spared neither caresses, nor threats, not even the broomstick. To
all this she received nothing but a mute silence, or the confirmation of
all that I had already said.
She told me to go and let out the sheep, and during the day to
consider well that she had never tolerated a single lie among her
children, and much less would she allow a lie of this kind. She warned
me that she would force me, that very evening, to go to those people
whom I had deceived, confess that I had lied and ask their pardon. I
went off with my sheep, and that day my little companions were
already waiting for me. When they saw me crying, they ran up and
asked me what was the matter.
I told them all that had happened, and added: Tell me now,
what am I to do? My mother is determined at all costs to make me say
that I was lying. But how can I?
Then Francisco said to Jacinta: You see! its all your fault; why
did you have to tell them?
The poor child, in tears, knelt down, joined her hands, and asked
our forgiveness: I did wrong, she said through her tears, but I will
never tell anything to anybody again!
Your Excellency will probably be wondering who taught Jacinta
to make such an act of humility? I dont know. Perhaps she had seen
her brothers and sisters asking their parents for forgiveness before
going to communion; or else, as I think myself, Jacinta was the one
who received from Our Lady a greater abundance of grace, and a
better knowledge of God and of virtue. When the parish priest sent for
us some time later, to question us, Jacinta put her head down, and only
with difficulty did he succeed in getting a word or two out of her.

24

Once outside, I asked her: Why didnt you answer the priest?
Because I promised you never to tell anything to anybody again!
One day she asked: Why cant we say that the Lady told us to
make sacrifices for sinners?
So they wont be asking what kind of sacrifices we are making.
My mother became more and more upset at the way things were
progressing. This led her to make yet another attempt to force me to
confess that I had lied. One morning early, she called me and told me
she was taking me to see the parish priest, saying: When you get
there, go down on your knees, tell him that youve lied, and ask his
pardon.
As we were going past my aunts house, my mother went inside
for a few minutes. This gave me a chance to tell Jacinta what was
happening. Seeing me so upset, she shed some tears and said: Im
going to get up and call Francisco. Well go and pray for you at the
well. When you get back, come and find us there.
On my return, I ran to the well, and there were the two of them
on their knees, praying. As soon as they saw me, Jacinta ran to hug
me, and then she said: You see! We must never be afraid of
anything! The Lady will help us always. Shes such a good friend of
ours!
Ever since the day Our Lady taught us to offer our sacrifices to
Jesus, any time we had something to suffer, or agreed to make a
sacrifice, Jacinta asked: Did you already tell Jesus that it is for the
love of Him?
If I said I hadnt, she answered: Then Ill tell Him, and
joining her hands, she raised her eyes to heaven and said: Oh Jesus, it
is for love of you, and for the conversion of sinners!
Love for the Holy Father
Two priests, who had come to question us, recommended us to
pray for the Holy Father. Jacinta asked who the Holy Father was. The
good priests explained who he was and how much he needed prayers.
This gave Jacinta such love for the Holy Father that, every time she

25

offered her sacrifices to Jesus she added: and for the Holy father. At
the end of the Rosary, she always said three Hail Marys for the Holy
Father, and sometimes she would remark: How Id love to see the
Holy Father! So many people come here, but the Holy Father never
does!
In her childish simplicity, she supposed that the Holy Father
could make this journey just like anybody else! One day, my father
and my uncle were summoned to appear next morning with the three
of us before the Administrator.
Im not going to take my children, announced my uncle, nor
present them before any tribunal. Why, they are not old enough to be
responsible for their actions, and besides all that, they could never
stand the long journey on foot to the Vila Nova De Ourem. Ill go
myself and see what they want.
My father thought differently: As for my girl, Im taking her!
Let her answer for herself; I dont understand a thing about this.
They all took advantage of this occasion to frighten us in any way
they could. Next day, as we were passing by my uncles house, my
father had to wait for a few minutes for my uncle. I ran to say goodbye
to Jacinta, who was still in bed. Doubtful as to whether we would see
one another again, I threw my arms around her.
Bursting into tears, the poor child sobbed: If they kill you, tell
them that Francisco and I are just the same as you, and that we want to
die too. Im going right now to the well with Francisco, and well pray
hard for you.
When I got back at night fall, I ran to the well, and there were
the pair of them on their knees, leaning over the side of the well, their
heads buried in their hands, weeping bitterly.
As soon as they saw me, they cried out in astonishment:
Youve come then? Why, your sister came here to draw water and
told us that theyd killed you! Weve been praying and crying so much
for you!
In Prison at Ourem

26

When, some time later, we were put in prison, what made

Jacinta suffer most was to feel that their parents abandoned them.
With tears streaming down her cheeks, she would say: Neither
your parents nor mine have come to see us. They dont bother about
us
anymore!
Dont cry. said Francisco, we can offer this to Jesus for sinners.
Then, raising his eyes and his hands to heaven, he made the offering:
O my Jesus, this is for love of you, and for the conversion of
sinners.
Jacinta added: And also for the Holy Father, and in reparation for the
sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
After being separated for a while, we were re-united in one of
the other rooms of the prison. When they told us they were coming
soon to take us away to be fried alive, Jacinta went aside and stood by
a window overlooking the cattle market. I thought at first that she was
trying to distract her thoughts with the view, but I soon realized that
she was crying. I went over and drew her close to me, asking her why
was she crying.
Because we are going to die, she replied, without ever seeing our
parents again, not even our mothers!
With tears running down her cheeks she added: I would like at
least to see my mother.
Dont you want, then, to offer this sacrifice up for the conversion of
sinners?
I do want to, I do!
With her face bathed with tears, she joined her hands, raised her
hands to heaven and made her offering: O my Jesus! This is for the
love of you, for the conversion of sinners, for the Holy Father, and
reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of
Mary!
The prisoners who were present at this scene, sought to console
us: But all you have to do, they said, is to tell the Administrator the
secret! What does it matter whether the Lady wants you to or not!
Never! was Jacintas vigorous reply, Id rather die!

27

The Rosary in Jail

Next, we decided to say our Rosary. Jacinta took off a medal
that she was wearing around her neck, and asked a prisoner to hang it
up for her on a nail on the wall. Kneeling before this medal, we began
to pray. The prisoners prayed with us, that is, if they knew how to
pray, but at least they were down on their knees. Once the Rosary was
over, Jacinta went over to the window, and started crying again.
Jacinta, I asked, dont you want to offer this sacrifice to Our
Lord?
Yes, I do, but I keep thinking about my mother, and I cant help
crying.
As the Blessed Virgin had told us to offer our prayers and
sacrifices also for the reparation of the sins committed against the
Immaculate Heart of Mary, we agreed that each of us would choose
one of these intentions. One would offer for sinners, another for the
Holy Father, and yet another in reparation of the sins committed
against the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Having decided on this, I told
Jacinta to choose whichever intention she preferred.
Im making all the offering for all intentions, because I love them
all.
And Finallythe Dance
Among the prisoners, there was one who played the concertina.
To divert our attention, he began to play and they all started singing.
They asked us if we knew how to dance. We said we knew the
Fandango and the Vira. Jacintas partner was a poor thief who, finding
her so tiny, picked her up and went on dancing with her in his arms!
We only hope that Our Lady has had pity on his soul and converted
him!
Now, Your Excellency will be saying: What a fine disposition
for martyrdom! That is true. But we were only children and we didnt
think beyond this. Jacinta dearly loved dancing, and had a special
aptitude for it. I remember how she was crying one day about one of
her brothers who had gone to the war and was reported killed in

28

action. To distract her, I arranged a little dance with two of her

brothers. There was the poor child dancing away as she dried the tears
that ran down her cheeks. Her fondness of dancing was such that the
sound of some shepherd playing his instrument was enough to set her
dancing all by herself.
In spite of this, when carnival time or St. Johns Day festivals
came around, she announced: Im not going to dance anymore.
And why not?
Because I want to offer this sacrifice to Our Lord.
After the Apparitions
Prayers and Sacrifices at Cabeo
My aunt was worn out with having continually to send someone
to fetch her children, just to please the people who came asking to
speak to them. She therefore handed over the care of the flock to her
other son John. This decision was very painful to Jacinta for two
reasons: firstly, she had to speak to everyone who came looking for
her, and secondly, she could no longer spend the whole day with me.
She had to resign herself, however.
To escape from the unwelcome visitors, she and Francisco used
to go and hide in a cave hollowed out in the rock on the hillside facing
our hamlet. On top of the hill was a windmill. Situated as it is on the
eastern slope, this hiding place is so well formed that it afforded them
an ideal protection from both the rain and the burning sun, especially
since it is sheltered by many oak and olive trees. How many were the
prayers and sacrifices that Jacinta offered there to Our dear Lord!
All over the slope grew innumerable varieties of flowers.
Among them were many irises, and Jacinta loved this especially.
Every evening she was waiting for me on my way home, holding an
iris she had picked for me, or some other flower if there were no irises
to be found. It was a real joy for her to pluck off the petals one by one
and strew them over me.
My mother was satisfied for the time being with deciding each
day where I was to pasture the sheep, so that she knew where to find
me when I was needed. When the place was nearby, I told my little

29

companions, and they lost no time in coming out to join me. Jacinta
never stopped running till she caught sight of me. Then, exhausted,
she sat down and kept calling to me, until I answered and ran to meet
her.
Troublesome Interrogations
Finally, my mother, tired of seeing my sister waste her time
coming to call me and taking my place with the sheep, decided to sell
the lot. She talked things over with my aunt, and they agreed to send
us off to school. At playtime, Jacinta loved to make a visit to the
Blessed Sacrament.
They seem to guess, she complained. We are no sooner
inside the church, then a crowd of people come asking us questions! I
wanted so much to be alone for a long time with the Hidden Jesus to
talk to Him, but they never let us.
It was true, the simple country folk never left us alone. With the
utmost simplicity, they told us all about their needs and their troubles.
Jacinta showed the greatest compassion, especially when it concerned
some sinner, saying: We must pray and offer sacrifices to Our Lord,
so that he will be converted and not go to hell, poor man!
In this connection, it might be good to relate here an incident
which shows to what extent Jacinta sought to escape from the people
who came looking for her. We were on our way to Fatima one day and
approaching the main road when we noticed a group of ladies and
gentlemen getting out of a car. We knew without the slightest doubt
that they were looking for us. Escape was impossible, for they would
see us. We continued on our way, hoping to be passed by without
being recognized.
On reaching us the ladies asked if we knew the little shepherds
to whom Our Lady had appeared. We said we did. Do you know
where they live? We gave them precise directions, and ran off to hide
in the fields among the brambles.
Jacinta was so delighted with her little stratagem that she
exclaimed: We must do this always when they dont know us by
sight.

30

The Saintly Father Cruz

One day, Father Cruz from Lisbon came, in his turn, to question
us. When he had finished, he asked us to show him the spot where Our
Lady appeared to us. On the way, we walked on either side of His
Reverence, who was riding a donkey so small that his feet almost
touched the ground.
As we went along, he taught us a litany of ejaculations, two of
which Jacinta made her own and never stopped repeating afterwards:
O my Jesus, I love you! Sweet heart of Mary, be my savation!
One day during her illness, she told me: I so like to tell Jesus
that I love Him! Many times, when I say it to Him, I seem to have a
fire in my heart, but it doesnt burn me.
Another time she said: I love Our Lord and Our Lady so much,
that I never get tired of telling of telling Them that I love Them.
Graces through Jacinta
There was a woman in our neighborhood who insulted us every
time we met her. We came upon her one day as she was leaving a
tavern, somewhat the worse for drink. Not satisfied with mere insults,
she went still further.
When she had finished, Jacinta said to me: We have to plead
with Our Lady and offer sacrifices for the conversion of this woman.
She says so many sinful things that if she doesnt go to confession,
shell go to hell.
A few days later, we were running past this womans door when
suddenly Jacinta stopped dead, and turning around, she asked:
Listen! Is it tomorrow that we are going to see the Lady? Yes, it
is.
Then lets not play anymore. We can make this sacrifice for the
conversion of sinners.
Without realizing that some one might be watching her, she
raised her hands and eyes to heaven, and made her offering. The

31

woman, meanwhile, was peeping through a shutter in the house. She

told my mother afterwards that what Jacinta did made such an
impression on her that she needed no other proof to make her believe
in the reality of the apparitions; henceforth, she would not only not
insult us any more, but would constantly ask us to pray to Our Lady
that her sins might be forgiven.
Again, a poor woman afflicted with a terrible disease met us one
day. Weeping, she knelt before Jacinta and begged her to ask Our
Lady to cure her. Jacinta was distressed to see a woman kneeling
before her, and caught hold of her with trembling hands to lift her up.
But seeing this was beyond her strength, she, too, knelt down and said
three Hail Marys with the woman. She then asked her to get up, and
assured her that Our Lady would cure her. After that, she continued to
pray daily for that woman, until she returned sometime later to thank
Our Lady for her cure.
On another occasion, there was a soldier who wept like a child.
He had been ordered to leave for the front, although his wife was sick
in bed and he had three small children. He pleaded that either his wife
would be cured or that the order would be revoked.
Jacinta invited him to say the Rosary with her, and then said to
him: Dont cry. Our Lady is so good! She will certainly grant the
grace you are asking.
From then on, she never forgot her soldier. At the end of the
Rosary, she always said one Hail Mary for him. Some months later, he
appeared with his wife and his three small children, to thank Our Lady
for the two graces he had received. Having gone down with fever on
the eve of his departure, he had been released from military service,
and as for his wife, he said she had been miraculously cured by Our
Lady.
More and More Sacrifices
One day, we were told that a priest was coming to see us who
was very holy and could tell what was going on in peoples inmost
hearts. This meant that he would find out whether we were telling the
truth or not. Full of joy, Jacinta exclaimed: When is this Father
coming? If he can really tell, then hell know were telling the truth.

32

We were playing one day at the well I have already mentioned.

Close to it, there was a grape vine belonging to Jacintas mother. She
cut a few clusters and brought them to us to eat. But Jacinta never
forgot her sinners.
We wont eat them, she said, well offer this sacrifice for
sinners. Then she ran out with the grapes and gave them to the other
children playing on the road. She returned radiant with joy, for she
had found our poor children, and given them the grapes.
Another time, my aunt called us to come and eat some figs
which she had brought home, and indeed they would have given
anybody an appetite. Jacinta sat down happily next to the basket, with
the rest of us, and picked up the first fig.
She was just about to eat it, when she suddenly remembered,
and said: Its true! Today we havent yet made a single sacrifice for
sinners! Well have to make this one.
She put the fig back in the basket, and made the offering; and
we, too, left our figs in the basket for the conversion of sinners.
Jacinta made such sacrifices over and over again, but I wont stop to
tell you any more or I shall never end.
Illness and Death of Jacinta
Jacintas Illness
This was how Jacinta spent her days until Our Lord sent the
influenza which confined her to her bed, and her brother Francisco as
well.
The evening before she felt sick, she said: Ive had a terrible
headache and Im so thirsty! But I wont take a drink, because I want
to suffer for sinners.
Apart from school or the small tasks I was given to do, I spent
every free moment with my little companions. One day, when I called
in on my way to school, Jacinta said to me: Listen! Tell the Hidden
Jesus that I like Him very much, that I really love Him very much
indeed.

33

At other times, she said: Tell Jesus that I send Him my love,
and long to see Him.
Whenever I visited her room first, she used to say: Now go and
see Francisco. Ill make the sacrifice of staying here alone.
On another occasion, her mother brought her a cup of milk and
told her to take it.
I dont want it, mother, she answered, pushing the cup away
with her little hand.
My aunt insisted a little, and then left the room saying: I dont
know how to make her take anything; she has no appetite.
As soon as we were alone, I asked her: How can you disobey
your mother like that, and not offer this sacrifice to Our Lord?
When she heard this, she shed a few tears which I had the happiness
of drying, and said: I forgot this time.
She called her mother, and asked her forgiveness, and said shell
take whatever she wanted. Her mother brought back the cup of milk,
and Jacinta drank it down without the slightest sign of repugnance.
Later, she told me: If only you knew how hard it is to drink that!
Another time she said to me: Its becoming harder and harder
for me to take milk and broth, but I dont say anything. I drink it all
for love of Our Lord and of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, our dear
heavenly Mother.
Again,
I
asked
her:
Are
you
better?
You know Im not getting better, she replied and added, Ive such
pains in my chest! But I dont say anything. Im suffering for the
conversion of sinners.
One day when I arrived she asked: Did you make many
sacrifices today? Ive made a lot. My mother went out, and I wanted
to go and visit Francisco many times, and I didnt go.

34

Visit from the Blessed Virgin

Jacinta did improve somewhat, however. She was even able to
get up, and could thus spend her days sitting on Franciscos bed. On
one occasion, she sent for me to come and see her at once. I ran over.
Our Lady came to see us, Jacinta said, She told us She would
come and take Francisco to heaven very soon. She asked me if I still
want to convert more sinners. I said I did. She told me I would be
going to a hospital where I would suffer a great deal; and that I am to
suffer for the conversion of sinners, in reparation for the sins
committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and for love of
Jesus. I asked if you would go with me. She said you wouldnt, and
that is what I find hardest. She said my mother would take me, and
then I would have to stay all alone!
After this, she was very thoughtful for awhile, and then added:
If only you could be with me! The hardest part is to go without you.
Maybe, the hospital is a big dark house, where you cant see, and Ill
be there suffering all alone! But never mind! Ill suffer for the love of
Our Lord, to make reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the
conversion of sinners and for the Holy Father.
When the moment arrived for her brother to go to heaven, she
confided in him these last messages: Give all my love to Our Lord
and Our Lady, and tell Them that Ill suffer as much as they want, for
the conversion of sinners and reparation to the Immaculate Heart of
Mary.
Jacinta suffered keenly when Francisco died. She remained a
long time buried in thought, and if anyone asked her what she was
thinking about, she answered: About Francisco. Id give anything to
see him again! Then her eyes brimmed over with tears.
One day, I said to her: It wont be long now till you go to
heaven. But what about me!
You poor thing! Dont cry! Ill pray lots and lots for you when
Im there. As for you, thats the way Our Lady wants it. If She wanted
that for me, Id gladly stay and suffer more for sinners.

35

In the Hospital at Ourem

The day came for Jacinta to go to hospital. There indeed she was
to suffer a great deal. When her mother went to see her, she asked if
she wanted anything. She told her that she wanted to see me. This was
no easy matter for my aunt, but she took me with her at the first
opportunity. As soon as Jacinta saw me, she joyfully threw her arms
around me, and asked her mother to leave me with her while she went
to do her shopping. Then I asked her if she was suffering a lot.
Yes, I am. But I offer everything for sinners, and for the
reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Then, filled with enthusiasm, she spoke of Our Lord and Our
Lady: Oh, how much I love to suffer for love of Them, just to give
Them pleasure! They greatly love those who suffer for the conversion
of sinners.
The time allotted for the visit passed rapidly, and my aunt
arrived to take me home. She asked Jacinta if she wanted anything.
The child begged her mother to bring me with her next time she came
to see her. So my good aunt, who loved to make her little daughter
happy, took me with her a second time. I found Jacinta as joyful as
ever, glad to suffer for the love of Our Good God and of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary, for sinners and the Holy Father. That was
her ideal, she could speak of nothing else.
Return to Aljustrel
She returned home to her parents for yet a while. She had a large
open wound in her chest which had to be treated every day, but she
bore this without complaint and without the least sign of irritation.
What distressed her most were the frequent visits and questionings of
the part of many people who wanted to see her, and whom she could
no longer avoid by running off to hide.
I am offering this sacrifice too, for the conversion of sinners,
she said resignedly. I would give anything to be able to go up to the
Cabeco and say a Rosary there in our favourite place! But Im not able
for it anymore. When you go up to the Cova De Iria, pray for me. Just

36

think, I shall never go there again! The tears streamed down her
cheeks.
One day my aunt made this request: Ask Jacinta what she is
thinking, when she covers her face with her hands and remains
motionless for such a long while. Ive already asked her, but she just
smiles and doesnt answer.
I put the question to Jacinta. I think of Our Lord, she replied,
of Our Lady, of sinners, and of (and she mentioned parts of the
secret). I love to think.
My aunt asked my how she answered. I just smiled.
This led my aunt to tell my mother what had happened. The life
of these children is an enigma to me, she exclaimed, I cant
understand it!
My mother added: Yes, and when they are alone, they talk
nineteen to the dozen. Yet, however hard you listen, you can never
catch a single word! I just cant understand all this mystery.

Renewed Visits from the Blessed Virgin

Once again, the Virgin deigned to visit Jacinta, to tell her of new
crosses and sacrifices awaiting her.
She gave me the news saying: She told me that I am going to
Lisbon to another hospital; that I will not see you again, nor my
parents either, and after suffering a great deal, I shall die alone. But
She said I must not be afraid, since She Herself is coming to take me
to heaven. She hugged me and wept: I will never see you again!
You wont be coming to visit me there. Oh please, pray hard for me,
because Im going to die alone!
Jacinta suffered terribly right up until the day of her departure
for Lisbon, She kept clinging to me and sobbing: Ill never see you
again! Nor my mother, nor my brothers, nor my father! Ill never see
anyone again! And then, Ill die all alone!

37

Dont think about it. I advised her one day. Let me think
about it, she replied, for the more I think, the more I suffer, and I
want to suffer for love of Our Lord and for sinners. Anyway, I dont
mind! Our Lady will come to me there and take me to heaven.
At times, she kissed and embraced a crucifix, exclaiming: O
my Jesus! I love you, and I want to suffer very much for love of you.
How often did she say: O Jesus! Now you can convert many
sinners, because this is a really big sacrifice!
From time to time, she asked me: Am I going to die without
receiving the Hidden Jesus? If only Our Lady would bring Him to me,
when she comes to fetch me!
One day I asked her: What are you going to do in heaven?
Im going to love Jesus very much, and the Immaculate Heart of
Mary, too. Im going to pray alot for you, for sinners, the Holy Father,
for my parents and brothers and sisters and for all the people who
have asked me to pray for them
When her mother looked sad at seeing the child so ill, Jacinta
used to say: Dont worry, mother. Im going to heaven, and there Ill
be praying so much for you. Or again: Dont cry. Im alright.
If they asked her if she needed anything, she answered: No, I
dont,
thank
you.
Then when they left the room, she said: Im so thirsty, but I dont
want to take a drink. Im offering it to Jesus for sinners.
One day, when my aunt had been asking me many questions,
Jacinta called me to her and said: I dont want you to tell anybody
that Im suffering, not even my mother. I dont want to upset her.
On one occasion, I found her clasping a picture of Our Lady to
her heart, and saying: O my dearest Heavenly Mother, do I have to
die all alone?
The poor child seemed so frightened at the thought of dying
alone! I tried to comfort her saying: What does it mater if you die
alone, so long as Our Lady is coming to fetch you?
Its true, it doesnt matter, really. I dont know why it is, but I

38

sometimes forget Our Lady is coming to take me. I only remember

that Ill die without having you near me.

Leaving for Lisbon

The day came at last when she was to leave for Lisbon. It was a
heartrending farewell. For a long time, she clung to me with her arms
around my neck, and sobbed: We shall never see each other again!
Pray a lot for me, until I go to heaven. Then I will pray a lot for you.
Never tell the secret to anyone, even if they kill you. Love Jesus and
the Immaculate Heart of Mary very much, and make many sacrifices
for sinners.
From Lisbon, she sent me word that Our Lady had come to see
her there; she had told her the day and hour of her death. Finally
Jacinta reminded me to be good.

Epilogue
And now, I have finished telling Your Excellency what I
remember about Jacintas life. I ask our Good God to deign to accept
this act of obedience, that it may kindle in souls a fire of love for the
Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

Sister Lucia in 1945

I would like to ask just one favour. If Your Excellency should
publish anything of what I have just written, would you do it in such
away that no mention whatsoever is made of my poor miserable self. I
must confess, moreover, that if it were to come to my knowledge that

39

Your Excellency had burnt this account, without even reading it,
I would be very glad indeed, since I wrote it solely out of obedience to
the Will of our Good God, as made known to me through the express
will of Your Excellency.

40

THE SECOND MEMOIR OF SISTER LUCIA

(1937)
Foreword
Your Excellency,
Here I am, pen in my hand, ready to do the will of my God.
Since I have no other aim but this, I begin with the maxims which my
holy Foundress has handed down to me and which after her example I
shall repeat many times in the course of this account: Oh Will of
God, You are my paradise.
Allow me, Your Excellency, to sound the depths contained in
this maxim. Whenever repugnance or love for my secret makes me
want to keep some things hidden, then this maxim will be my norm
and my guide. I had a mind to ask, what use there could possibly be in
my writing an account like this, since even my handwriting is scarcely
presentable. But I am asking nothing.
I know that the perfection of obedience asks no reasons. Your
Excellencys words are enough for me, since they assure me that this
is for the glory of Our Blessed Mother in Heaven. In the certainty that
it is so, I implore the blessing and protection of Her Immaculate Heart
and, humbly prostrate at Her feet, I use Her own most holy words to
speak to my God: I, the least of your handmaids, O my God, now
come in full submission to Your Holy Will, to lift the veil from my
secret, and reveal the story of Fatima just as it is. No longer will I
savour the joy of sharing with You alone the secrets of Your Love; but
henceforth, others too, will sing with me the greatness of Your
Mercy!

Lucias Childhood
Your Excellency The Lord has looked upon His lowly
handmaid, that is why all peoples will sing the greatness of His
Mercy. It seems to me, Your Excellency, that our dear Lord deigned
to favour me with the use of reason from my earliest childhood. I
remember being conscious of my actions, even from my mothers

41

arms. I remember being rocked and falling a sleep to the sound of

lullabies. Our Lord blessed my parents with five girls and one boy, of
whom I was the youngest, and I remember how they used to squabble,
because they all wanted to hold me in their arms and play with me. On
such occasions none of them ever succeeded, because my mother used
to take me away from them altogether.
If she was too busy to hold me herself, she would give me to my
father and he also would fondle me and cover me with caresses. The
first thing I learned was the Hail Mary. While holding me in her arms,
my mother taught it to my sister Carolina, the second youngest, and
five years older than myself. My two eldest sisters were already grown
up. My mother, knowing that I repeated everything I heard like a
parrot, wanted them to take me with them everywhere they went.
They were, as we say in our locality, the leading lights among
the young people. There was not a festival or dance that they did not
attend. At Carnival time, on St. Johns Day and at Christmas, there
was certain to be a dance. Besides this, there was the vintage. Then
there was the olive picking, with a dance almost every day. When the
big parish festivals came around such as the Feast of the Sacred Heart
of Jesus, Our Lady of the Rosary, St Anthony, and so on, we always
raffled cakes: after that came a dance, without fail. We were invited to
almost all the weddings for miles around, and if they did not invite my
mother to be matron of honour, they were sure to need her for the
cooking. At these weddings, the dancing went on from after the
banquet until well into the next morning.
Since my sisters had to have me always with them, they took as
much trouble in dressing me up as they were wont to do for
themselves. As one of them was a dress maker, I was always decked
out in a regional costume more elegant than that of any other girl
around. I wore a pleated skirt, a shiny belt, a cashmere kerchief with
the corners hanging down behind, and a hat decorated with gold beads
and bright coloured feathers. You would have thought sometimes, that
they were dressing a doll rather than a small child.

42

Popular Entertainments
At the dances, they deposited me on top of a wooden chest or
some other tall piece of furniture, to save me from being trampled
underfoot. Once on my perch, I had to sing a number of songs to the
music of the guitar or the concertina. My sisters had already taught me
to sing, as well as to dance a few waltzes when there was a partner
missing. The latter I performed with rare skill, thus attracting the
attention and applause of everyone present. Some of them even
rewarded me with gifts, in the hope of pleasing my sisters. On Sunday
afternoons, all these young people used to gather in our yard, in the
shade of three large fig trees in summer, and in winter in an open
porch that we had where my sister Marias house now stands. There
they spent the afternoons playing and chatting with my sisters. It was
there that we used to raffle the sugared almonds at Easter time, and
most of them used to find their way into my pocket, as some of the
winners hoped to gain our good graces.
My mother would spend these afternoons seated at the kitchen
door looking out on the yard, so that she could see all that was going
on. Sometimes she held a book in her hand and so she would read for
a while; at other times she chatted with my aunts or neighbours who
sat beside her. She was always very serious and everybody knew that
what she said was like Scripture and must be obeyed without more
ado. I never knew anyone to say a disrespectful word in her presence,
or show her any lack of consideration. It was the general opinion
among them, that my mother was worth more than all her daughters
put together, I often heard my mother say: I dont know how these
people enjoy running about chattering from house to house! As for me
there is nothing as good as just staying at home for a nice quiet read!
These books are full of such wonderful things! And as for the lives of
the Saints, theyre simply beautiful!
It seems to me that I have already told Your Excellency how
during the week, I used to spend the day surrounded by children from
the neighbourhood. The mothers went out to work in the fields, so
they used to ask my mother if they could leave the children with me.
When I wrote to Your Excellency about my cousin, I think I also
described our games and amusements, so I will not dwell on them

43

here. Amid the warmth of such affectionate and tender caresses, I

happily spent my first six years. To tell you the truth, the world was
beginning to smile on me, and above all a passion for dancing was
already sinking its roots deep into my heart. And I must confess that
the devil would have used this to bring about my ruin, had not the
good Lord shown His special mercy towards me.
If I am not mistaken, I have also told Your Excellency in the
same account, how my mother was accustomed to teach catechism to
her children during the summer at siesta time. In the winter we had
our lesson after supper, at night, gathered round the fire side, as we sat
roasting and eating chestnuts and a sweet variety of acorns.

Lucias First Communion

The day which the parish priest had appointed for the solemn
First Communion of the children of the parish, was drawing near. In
view of the fact that I knew my catechism and was already six years
old, my mother thought that perhaps I could now make my First
Communion. To this end, she sent me with my sister Carolina to the
catechism instructions which the parish priest was giving to the
children, in preparation for this great day. I went therefore radiant
with joy, hoping soon to be able to receive my God for the first time.
The priest gave his instructions, seated in a chair on a platform. He
called me to his side, and when one or other of the children was
unable to answer his question, he told me to give the answer instead
just to shame them.
The eve of the great day arrived, and the priest sent word that all
the children were to go to the church in the forenoon, so that he could
make the final decision as to which ones were to receive their First
Communion. What was not my disappointment when he called me up
beside him, caressed me and said I was to wait till I was seven years
old! I began to cry at once, and just as I would have done with my
own mother, I laid my head on his knees and sobbed. It happened that
another priest who had been called in to help with the confessions,
entered the Church just at that moment. Seeing me in this position, he
asked the reason for my tears. On being informed, he took me along to
the sacristy and examined me on the catechism and the mystery of the

44

Eucharist. After this he took me by the hand and brought me to the

parish priest, saying: Father Pena, you can let this child go to
Communion. She understands what she is doing better than many of
the others. But she is only six years old! objected the good priest.
Never mind! Ill take responsibility for that. Alright then; the
good priest said to me: Go and tell your mother that you are making
your First Communion tomorrow.
I could never express the joy I felt. Off I went, clapping my
hands with delight, and running all the way home to give the good
news to my mother. She at once set about preparing me for the
Confession I was to make that afternoon. My mother took me to the
church, and when we arrived, I told her I wanted to confess to the
other priest. So we went to the sacristy, where he was sitting on a
chair, hearing confessions. My mother knelt down in front of the high
altar near the sacristy door, together with the other mothers who were
waiting for their children to confess in turn. Right there before the
Blessed Sacrament, my mother gave me her last recommendations.

Our Lady of the Rosary Smiles at Lucia

When my turn came around, I went and knelt at the feet of Our
dear Lord, represented there in the person of His minister, imploring
forgiveness for my sins. When I had finished, I noticed that everyone
was laughing.
My mother called me to her and said: My child, dont you
know that confession is a secret matter and that it is made in a low
voice? Everybody heard you! There was only one thing nobody heard:
that is what you said at the end. On the way home, my mother made
several attempts to discover what she called the secret of my
confession. But the only answer she obtained was complete silence.
Now, however, I am going to reveal the secret of my first Confession.
After listening to me, the good priest said these few words: My child,
your soul is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Keep it always pure, so that
He will be able to carry on His divine action within it.
On hearing these words, I felt myself filled with respect for my
interior, and asked the kind confessor what I ought to do: Kneel

45

down there before Our Lady and ask Her, with great confidence, to
take care of your heart, to prepare it to receive Her beloved Son
worthily tomorrow, and to keep it for Him alone! In the Church,
there was more than one statue of Our Lady; but as my sisters took
care of the altar of Our Lady of the Rosary, I usually went there to
pray. That is why I went there on this occasion also, to ask Her with
all the ardour of my soul, to keep my poor heart for God alone. As I
repeated this humble prayer over and over again, with my eyes fixed
on the statue, it seemed to me that She smiled and, with a loving look
and a kindly gesture, assured me that She would. My heart was
overflowing with joy, and I could scarcely utter a single word.
Eager Expectancy
My sisters stayed that night making me a white dress and a
wreath of flowers. As for me, I was so happy that I could not sleep,
and it seemed as if the hours would never pass! I kept on getting up to
ask them if the day had come, or if they wanted me to try on my dress
or my wreath, and so forth.
The happy day dawned at last; but nine oclockhow long it
was in coming! I put on my white dress, and then my sister Maria took
me into the kitchen to ask pardon of my parents, to kiss their hands
and to ask their blessing. After this little ceremony, my mother gave
me her last recommendations. She told me what she wanted me to ask
Our Lord when I had received Him into my heart, and said good bye
to me in these words: Above all, ask Him to make you a saint. Her
words made such an indelible impression on my heart, that they were
the very first that I said to Our Lord when I received Him. Even today,
I seem to hear the echo of my mothers voice repeating these words to
me. I set out for the church with my sisters, and my brother carried me
all the way in his arms, that so not a speck of dust from the road
would touch me,. As soon as I arrived at the church, I ran to kneel
before the altar of Our Lady to renew my petition. There I remained in
contemplation of Our Ladys smile of the previous day, until my
sisters came in search of me and took me to my appointed place.
There was a large number of children, arranged in four linestwo of
boys and two of girls from the back of the church right up to the
altar rails. Being the smallest, it happened that I was the one nearest to
the Angels on the step by the altar rails.

46

The Great Day

Once the Missa Cantata began and the great moment drew near,
my heart beat faster and faster, in expectation of the visit of the Great
God who was about to descend from Heaven to unite Himself to my
self. The parish priest came down and passed among the rows of
children, distributing the Bread of Angels.
I had the good fortune to be the first one to receive. As the priest
was coming down the altar steps, I felt as though my heart would leap
from my breast. But he had no sooner placed the Divine Host on my
tongue than I felt an unalterable serenity and peace. I felt myself
bathed in such a supernatural atmosphere that the presence of our dear
Lord became as clearly perceptible to me as if I had seen and heard
Him with my bodily senses. Then I addressed my prayer to Him: Oh
Lord, make me a saint. Keep my heart always pure, for You alone.
Then it seemed that in the depths of my heart, our dear Lord distinctly
spoke these words to me: The grace granted to you this day will
remain living in your soul, producing fruits of eternal life. I felt as
though transformed in God.
It was almost one oclock before the ceremonies were over, on
account of the late arrival of priests coming from a distance, the
sermon and the renewal of baptismal promises. My mother came
looking for me, quite distressed, thinking I might faint from weakness.
But I, filled to overflowing with the Bread of the Angels, found it
impossible to take any food whatsoever. After this, I lost the taste and
attraction for the things of the world, and only felt at home in some
solitary place where, all alone, I could recall the delights of my First
Holy Communion.
Lucias Family
Such moments of seclusion were rare indeed. As Your
Excellency already knows, I had to look after the children whom the
neighbours entrusted to our care; and besides this, my mother was in
much demand thereabouts as a nurse. In cases of minor ills, people
came to our house to seek her advice, but when the sick person was

47

unable to go out, they asked my mother to go to their homes. She

often spent entire days there and even nights. If the illness was
prolonged, or the sick persons condition required it, she occasionally
sent my sisters to stay by the patients bedside at night, to give the
family a chance to get some rest.
Whenever the sick person was the mother of a young family, or
someone who could not stand the noise of children, my mother
brought the little ones to our house and charged me with keeping them
occupied. I kept the children amused, by teaching them how to
prepare the yarn for weaving: they set the wooden winder spinning to
wind it into balls; they rolled it into spools; they strung it on the
skeiner to make it into skeins; and they guided the balls of yarn as the
warp was prepared on the frame.
In this way we always had plenty to do. There were usually
several girls working in our house, who had come to learn weaving
and dress making. Usually these girls showed great affection for our
family, and used to say that the best days of their lives were those
spent in our house. At certain times of the year, my sisters had to go
out working in the fields during the day time, so they did their
weaving and sewing at night. Supper was folllowed by prayers led by
my father, and then the work began.
Everyone had something to do. My sister Maria went to the
loom; my father filled the spools; Teresa and Gloria went to their
sewing; my mother took up her spinning; Carolina and I, after tidying
up the kitchen, had to help with the sewing, taking out basting, sewing
on buttons, and so forth: to keep drowsiness away, my brother played
the concertina, and we joined in singing all kinds of songs. The
neighbours often dropped in to keep us company, and although it
meant loosing their sleep, they used to tell us that the very sound of
our gaiety banished all their worries and filled them with happiness. I
heard different women sometimes say to my mother: How fortunate
you are! what lovely children God has given you! When the time
came round to harvest the corn, we removed the husks by moonlight.
There was I sitting atop a heap of corn, and chosen to give a hug
all round whenever a dark coloured corn cob appeared.

48

In Retrospect
I dont know whether the facts I have related above about my
First Communion were a reality or a little childs illusion. What I do
know is that they always had, and still have today, a great influence in
uniting me to God. What I dont know either is why I am telling Your
Excellency all about our family life. But it is God who inspires me to
do so, and He knows the reason for it. Perhaps it is to let you see how,
after having had so much affection lavished upon me. I would feel all
the more deeply the suffering our dear Lord was going to ask of me.
As Your Excellency has told me to give an account of all the
sufferings that Our Lord has sent me, and all the graces which He has
deigned, in His mercy, to grant me, I think it best to tell them just as
they happened. Moreover, I feel quite at peace about it, because I
know Your Excellency will put into the fire whatever you see does not
further the glory of God and of Mary most Holy.
The Apparitions, Lucia the Shepherdess
This was how things were until I was seven years old. My
mother then decided that I should take over the care of our sheep. My
father did not agree, nor did my sisters. They were so fond of me, that
they wanted an exception made in my case. My mother would not
give in: Shes just like the rest. she said: Carolina is already twelve
years old. That means she can now begin to work in the fields, or else
learn to be a weaver or a seamstress, whichever she prefers. The care
of our flock was then given to me. News that I was beginning my life
as a shepherdess spread rapidly among the other shepherds: almost all
of them came and offered to be my companions. I said Yes to
everybody, and arranged with each one to meet on the slopes of the
serra. Next day, the serra was a solid mass of sheep with their
shepherds, as though a cloud had descended upon it.
But I felt ill at ease in the midst of such a hubbub. I therefore
chose three companions from among the shepherds, and without
saying a word to anyone, we arranged to pasture our sheep on the
opposite slopes. These were the three I chose. Teresa Matias, her sister
Maria Rosa and Maria Justino. On the following day, we set out in the

49

direction of a hill known as the Cabeco. We went up the northern

slope. Valinhos, a place that Your Excellency already knows by name,
is on the southern side of the same hill. On the eastern slope is the
cave I have already spoken of in my account of Jacinta. Together with
our flocks, we climbed almost to the top of the hill. At our feet lay a
wide expanse of treesolives, oaks, pines, holmoaks, and so on, that
stretched away down towards the level valley below.
A Mysterious Presage in 1915
Around midday, we ate our lunch. After this, I invited my
companions to pray the Rosary with me, to which they eagerly agreed.
We had hardly begun when, there before our eyes, we saw a figure
poised in the air above the trees. It looked like a statue made of snow,
rendered almost transparent by the rays of the sun. What is that?
asked my companions, quite frightened. I dont know! We went on
praying, with our eyes fixed on the figure before us, and as we
finished our prayer, the figure disappeared. As was usual with me, I
resolved to say nothing: but my companions told their families what
had happened the very moment they reached home. The news soon
spread, and one day when I arrived home, my mother questioned me:
Look here! They say youve seen I dont know what up there. What
was it you saw? I dont know as I could not explain it myself, I went
on: It looked like a person wrapped up in a sheet!. As I meant to say
that I couldnt discern its features, I added: You couldnt make out
any eyes, or hands, on it. My mother put an end to the whole matter
with a gesture of: Childish nonsense!
After some time, we returned to our flocks to the same place,
and the very same thing happened again. My companions once more
told the whole story. After a brief interval, the same thing was
repeated. It was the third time that my mother heard all these things
being talked about outside, without my having said a single word
about them at home. She called me therefore, quite displeased, and
demanded: Now let us see what it is that you girls say you saw over
there? I dont know mother. I dont know what it is! Some people
started making fun of us. My sisters recalling that for sometime after
my First Communion I had been quite abstracted, used to ask me
scornfully: Do you see someone wrapped in a sheet? I felt these
contemptuous words and gestures very keenly, as up to now I had

50

been used to nothing but caresses. But this was nothing really. You
see, I did not know what the Good Lord had in store for me in the
future.

Apparitions of the Angel in 1916

Around this time, as I have already related to Your Excellency,
Francisco and Jacinta sought and obtained permission from their
parents to start taking care of their own flock. So I left my good
companions, and joined my cousins, Francisco and Jacinta, instead.
To avoid going to the serra with all the other shepherds, we arranged
to pasture our flocks on properties belonging to my uncle and aunt and
my parents.
One fine day, we set out with our sheep for some land that my
parents owned, which lay at the foot of the eastern side of the slope of
the hill that I have already mentioned. This property was called
Chousa Velha. Soon after our arrival, about mid-morning, a fine
drizzle began to fall, so fine that it seemed like mist. We went up the
hillside, followed by our flocks, looking for an overhanging boulder
where we could take shelter. Thus it was for the first time that we
entered this blessed hollow among the rocks. It stood in the middle of
an olive grove belonging to my godfather Anastacio. From there you
could see the little village where I was born, my parents home, and the
hamlets of Casa Velha and Eira da Pedra. The olive grove, owned by
several people, extended to within the confines of the hamlets
themselves.
We spent the day there, among the rocks, in spite of the fact that
the rain was over and the sun was shining bright and clear. We ate our
lunch and said our Rosary. I am not sure whether we said it that day,
in the way I have already described it to Your Excellency, saying the
word Hail Mary, and Our Father on each bead, so great was our
eagerness to play! Our prayer finished, we started to play Pebbles. We
had enjoyed the game for a few moments only, when a strong wind
began to shake the trees. We looked up startled, to see what was
happening, for the day was unusually calm. Then we saw coming
towards us, above the olive trees, the figure I have already spoken
about. Jacinta and Francisco had never seen it before, nor had I ever

51

mentioned it to them. As it drew closer, we were able to distinguish its

features. It was a young man, about fourteen or fifteen years old,
whiter than snow, transparent as crystal when the sun shines through
it, and of great beauty. On reaching us, he said: Do not be afraid! I
am the Angel of Peace. Pray with me.
Kneeling on the ground, he bowed down until his forehead
touched the ground, and made us repeat these words three times: My
God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love You! I ask pardon of You for
those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love
You. Then rising he said: Pray thus. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary
are attentive to the voice of your supplications. His words engraved
themselves so deeply on our minds that we could never forget them.
From then on, we used to spend long periods of time, prostrate like the
Angel, repeating his words, until sometimes we fell exhausted. I
warned my companions, right away, that this must be kept secret and,
thank God, they did what I wanted.
Some time passed, and summer came, when we had to go home
for the siesta. One day, we were playing on the stone slabs of the well
at the bottom of the garden belonging to my parents, which we called
the Arneiro (I have already mentioned this well to Your Excellency in
my account of Jacinta). Suddenly, we saw beside us the same figure,
or rather, Angel, as it seemed to me. What are you doing? he asked.
Pray, pray very much! The most Holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary have
designs of mercy on you. Offer prayers and sacrifices constantly to the
most High. How are we to make sacrifices? I asked. Make of
everything you can a sacrifice, and offer it to God as an act of
reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and in supplication
for the conversion of sinners. You will thus draw down peace upon
your country. I am its Guardian Angel, the Angel of Portugal. Above
all, accept and bear with submission, the suffering which the Lord will
send you. A considerable time had elapsed, when one day we went to
pasture our sheep on a property belonging to my parents, which lay on
the slope of the hill I have mentioned, a little higher up than Valinhos.
It is an olive grove called Pregueira. After our lunch, we decided to go
and pray in the hollow among the rocks on the opposite side of the
hill. To get there we went around the slope, and had to climb over
some rocks above Pregueira. The sheep could only scramble over
these rocks with great difficulty.

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As soon as we arrived there, we knelt down, with our foreheads

touching the ground, and began to repeat the prayer of the Angel: My
God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love You, I ask pardon for those
who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love You. I
dont know how many times we had repeated this prayer, when an
extraordinary light shone upon us. We sprang up to see what was
happening, and beheld the Angel. He was holding a Chalice in his left
hand, with the Host suspended above it, from which some drops of
Blood fell into the Chalice. Leaving the Chalice suspended in the air,
the Angel knelt down beside us and made us repeat three times: Most
Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly,
and I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of
Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation
for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference with which He Himself is
offended. And through the infinite merits of His most Sacred Heart,
and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You the conversion of
poor sinners. Then rising, he took the Chalice and the Host in his
hands. He gave the Sacred Host to me, and shared the Blood from the
Chalice between Jacinta and Francisco, saying as he did so: Take and
drink the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, horribly outraged by
ungrateful men! Make reparation for their crimes and console your
God. Once again, he prostrated on the ground and repeated with us,
three times more, the same prayer, Most Holy Trinity and then
disappeared. We remained a long time in this position, repeating the
same words over and over again. When at last we stood up, we
noticed that it was already dark, and therefore time to return home.
Trouble At Home
Here I am Your Excellency, at the end of my three years as
shepherdess, from the time I was seven until I was ten years old.
During these three years, our home and, I would venture to say, our
parish as well, underwent an almost total change. Reverend Father
Pena was no longer our parish priest, and had been replaced by
Reverend Father Boicinha. When this most zealous priest learned that
such a pagan custom as endless dancing was only too common in the
parish, he promptly began to preach against it from the pulpit in his
Sunday sermons. In public and in private, he lost no opportunity of
attacking this bad custom. As soon as my mother heard this good

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priest speak in this fashion, she forbade my sisters to attend such

amusements. As my sisters example led others also to refrain from
attending, this custom gradually died out. The same thing happened
among the children, who used to get up their little dances apart, as I
have already explained to Your Excellency, when writing about my
cousin Jacinta.
Apropos of this, somebody remarked one day to my mother:
Up to now, it was no sin to go to dances, but just because we have a
new parish priest, it is a sin. How could that be? I dont know my
mother replied: All I know is that the priest does not want dancing,
so my daughters are not going to such gatherings any more. At most, I
would let them dance a bit within the family, because the priest says
theres no harm in that. During this period, my two eldest sisters left
home, after receiving the sacrament of matrimony. My father had
fallen into bad company, and let his weakness get the better of him,
this meant the loss of some of our property. When my mother realized
that our means of livelihood were diminishing, she resolved to send
my two sisters. Gloria and Carolina, out to work as servants. At home,
there remained only my brother, to look after our few remaining
fields; my mother, took care of the house and myself, to take our
sheep out to pasture. My poor mother seemed just drowned in the
depths of distress. When we gathered around the fire at night time,
waiting for my father to come into supper, my mother would look at
her daughters empty places and exclaim with profound sadness: My
God, where has all of the joy of our home gone? Then, resting her
head on a little table beside her, she would burst into tears. My brother
and I wept with her.
It was one of the saddest scenes I have ever witnessed. What
with longing for my sisters, and seeing my mother so miserable, I felt
my heart was just breaking. Although I was only a child, I understood
perfectly the situation we were in. Then I remembered the Angels
words: Above all, accept submissively the sacrifices that the Lord
will send you. At such times, I used to withdraw to a solitary place,
so as not to add to my mothers suffering, by letting her see my own.
This place was usually our well. There on my knees, leaning over the
edge of the stone slabs that covered the well, my tears mingled with
the waters below and I offered my suffering to God. Sometimes
Jacinta and Francisco would come and find me like this, in bitter grief.

54

As my voice was choked with sobs and I could not say a word,
they shared my suffering to such a degree that they also wept copious
tears. Then Jacinta made our offering aloud: My God, it is an act of
reparation, and for the conversion of sinners, that we offer you all
these sufferings and sacrifices. The formula of the offering was not
always exact but the meaning was always the same.
So much suffering began to undermine my mothers health. She
was no longer able to work, so she sent for my sister Gloria to come
and take care of her, and look after the house as well. All the surgeons
and doctors around were consulted. We had recourse to every kind of
remedy, but there was no improvement whatsoever. The good parish
priest kindly offered to take my mother to Leiria in his mule cart, to
consult the doctors there. Accompanied by my sister Teresa, she went
to Leiria. But she arrived home half dead from such a journey, worn
out after so many consultations, and having obtained no beneficial
results of any kind. Finally a surgeon in S. Mamede was consulted. He
declared that my mother had a cardiac lesion, a dislocated spinal
vertebra and fallen kidneys. He perscribed for her a rigirius treatment
of red-hot needles and various kinds of medication, and this brought
about some improvement of her condition.
This is how things were with us when the 13th of May, 1917
arrived. It was around this time also that my brother reached the age
for enlistment into the army. As his health was excellent, there was
every reason to expect that he would be accepted. Besides, there was a
war on, and it would be difficult to obtain his exemption from military
service. My mother being afraid of being left alone with no one to
look after the land, sent also for my sister Carolina to come home.
Meanwhile, my brothers godfather promised to obtain his exemption.
He put in a word with the doctor responsible for his medical
examination and thus the good Lord deigned to grant my mother this
relief.
Apparitions of Our Lady
I will not delay now describing the Apparition of May 13th. It is
well known to Your Excellency, and it would therefore be a waste of
time for me to go into it here. You also know how my mother came to
be aware of what happened, and how she spared no efforts to make me

55

admit that I had lied. We agreed never to reveal to anyone the words
Our Lady spoke to us that day. After having promised to take us to
Heaven, she asked: Are you willing to offer yourselves to God to
bear all the sufferings He will send you, as an act of reparation for the
sins by which He is offended, and of supplication for the conversion
of sinners? Yes we are willing, was our reply. Then, you are
going to have much to suffer, but the grace of God will be your
comfort.
The 13th of June, Feast of St Anthony, was always a day of
great festivals in our parish. On that day, we usually let out the flocks
very early in the morning, and at nine oclock we shut them up in their
pens again, and went off to the festa. My mother and my sisters, who
knew how much I loved a festa, kept saying to me: Weve yet to see
if youll leave the festa just to go to the Cova da Ira, and talk to that
Lady! On the day itself nobody said a single word to me. Insofar as I
was concerned, they acted as if they were saying: Leave her alone;
and well soon see what shell do!
I let out my flock at daybreak, intending to put them back in the
pen at nine, go to Mass at ten, and after that go to the Cova da Ira. But
the sun was no sooner up than my brother came to call me. He told me
to go back home, as there were several people there wanting to speak
to me. He himself stayed with the flock, and I went to see what they
wanted. I found some women, and men too, who had come from such
places as Minde, from around Tomar, Carrascos, Boleiros, etc. They
wished to accompany me to the Cova da Iria. I told them that it was
early yet and invited them to the eight o clock Mass. After that, I
returned home. These good people waited for me out in the yard, in
the shade of our fig trees. My mother and my sisters persisted in their
contemptuos attitude, and this cut me to the heart, and was indeed as
hurtful to me as insults. Around eleven oclock, I left home and called
at my uncles house, where Jacinta and Francisco were waiting for
me. Then we sent off for the Cova da Iria, in expectation for the
longed-for moment. All those people followed us, asking a thousand
questions. On that day, I was overwhelmed with bitterness. I could see
that my mother was deeply distressed, and that she wanted at all costs
to compel me, as she put it, to admit that I had lied. I wanted so much
to do as she wished, but the only way I could do so was to tell a lie.
From the cradle, she had instilled into her children a great horror of

56

lying, and she used to chastise severely anyone of us who told an

untruth.
I have seen to it, she often said, that my children always told
the truth, and am I now to let the youngest get away with a thing like
this? If it were a small just a small thing! But a lie of such
proportions, deceiving so many people and bringing them all the way
here! After these bitter complaints, she would turn to me, saying:
Make up your mind which you want! Either undo all this deception
by telling these people that youve lied, or Ill lock you up in a dark
room where you wont even see the light of the sun. After all the
troubles Ive been through, and now a thing like this to happen! My
sisters all sided with my mother, and all around me the atmosphere
was one of utter scorn and contempt.
Then I would remember the old days, and ask myself: Where is
all that affection now, that my family had for me just such a short
while ago? My one relief was to weep before the Lord, as I offered
Him this sacrifice. It was on this very day that in addition to what I
have already narrated, Our Lady, as though guessing what was going
on, said to me: Are you suffering a great deal? Dont loose heart. I
will never forsake you. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and
the way that will lead you to God.
When Jacinta saw me in tears, she tried to console me, saying:
Dont cry. Surely, these are the sacrifices which the Angel said that
God was going to send us. Thats why you are suffering, so that you
can make reparation to Him and convert sinners.
Lucias Doubts and Temptatations
Around that time, our parish priest came to know of what was
happening, and sent word to my mother to take me to his house. My
mother felt she could breathe again, thinking the priest was going to
take responsibility for these events on himself. She therefore said to
me: Tomorrow, were going to Mass, first thing in the morning.
Then, you are going to the Reverend Fathers house. Just let him
compel you to tell the truth, no matter how he does it; let him punish

57

you; let them do whatever he likes with you, just so long as he forces
you to admit that you have lied; and then Ill be satisfied.
My sisters took my mothers part and invented endless threats,
just to frighten me about the interview with the parish priest. I told
Jacinta and her brother all about it. Were going also, they replied,
The Reverend Father told our mother to take us there too, but she
didnt say any of those things to us. Never Mind! If they beat us, well
suffer for love of Our Lord and for sinners. Next day I walked behind
my mother, who did not address a single word to me the whole way. I
must admit that I was trembling at the thought of what was going to
happen. During Mass, I offered my suffering to God. Afterwards, I
followed my mother out of the church over the priests house, and
started up the stairs leading to the verandah. We had climbed only a
few steps, when my mother turned round and exclaimed: Dont
annoy me any more! Tell the Reverend Father now that you have lied,
so that on Sunday he can say in the church that it was all a lie, and that
will be the end of the whole affair. A nice business, this is! All the
crowd running to the Cove da Iria, just to pray in front of a holm oak
bush!
Without more ado, she knocked on the door. The good priests
daughter opened the door and invited us to sit down on a bench and
wait a while. At last, the parish priest appeared. He took us into his
study, motioned my mother to take a seat, and beckoned me over to
his desk. When I found that his Reverence was questioning me quite
calmly, and with such a kindly manner, I was amazed. I was still
fearful, however, of what was yet to come. The interrogation was very
minute and, I would venture to say, tiresome. His Reverence
concluded with this brief observation: It doesnt seem to me like a
revelation from Heaven. It is usual in such cases for Our Lord to tell
the souls to whom He makes such communications to give their
confessor or parish priest an account of what has happened. But this
child. on the contrary, keeps it to herself as far as she can. This may
also be a deceit of the devil. We shall see. The future will show us
what we are to think about it all.

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Encouragement from Jacinta and Francisco

How much this reflection made me suffer, only God knows, for
He alone can penetrate our inmost heart. I began then to have doubts
as to whether these manifestations might be from the devil, who was
seeking by these means to make me lose my soul. As I heard people
say that the devil always brings conflict and disorder, I began to think
that, truly, ever since I had started seeing these things, our home was
no longer the same, for joy and peace had fled. What anguish I felt! I
made known my doubts to my cousins. No, its not the devil!
replied Jacinta, not at all! They say that the devil is very ugly and
that he is down under the ground in hell. But that Lady is so beautiful,
and we saw Her go up to Heaven!
Our Lord made use of this to allay somewhat the doubts I had.
But during the course of that month, I lost all enthusiasm for making
sacrifices and acts of mortification, and ended up hesitating as to
whether it would be better to say that I had been lying, and so put an
end to the whole thing. Dont do that! exclaimed Jacinta and
Francisco. Dont you see that now you are going to tell a lie, and to
tell lies is a sin? While in this state of mind, I had a dream which
only increased the darkness of my spirit. I saw the devil laughing at
having deceived me, as he tried to drag me down to hell. On finding
myself in his clutches I began to scream so loudly and call on Our
Lady for help that I awakened my mother. She called out to me in
alarm, and asked me what was the matter. I cant recall what I told
her, but I do remember that I was so paralyzed with fear that I
couldnt sleep anymore that night. This dream left my soul clouded
over with real fear and anguish. My one relief was to go off by myself
to some solitary place, there to weep to my hearts content. Even the
company of my cousins began to seem burdensome, and for that
reason I began to hide from them as well. The poor children! At times
they would search for me, calling out my name and receiving no
answer, but I was there all the while, hidden right close to them in
some corner where they never thought of looking.
The 13th of July was close at hand, and I was still doubtful as to
whether I should go. I thought to myself: If it is the devil, why should
I go to see him? If they ask me why Im not going, Ill say that Im
afraid it might be the devil who is appearing to us, and for that reason

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Im not going back to the Cova da Iria anymore. My decision made, I

was firmly resolved to act on it.
By the evening of the 12th, the people were already gathering, in
anticipation of the events of the following day. I therefore called
Jacinta and Francisco, and told them of my resolution. Were going,
they answered: The Lady said we were to go. Jacinta volunteered to
speak to the Lady, but she was so upset over my not going, that she
started to cry. I asked her for the reason for her tears. Because you
dont want to go! No, Im not going. Listen! If the Lady asks for
me, tell her Im not going, because I am afraid that it may be the
devil. I left them then, to go and hide, and so avoid having to speak
to all the people who came looking for me to ask questions. My
mother thought I was playing with the children of the village, when all
the time I was hidden behind the bramble bushes in a neighbors
property which adjoined the Arneiro, a little to the east of the well
which I have mentioned so many times already. She scolded me, as
soon as I got home that night: A fine little plaster saint arent you, to
be sure! All the time you have left from minding the sheep, you do
nothing but play, and whats more you have to do it in such a way that
nobody can find you!
On the following day, when it was nearly time to leave, I
suddenly felt I had to go, impelled by a strange force that I could
hardly resist. Then I set out, and called at my uncles house to see if
Jacinta was still there. I found her in her room, together with her
brother Francisco, kneeling beside the bed, crying. Arent you going
then? I asked. Not without you! We dont dare. Do come! Yes,
Im going, I replied. Their faces lightened up with joy, and they set
out with me. Crowds of people were waiting for us along the road, and
only with difficulty did we finally get there. This was the day on
which Our Lady deigned to reveal to us the Secret. After that, to
revive my flagging fervor, She said to us: Sacrifice yourselves for
sinners, and say many times to Jesus, especially when you make some
sacrifice: O Jesus, it is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners,
and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart
of Mary.

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Lucias Mother Has Doubts

Thanks to Our good Lord, this apparition dispelled the clouds
from my soul and my peace was restored. My poor mother worried
more and more, as she saw the crowds who came flocking from all
parts. These poor people, she said, come here, taken in by your
trickery, you can be sure of that, and I really dont know what I can do
to undeceive them. A poor man who boasted of making fun of us, of
insulting us, and even going so far as to beat us, asked my mother one
day: Well maam, what have you got to say about your daughters
visions? I dont know, she answered, It seems to me that shes
nothing but a fake, who is leading half the world astray. Dont say
that out loud, or somebodys likely to kill her. I think there are people
around here, whod only be too glad to do so. Oh, I dont care, just
so long as they force her to confess the truth. As for me, I always tell
the truth, whether against my children, or anybody else, or even
against myself.
And, truly, this was so. My mother always told the truth, even
against herself. We, her children, are indebted to her for this good
example. One day, she resolved to make a fresh attempt to compel me
to retract all that I had said, as she put it. She made up her mind to
take me back the very next day to the parish priests house. Once
there, I was to confess that I had lied, to ask his pardon, and to
perform whatever penance His Reverence thought fit or desired to
impose on me. This time the attack was so strong, that I did not know
what to do. On the way, as I passed my uncles house, I ran inside to
tell Jacinta, who was still in bed, what was taking place. Then I
hurried out and followed my mother. In my account about Jacinta, I
have already told Your Excellency about the part played by her and
her brother in this trial which the Lord had sent us, and how they
prayed as they waited for me at the well, and so on. As we walked
along, my mother preached me a fine sermon. At a certain point I said
to her trembling: But mother, how can I say that I did not see, when I
did see? My mother was silent. As we drew near the priests house,
she declared: Just you listen to me! What I want is that you should
tell the truth. If you saw, say so! But if you didnt see, admit you
lied.
Without another word, we climbed the stairs, and the good priest
received us in his study with the greatest and even I might almost say,

61

with affection. He questioned me seriously, but most courteously, and

resorted to various stratagems to see if I would contradict myself, or
be inconsistent in my statements. Finally he dismissed us, shrugging
his shoulders, as if to imply: I dont know what to make of all this!
The Administrators Threats
Not many days later, our parents were notified to the effect that
all three of us, Jacinta, Francisco and myself, together with our fathers
were to appear at a given hour on the following day before the
Administration in Vils Nova Ourem. This meant that we had to make
a journey of about nine miles, a considerable distance for three small
children. The only means of transport in those days was either our
own two feet or to ride on a donkey. My uncle sent word right away
that he would appear himself but as for his children, he was not taking
them. Theyd never stand the trip on foot, he said: And not being
used to riding, they could never manage to stay on the donkey. And
anyway, theres no sense in bringing two children like that before a
court. My parents thought the opposite: My daughter is going. Let
her answer for herself! As for me, I understand nothing of these
things. If she is lying then it is a good thing that she should be
punished for it.
Very early the next morning, they put me on a donkey and off I
went, accompanied by my father and my uncle. I fell off the donkey
three times along the way. I think I have already told you Your
Excellency, how much Jacinta and Francisco suffered that day
thinking I was going to be killed. As for me, what hurt me most was
the indifference shown me by my parents. This was all the more
obvious, since I could see how affectionally my aunt and uncle treated
their children. I remember thinking to myself as we went along: How
different my parents are from my uncle and aunt. They risk
themselves to defend their children, while my parents hand me over
with the greatest indifference, and let them do what they like with me!
But I must be patient. I reminded myself in my inmost heart: since
this means I have the happiness of suffering more for love of You, O
my God, and for the conversion of sinners. This reflection never
failed to bring me consolation.

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At the Administration office, I was interrogated by the

Administrator, in the presence of my father, my uncle and several
other gentlemen who were strangers to me. The Administrator was
determined to force me to reveal the secret and to promise him never
to return to the Cova da Iria. To attain his end, he spared neither
promises nor even threats. Seeing he was getting nowhere, he
dismissed me, protesting however, that he would achieve his end,
even if it meant that he had to take my life. He then strongly
reprimanded my uncle for not having carried out his orders, and
finally let us go home.
Trouble in Lucias Family
In the intimacy of my own family, there was fresh trouble, and
the blame for this was thrown on me. The Cova da Iria ws a piece of
land belonging to my parents. In the hollow it was more fertile, and
there we cultivated maize, greens, peas and other vegetables. On the
slopes grew olive trees, oaks and holm oaks. Now, ever since the
people began to go there, we had been unable to cultivate anything at
all. Everything was trampled on. As the majority came mounted, their
animals ate up all they could find and wrecked the whole place. My
mother bewailed her loss: You know, she said to me, when you
want something to eat, go and ask the Lady for it! My sisters chimed
in with; Yes, you can have what grows in the Cova da Iria!
These remarks cut me to the heart, so much so that I hardly
dared to take a piece of bread to eat. To force me to tell the truth, as
she said, my mother, more often than not, beat me soundly with the
broom-handle or a stick from the wood pile near the fireplace. But in
spite of this, mother that she was, she then tried to revive my failing
strength. She was full of concern when she saw me so thin and pale,
and feared I might fall sick. Poor mother! Now, indeed, that I
understand what her situation really was, how sorry I feel for her!
Truly, she was right to judge me unworthy of such a favour, and
therefore to think I was lying.
By a special grace from our Lord, I never experienced the
slightest thought or feeling of resentment regarding her manner of
acting towards me. As the Angel announced that God would send me
sufferings, I always saw the hand of God in it all. The love, esteem

63

and respect which I owed her, went on increasing, just as though I

were most dearly cherished. And now, I am more grateful to her for
having treated me like this, than if she had continued to surround me
with endearments and caresses.
Lucias First Spiritual Director
It seems to me that it was in the course of this month that Rev.
Dr. Formigao came for the first time to question me. His interrogation
was serious and detailed. I liked him very much, for he spoke to me a
great deal about the practice of virtue and taught me various ways of
exercising myself in it. He showed me a holy picture of St. Agnes,
told me about her martyrdom and encouraged me to imitate her. His
Reverence continued to come every month for an interrogation, and
always ended up giving me some good advice, which was of help to
me spiritually. One day he said to me: My child, you must love Our
Lord very much, in return for so many favours and graces that He is
granting you.
These words made such an impression on my soul that, from
then on, I acquired the habit of constantly saying, My God, I love
you, in thanksgiving for the graces which You have granted me. I so
loved this ejaculation, that I passed it on to Jacinta and her brother,
who took it so much to heart that in the middle of the most exciting
games, Jacinta would ask: Have you been forgetting to tell Our Lord
how much you love Him for the graces He has given us?
Imprisonment at Ourem
Meanwhile the 13th day of August had dawned. Ever since the
previous evening, crowds had been pouring in from all parts. They all
wanted to see and question us, and recommended their petitions to us,
so that we could submit them to the most Holy Virgin. In the middle
of all that crowd, we were like a ball in the hands of boys at play. We
were pulled hither and thither, everyone asking us questions without
giving us a chance to answer anybody. In the midst of all this
commotion, an order came from the Administrator, telling me to go to
my aunts house, where he was awaiting me. My father got the
notification and it was he who took me there. When I arrived, he was

64

in a room with my cousins. He interrogated us there, and made fresh

attempts to force us to reveal the secret and to promise that we would
not go back to the Cova da Iria. As he achieved nothing, he gave
orders to my father and my uncle to take us to the parish priests
house.
I will not delay now to tell Your Excellency about everything
else that happened during our imprisonment, for you already know it
all. As I previously explained to Your Excellency, what I felt most
deeply and what caused me most suffering on that occasion was my
being completely abandoned by my family; and it was the same for
my little cousins. After this journey of imprisonment, for I really dont
know what to call it, I returned home, as far as I can remember, on the
15th of August. To celebrate my arrival, they sent me right away to let
out the sheep and take them off to pasture. My uncle and aunt wanted
their children to stay with them at home, and therefore sent their
brother John in their place. As it was already late, we stayed in the
vicinity of our little hamlet, at a place called Valinhos.
What happened next is also known to Your Excellency:
therefore I will not delay here to describe this either. Once again the
Blessed Virgin recommended to us the practice of mortification, and
ended up by saying: Pray, pray very much, and make sacrifices for
sinners; for many souls go to hell, because there are none to sacrifice
themselves and to pray for them.
Penances and Sufferings
Some days later, as we were walking along the road with our
sheep, I found a piece of rope that had fallen off a cart. I picked it up
and, just for fun, I tied it around my arm. Before long, I noticed that
the rope was hurting me. Look, this hurts! I said to my cousins. We
could tie it round our waist and offer this sacrifice to God. The poor
children promptly fell in with my suggestion. We then set about
dividing it between the three of us, by placing it across a stone and
striking it with the sharp edge of another one that served as a knife.
Either because of the thickness or roughness of the rope, or sometimes
we tied it too tightly, this instrument of penance often caused us
terrible suffering. Now and then, Jacinta could not keep back her tears,
so great was the discomfort this caused her. Whenever I urged her to

65

remove it, she replied: No! I want to offer this sacrifice to Our Lord
in reparation, and for the conversion of sinners.
Another day we were playing, picking little plants off the wall
and pressing them in our hands to hear them crack. While Jacinta was
plucking these plants, she happened to catch hold of some nettles and
stung herself. She no sooner felt the pain than she squeezed them
more tightly in her hands, and said to us: Look! Look! Here is
something else with which we can mortify ourselves! From that time
on, we used to hit our legs occasionally with nettles, so as to offer to
God yet another sacrifice. If I am not mistaken, it was also during this
month that we acquired the habit of giving our lunch to our little poor
children, as I have already described to Your Excellency in the
account about Jacinta. It was during this month too, that my mother
began to feel a little more at peace. She would say: If there were just
one more person who had seen something, why then, I might believe!
But among all those people, theyre the only ones who saw anything!
Now, during this past month, various people were saying that
they had seen different things. Some had seen Our Lady, others,
various signs in the sun, and so on. My mother declared: I used to
think before, that if there were just one other person who saw
anything, then Id believe; but now, so many people say they have
seen something, and I still dont believe! My father also began, about
then, to come to my defense, and to silence those who started scolding
me; as he used to say: We dont know if its true, but neither do we
know if its a lie. Then it was my uncle and aunt, wearied out by the
troublesome demands of all these outsiders who were continually
wanting to see us and speak to us, began to send their son John out to
pasture the flock, and they themselves remained home with Jacinta
and Francisco. Shortly afterwards, they ended by selling the sheep
altogether.
As I did not enjoy any other company, I started to go out alone
with my sheep. As Ive already told Your Excellency, whenever I
happened to be nearby, Jacinta and her brother would come to join
me; and when the pasture was at a distance they would be waiting for
me on the way home. I can truly say that these were really happy days.
Alone, in the midst of my sheep, whether on the tops of the hills or in
the depths of the valleys below, I contemplated the beauty of the
Heavens and thanked the good God for all the graces He had bestowed

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on me. When the voice of one of my sisters broke in on my solitude,

calling me to go back home to talk to some person or other who had
come looking for me, I felt a keen displeasure, and my only
consolation was to be able to offer up to our dear Lord yet another
sacrifice. On a certain day, three gentlemen came to speak to us. After
questioning, which was anything but pleasant, they took their leave
with this remark: See that you decide to tell that secret of yours. If
you dont, the Administrator has every intention of taking your lives!
Jacinta, her face lighting up with a joy that she made no effort to hide,
said: How wonderful! I so love Our Lord and Our Lady, and this way
well be seeing them soon! The rumor got round that the
Administrator had every intention to kill us. This led my aunt, who
was married and lived in Casais, to come to our house with the
express purpose of taking us home with her, for, as she explained: I
live in another district and, therefore, this Administrator cannot lay
hands on you there. But her plan was never carried out, because we
were unwilling to go, and replied: If they kill us, its all the same!
Well go to heaven!
September 13th
Now the 13th of September was drawing near, in addition to
what I have already related. Our Lady said to us on this day: God is
pleased with your sacrifices, but He does not want you to sleep with
the rope on; only wear it during the day. Needless to say, we
promptly obeyed His orders. Since it seemed Our Lord had a month
before, He wished to give some visible sign out of the ordinary, my
mother eagerly hoped that, on this day, such signs would be still more
clear and evident. The good Lord, however, perhaps to give us the
opportunity to offer Him yet another sacrifice, permitted that no ray of
His glory should appear on this day. My mother lost heart once more,
and the persecution at home began all over again.
She had indeed many reasons to be so upset. The Cova da Iria
was now a total loss, not only as a fine pasture for our flock, but even
as regards the eatables we had grown there. Added to this was my
mothers almost certain conviction, as she expressed it, that the events
themselves were nothing but foolish fancies and mere childish
imaginings. One of my sisters did scarcely anything else but go and

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call me, and take my place with the flock, while I went to speak to the
people who were asking to see me and talk with me.
This waste of time would have meant nothing to a wealthy
family, but for ourselves who had to live by our work, it meant a great
deal. After some time, my mother found herself obliged to sell our
flock, and this made no small difference to the support of the family. I
was blamed for the whole thing, and at critical moments, it was all
flung in my face. I hope Our dear Lord has accepted it all from me, for
I offered it to Him always happy to be able to sacrifice myself for Him
and for sinners. On her part, my mother endured everything with
heroic patience and resignation: and if she reprimanded me and
punished me it was because she really thought that I was lying. She
was completely resigned to the crosses which Our Lord was sending
her, and at times she would say: Could it be that all this is Gods
work, in punishment for my sins? If so, then blessed be God!
Lucias Spirit of Sacrifice
A neighbour took it on herself one day, why I do not know, to
remark that some gentleman had given me some money, though I
cannot remember how much. Without more ado, my mother called me
and asked for it. When I told her I hadnt received any, she wanted to
force me to hand it over to her, and to this end, had recourse to the
broom-handle. When the dust had been well beaten out of my clothes,
Carolina, one of my sisters, intervened, along with a girl from our
neighbourhood, called Virginia. They said they had been present at the
interrogation, and they had seen that the gentleman had actually given
me nothing at all. Thanks to their defending me, I was able to slip
away to my beloved well, and there offer another sacrifice to Our
Good Lord.
A Tall Visitor
If I am not mistaken, it was also during this month that a young
man made his appearance at our home. He was of such tall stature that
I trembled with fear. when I saw he had to bend down in order to
come through the doorway in search of me. I thought I must be in the
presence of a German. At that time we were at war, and grown ups

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would try to frighten children by saying: Here comes a German to

kill you. I thought, therefore, that my last hour had come. My fright
did not pass unnoticed, by the young man, who sought to calm me; he
made me sit on his knee and questioned me with great kindness. His
interrogation over, he asked my mother to let me go and show him the
site of the apparitions, and pray with him there. He obtained the
desired permission and off we went. But all along the way, I trembled
with fear at finding myself alone with a stranger. Then I began to feel
tranquil again at the thought that if he killed me, I would go and see
Our Lord and Lady. On arriving at the place, he knelt down and asked
me to pray the Rosary with Him to obtain a special grace from Our
Lady that he greatly desired; that a certain young lady would consent
to receive him in the sacrament of matrimony. I wondered at such a
request, and thought to myself, If she has as much fear of him as I,
she will never say yes! When the Rosary was over, the good young
man accompanied me most of the way home, and then bade me a
friendly farewell, recommending his request to me again. I ran off
helter skelter to my aunts house, still afraid he might turn around and
come back!
What was my surprise then, on the 13th of October, when I
suddenly found myself after the apparitions, in the arms of this same
person, sailing along over the heads of people. It actually served to
satisfy the curiosity of everybody who wanted to see me! After a little
while, the good man, who was unable to see where he was going,
stumbled and fell. I didnt fall, as I was caught in the crush of people
who pressed around me. Right away, others took hold of me, and this
gentleman disappeared. It was not until sometime later that he
appeared again, this time accompanied by the aforesaid girl, who was
now his wife! He came to thank the Blessed Virgin for the grace
received, and to ask Her copious blessings on their future. This young
man is today Dr. Carlos Mendes of Torres Novas.
October 13th
Now Your Excellency, here we are at the 13th October. You
already know all that happened on that day. Of all the words spoken at
this Apparition, the ones most deeply engraved upon my heart were
those of the request made by our Heavenly Mother: Do not offend
Our Lord and God any more, because He is already so much

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offended! How loving a complaint, how tender a request! Who will

grant me to make it echo through the whole world, so that all the
children of Our Mother in Heaven may hear the sound of her voice!
The rumour had spread that the authorities intended to explode a
bomb quite close to the Apparition. This did not frighten me in the
least. I spoke of it to my cousins. How wonderful! We exclaimed:
If we were granted the grace of going up to Heaven from there,
together with Our Lady! My parents, however, were very much
afraid, and for the first time they wished to accompany me, saying that
if their daughter was going to die, they wanted to die by her side. My
father then took me by the hand to the place of the Apparitions. But
from the moment of the Apparition itself, I did not set eyes on him
again until I was back home with the family that night.
I spent the afternoon of that day with my cousins. We were like
some curious creature that the multitudes wanted to see and observe.
By night time I was really exhausted after so many questions and
interrogations. These did not even end with nightfall. Several people,
who had been unable to question me, remained over till the following
day, awaiting their turn. Some of them even tried to talk to me that
night, but, overcome by weariness, I just dropped down and fell asleep
on the floor. Thank God, human respect and self-love were, at the
time, still unknown to me. For that reason, I was as much at ease with
any person at all, as I was with my parents.
On the following days, or rather, to be accurate, on the
following days, the questionings continued. Almost every day, from
then on, people went to the Cova da Iria to implore the protection of
our heavenly Mother. Everybody wanted to see the seers, to put
questions to them, and to recite the Rosary with them. At times, I was
so tired of saying the same thing over and over again, and also of
praying, that I looked for any pretext for excusing myself, and making
my escape. But those poor people were so insistent, that I had to make
an effort, and indeed no small effort, in order to satisfy them. I then
repeated my usual prayer deep down in my heart: O my God, it is for
love of You, in reparation for the sins committed against the
Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the conversion of sinners, and for the
Holy Father!

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Questioned by Priests
In the account that I have written about my cousin, I have
already told Your Excellency how two holy priests came and spoke to
us about His Holiness, and told us of his great need of prayers. From
that time on, there was not a prayer or a sacrifice that we offered God
which did not include an invocation for His Holiness. We grew to love
the Holy Father so deeply, that when the parish priest told my mother
I would probably have to go to Rome to be interrogated by His
Holiness, I clapped my hands with joy and said to my cousins: Wont
it be wonderful if I can go and see the Holy Father! They burst into
tears and said: We cant go, but we can offer this sacrifice for him.
The parish priest questioned me for the last time. The events had
duly come to an end at the appointed time, and still His Reverence did
not know what to say about the whole affair. He was also beginning to
show his displeasure. Why are all those people going to prostrate
themselves in prayer in a deserted spot like that, while here the living
God of our altars, in the Blessed Sacrament, is left all alone,
abandoned, in the Tabernacle? Whats all the money for, the money
they leave under the holm oak, while the church, which is under
repairs, cannot be completed for lack of funds? I understood
perfectly why he spoke like that, but what could I do! If I had been
given the authority over the hearts of those people, I would certainly
have lead them to the parish church, but as I had not, I offered God yet
another sacrifice.
As Jacinta was in the habit of putting her head down, keeping
her eyes fixed on the ground and scarcely uttering a word during the
interrogations, I was usually called upon to satisfy the curiosity of the
pilgrims. For that reason, I was continually being summoned to the
house of the parish priest. On one occasion, a priest from Torres
Novas came to question me. When he did so, he went into such
minute details, and tried so hard to trip me up, that afterwards I felt
some scruples about having concealed certain things from him. I
consulted my cousin on the matter: I dont know, I asked them, if
we are doing wrong by not telling them everything, when they ask us
if Our Lady told us anything else, when we just say that She told us a
secret. I dont know whether we are lying or not, by saying nothing
about the rest. I dont know, replied Jacinta. That is up to you!

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Youre the one who does not want us to say anything. Of course I
dont want you to say anything. I answered. Why, theyll start
asking us what sort of mortifications we are practicing! And that
would be the last straw! Listen! If you had kept quiet, and not said a
word, nobody would have known by now that we saw Our Lady, or
spoke to Her, or to the Angel, and nobody needed to know it
anyway!
The poor child had no sooner heard my arguments than she
started to cry. Just as she did in May, she asked for my forgiveness in
the way I have already described in my account of her life. So I was
left with my scruple, and had no idea how I was to resolve my doubt.
A while later, another priest appeared: he was from Santarem. He
looked like a brother of the first Ive just spoken of, or at least they
seemed to have rehearsed things together, asking the same questions,
making the same attempts to trip me up, laughing and making fun of
me in the same way; in fact their very height and features were almost
identical. After the interrogation, my doubt was stronger than ever,
and I really did not know what course of action to follow. I constantly
pleaded with Our Lord and Our Lady to tell me what to do. O my
God and my dearest Mother in Heaven, you know that I do not want
to offend You by telling lies, but you know that it would not be right
to tell them all that you told me!
In the midst of this perplexity, I had the happiness of speaking to
the Vicar of Olival. I do not know why, but His Reverence inspired
me with confidence, and I confided my doubt to him. I have already
explained, in my account of Jacinta, how he taught us to keep our
secret. He also gave us some further instructions on the spiritual life.
Above all, he taught us to give pleasure to Our Lord in everything,
and how to offer Him countless little sacrifices. If you feel like eating
something my children, he would say: leave it and eat something
else instead: and thus offer a sacrifice to God. If you feel inclined to
play, do not do so, and offer to God another sacrifice. If people
question you, and you cannot avoid answering them, it is God who
wills it so: offer this sacrifice too.
This holy priest spoke a language that I could really understand,
and I loved him dearly. From then on, he never lost sight of my soul.
Now and then, he called in to see me, or kept in touch with me
through a pious widow called Sonora Emillia, who lived in a little

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hamlet near Olival! She was very devout and often went to pray at the
Cova de Iria. After that, she used to come to our house and ask them
to let me go and spend a few days with her. Then we paid a visit to the
Reverend Vicar who was kind enough to invite me to remain for two
or three days as company for one of his sisters. At such times, he was
patient enough to spend whole hours alone with me, teaching me the
practice of virtue and guiding me with his own wise counsels. Even at
the time I did not understand anything about spiritual direction, I can
truly say, that he was my first spiritual director. I cherish, therefore,
grateful and holy memories of this saintly priest.
After the Apparitions, Lucia Goes to School
Oh dear, here I am writing about rhyme or reason, as we say,
and already leaving various things that I should have said! But I am
doing as Your Excellency told me: writing just what I remember and
in all simplicity. That is what I want to do without worrying about
order or style. In that way, I think my obedience is more perfect, and
therefore more pleasing to Our Lord and to the Immaculate Heart of
Mary. I will go back, then, to my parents home. I have told Your
Excellency that my mother had to sell our flock. We kept only three
sheep, which we took along with us when we went to the fields.
Whenever we stayed at home, we kept them in the pen and fed them
there. My mother then sent me to school, and in my free time, she
wanted me to learn weaving and sewing. In this way, she had me safe
in the house, and didnt have to waste time looking for me.
One fine day, my sisters were asked to go with some other girls
to help with the vintage on the property of a wealthy man of Pe de
Cao. My mother decided to let them go, as long as I could go, too. I
have already said earlier on, that my mother never allowed them to go
anywhere, unless they took me with them.
Lucia and the Parish
At that time also, the parish priest began preparing the children
for a solemn Communion. Since the age of six, I had repeated my
solemn Communion every year, but this year my mother decided I
would not do so. For this reason I did not attend the Catechism

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classes. After school, the other children went to the parish priests
verandah, while I went home to get on with my sewing or weaving.
The good priest did not take kindly to my absence from the Catechism
classes.
One day on my way home from school, his sister sent another
child after me. She caught up with me on the road to Aljustrel, near
the house of a poor man who was nick-named Snail. She told me that
the parish priests sister wanted me, and that I was to go straight back.
Thinking that I was just wanted for questioning. I excused myself
saying that my mother had told me to go home right after school.
Without further ado, I took to my heels across the fields like a mad
thing, in search of a hiding place where no one could find me. But this
time the prank cost me dear. Some days later there was a big feast in
the parish, and several priests came from all around to sing the Mass.
When it was over, the parish priest sent for me, and in front of all
those priests, reprimanded me severely for not attending the
Catechism lessons, and for not running back to his sister when she had
sent for me. In short all my faults and failings were brought to light,
and the sermon went on for quite a long while. At last, though I dont
know how, a holy priest appeared on the scene, and sought to plead
my cause. He tried to excuse me saying that perhaps my mother had
not given me permission. But the good priest replied: Her mother!
Why, she is a saint! But as for this one, it remains to be seen what
shell turn out to be!
The good priest, who later became Vicar of Torres Novas, then
asked me very kindly why I had not been to the Catechism classes. I
therefore told him of my mothers decision. His Reverence did not
seem to believe me and sent for my sister Gloria, who was over by the
church, to find out the truth of the matter. Having found that indeed
things were just as I had said, he came to this conclusion: Well then!
Either the child is going to attend the Catechism classes for the days
still remaining and afterwards come to me for confession, and then
make her solemn Communion with all of the rest of the children, or
shes never going to receive Communion again in this parish! When
my sister heard this proposal, she pointed out that I was due to leave
with my sisters five days beforehand, and such arrangements would be
most inconvenient. She added that, if His Reverence so desired, I
could go to Confession and Communion some other day, before we

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left. The good priest paid no attention to her request, and stood firm
by his decision.
When we reached home, we told my mother all about it. She
also went to the Reverend Father to ask him to hear my confession
and give me Holy Communion on another day. But it was all in vain.
My mother then decided that, after the solemn Communion day, my
brother would make the journey with me, in spite of the long distance
and the difficulties caused by the extremely bad roads, winding up and
down the hills and highlands. I think I must have sweated ink at the
mere idea of having to go to confession to the parish priest! I was so
upset that I cried.
On the day before the solemn Communion, His Reverence sent
for all the children to go to church in the afternoon to make their
confession. As I went, anguish gripped my heart as in a vice. As I
entered the church I saw that there were several priests hearing
confessions. There at the end of the church was Reverend Father Cruz
from Lisbon. I had spoken to his Reverence before, and I liked him
very much indeed. Without noticing that the parish priest was in an
open confessional half way up the church, I thought to myself: First
Ill go and make my confession to Father Cruz and ask him what I am
to do, and then Ill go to the parish priest. Dr. Cruz received me with
the greatest kindness.
After hearing my confession, he gave me some advice, telling
me that if I do not want to go to the parish priest, I should not do so;
and that he could not refuse me Communion for something like that. I
was radiant with joy on hearing this advice and said my penance.
Then I made good my escape from the church, for fear lest somebody
might call me back. Next day, I went to the church all dressed in
white, still afraid that I might be refused Communion. But His
Reverence contented himself with letting me know that my lack of
obedience in going to confession with another priest, had not gone
unnoticed. The good priest grew more and more displeased and
perplexed concerning these events until, one day he left the parish.
The news then went round that His Reverence had left on account of
me, because he did not want to assume responsibility for these events.
He was a zealous priest and much beloved among the people, and so I
had much to suffer as a result. Several pious women, whenever they

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met me, gave vent to their displeasure by insulting me, and sometimes
sent me on my way with a couple of blows or kicks.
Companions in Sympathy and in Sacrifice
These heaven-sent caresses were rarely meted out to Jacinta and
Francisco, for their parents would not allow anyone to lay their hands
on them. But they suffered when they saw me suffering, and many a
time tears ran down their cheeks whenever they saw me distressed or
humiliated. One day, Jacinta said to me: If only my parents were like
yours, so that those people would beat me too, then Id have more
sacrifices to offer Our Lord. However she knew how to make the
most of opportunities for mortifying herself. Occasionally also, we
were in the habit of offering God the sacrifice of spending nine days
or a month without taking a drink. Once we made this sacrifice even
in the month of August, when the weather was suffocating.
As we were returning one day from the Cova da Iria where we
had been praying our Rosary, we came to a pond beside the road, and
Jacinta said to me: Oh Im so thirsty, and my head aches so! Im
going to drink a little drop of this water. Not that water I answered:
My mother doesnt want us to drink it, because it is not good for us.
Well go and ask Maria dos Anjos for some. (She was a neighbour of
ours, who had been recently married and was living near there in a
small house). No! I dont want good water. Id rather drink this,
because instead of offering Our Lord our thirst, I could offer Him the
sacrifice of drinking this dirty water. As a matter of fact, this water
was filthy. People washed their clothes in it, and the animals came
there to drink and waded right into it. That was why my mother
warned her children not to drink this water.
At other times, Jacinta would say: Our Lord must be pleased
with our sacrifices, because I am so thirsty, so thirsty! Yet I do not
want to take a drink. I want to suffer for love of Him. One day, we
were sitting in the doorway of my uncles house, when we noticed
several people approaching. Not having time to do anything else,
Francisco and I ran inside to hide under the beds, he in one room and I
in another. Jacinta said: Im not going to hide. I am going to offer
this sacrifice to Our Lord. These people came up and talked to her,
waiting around quite a long time until I could be found. Finally they

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went away. I slipped out of my hiding place and asked Jacinta: What
did you answer when they asked if you knew where we were? I said
nothing at all. I put my head down, kept my eyes fixed on the ground,
and said nothing. I always do that, when I dont want to tell the truth;
and I dont want to tell a lie either, because lying is a sin.
She was indeed accustomed to do just this, and it was useless to
question her if those who did so obtained no response whatsoever. If
escape were at all possible, we normally felt little inclined to offer this
kind of sacrifice. Another day, we were sitting in the shade of two fig
trees overhanging the road that runs by my cousins house. Francisco
began to play a little way off. He saw several ladies coming towards
us and ran back to warn us. We promptly climbed up the fig trees. In
those days it was the fashion to wear hats with brims as wide as a
sieve, and we were sure with such head gear, those people would
never catch sight of us up there. As soon as the ladies had gone by, we
came down as fast as we could, took to our heels and hid in the
cornfield.
This habit we had of making good our escape, whenever
possible, was yet another cause for complaint on the part of the parish
priest. He bitterly complained of the way we tried to avoid priests in
particular. His Reverence was certainly right. It was priests especially
who put us through the most rigorous cross-examinations, and then
returned to question us all over again. Whenever we found ourselves
in the presence of a priest, we prepared to offer to God one of our
greatest sacrifices!
Government Opposition
Meanwhile, the Government showed disapproval of the way
affairs were progressing. At the place of the Apparitions some people
had erected poles to form an arch, hung with lanterns which they were
careful to keep always burning. One night orders were given for some
men to pull down these poles, and also cut down the holm oak on
which the Apparitions had taken place, and drag it away with them
behind a car. In the morning, news of what had happened spread like
wildfire. I ran to the place to see if it were true. But what was my
delight to find that the poor men had made a mistake, and that instead
of cutting down the holm oak, they had carried off one of the others

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growing nearby! I then asked Our Lady to forgive these poor men and
I prayed for their conversion.
Some time later, on the 13th of May, I dont remember whether
it was 1918 or 1919, news went round at dawn that cavalry men were
in Fatima to prevent the people from going to the Cova da Iria.
Everybody was alarmed, and came to give me the news, assuring me
without any doubt this was to be the last day of my life. Without
taking this news too seriously, I set out for the church. When I reached
Fatima, I passed between the horses which were all over the church
grounds, and went into the church. I heard Mass celebrated by a priest
I did not know, received Holy Communion, made my thanksgiving
and went back home without anyone saying a single word to me, or
that they did not think me worthy of notice. News kept coming in that
the troops were trying in vain to keep the people away from the Cova
da Iria. In spite of this, I went there too to recite the Rosary. On the
way I was joined by a group of women who had come from a
distance. As we drew near the place, two cavalrymen gave their horses
a smart crack of the whip and advanced at full speed towards the
group. They pulled up beside us and asked where we were going. The
women boldly replied that it was none of their business. They
whipped the horses again as though they meant to charge forward and
trample us underfoot. The women ran in all directions and a moment
later I found myself alone with the cavalry men. Then they asked me
my name, and I gave it without hesitation. They next asked me if I
was the seer, and I said I was. They ordered me to step out onto the
middle of the road between the two horses, and proceed in the
direction of Fatima.
As we reached the pond I spoke of earlier, a poor woman who
lived there and whom I have also mentioned, seeing me coming in the
distance between the two horses, ran out as I approached, into the
middle of the road, like another Veronica. The soldiers lost no time in
getting her out of the way, and the poor woman burst into a flood of
tears, loudly bewailing my misfortune. A few paces further on, they
stopped and asked me if the woman was my mother. I said she was
not. They did not believe me and asked if that house was my home. I
again said No! Still apparently not believing me, they ordered me to
walk a little ahead until I arrived at my parents house.

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When we reached a plot of ground that lies on the outskirts of

Aljustrel, where there was a small spring, and some trenches dug for
planting vines, they called a halt and said to one another, probably in
order to frighten me: Here are some open trenches. Lets cut off her
head with one of our swords, and leave her here dead and buried.
Then well be finished with this business once and for all. When I
heard these words, I thought that my last moment had really come, but
I was as much at peace as if it did not concern me at all. After a
minute or two during which they seemed to be thinking it over, the
other replied: No. We have no authority to do such a thing. They
ordered me to keep going. So I went straight through our little village,
until I arrived at my parents house. All the neighbours were at the
windows and doors of their houses to see what was going on. Some
were laughing and making fun of me, others were lamenting my sorry
plight . When we reached my home, they ordered me to call my
parents, but they were not at home. One of them dismounted and went
to see if my parents were hiding inside. He searched the house but
found no one; whereupon he gave orders for me to stay in doors for
the rest of the day. Then he mounted his horse and they both rode off.
Late in the afternoon, news went round that the troops had
withdrawn, defeated by the people. At sunset I was praying my
Rosary in the Cova da Iria, accompanied by hundreds of people.
While I was under arrest, according to what we heard later, some
persons went to tell my mother what was happening, and she replied:
If it is true that she saw Our Lady, Our Lady will defend her; and if
she is lying, it will serve her right to be punished. And she remained
in peace as before. Now someone will ask me: And where were your
little companions, while all this was going on? I dont know. I can
recall nothing at all of their whereabouts at that time. Perhaps in view
of the news that got abroad, their parents did not allow them at all to
leave the house that day.
Lucias Mother Falls Seriously Ill
Such suffering on my part must have been pleasing to Our Lord,
because He was about to prepare a most bitter chalice for me which
He was soon to give me to drink. My mother fell so seriously ill that,
at one stage, we thought she was dying. All her children gathered
around her bed to receive her last blessing, and to kiss the hand of

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their dying mother. As I was the youngest my turn came at last. When
my mother saw me she brightened up a little, flung her arms around
my neck and with a deep sigh, exclaimed: My poor daughter, what
will become of you without your mother! I am dying with my heart
pieced through because of you. Then bursting into tears and sobbing
bitterly, she clasped me more and more tightly in her arms. My eldest
sister forcibly pulled me away from my mother, took me to the
kitchen and forbade me to go back to the sick room, saying: Mother
is going to die of grief because of all the trouble you have given her!
I knelt down, put my head on a bench, and in a distress more bitter
than any I had ever known before, I made the offering of my sacrifice
to our dear Lord. A few minutes later, my two older sisters, thinking
the case was hopeless, came to me and said: Lucia! If it is true that
you saw Our Lady, go right now to the Cova da Iria and ask Her to
cure our mother. Promise Her whatever you wish, and well do it; and
then well believe.
Without losing a moment, I set out. So as not to be seen, I made
my way across the fields along some bypaths, reciting the Rosary all
the way. Once there, I placed my request before Our Lady and
unburdened myself of all my sorrow, shedding copious tears. I then
went home, comforted by the hope that my beloved Mother in Heaven
would hear my prayer and restore health to my mother on earth. When
I reached home my mother was already feeling somewhat better.
Three days later she was able to resume her work around the house. I
had promised the Most Blessed Virgin that, if She granted me what I
asked, I would go there for nine days in succession, together with my
sisters, pray the Rosary and go on our knees from the roadway to the
holmoak tree; and on the ninth day we would take nine poor children
with us, and afterwards give them a meal. We went then to fulfill my
promise and my mother came with us. How strange! she said: Our
Lady cured me and somehow I still dont believe! I dont know how
this can be!
Lucias Father Dies
Our good Lord gave me this consolation, but once again He
came knocking on my door to ask yet another sacrifice, and not a
small one either. My father was a healthy man, and robust; he said he
had never known what it was to have a headache. But in less than

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twenty four hours, an attack of double pneumonia carried him off to

eternity. My sorrow was so great that I thought I would die as well.
He was the only one who never failed to show himself to be my
friend, and the only one who defended me when disputes arose at
home on account of me. My God! My God! I exclaimed in the
privacy of my own room: I never thought You had so much suffering
in store for me! But I suffer for love of You, in reparation for the sins
committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the Holy Father
and for the conversion of sinners.
Serious Illness of Lucias Cousins
Around that time, Jacinta and Francisco also began to grow
worse. Jacinta used to tell me sometimes: My chest hurts so much,
but I am not saying anything to my mother! I want to suffer for Our
Lord, in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate
Heart of Mary, for the Holy Father and for the conversion of sinners.
One morning when I went to see her, she asked me: How many
sacrifices did you offer to Our Lord last night? Three. I got up three
times to recite the Angels prayers. Well, I offered Him many many
sacrifices. I dont know how many there were, but I had a lot of pain,
and I made no complaint.
Francisco spoke very little. He usually did everything he saw us
doing, and rarely suggested anything himself. During his illness, he
suffered with heroic patience, without ever letting the slightest moan
or the least complaint escape his lips. One day shortly before his
death, I asked him: Are you suffering a lot, Francisco? Yes, but I
suffer it all for love of Our Lord and Our Lady. One day he gave me
the rope that I have already spoken about, saying: Take it away
before my mother sees it. I dont feel able to wear it anymore around
my waist. He took everything his mother offered him, and she could
never discover which things he disliked. He went on like this until the
day came for him to go to Heaven. The day before his death, he said
to Jacinta and myself: I am going to Heaven, but when I am there, I
will pray a great deal to Our Lord and Our Lady, asking them to bring
you there too, very soon.

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I think I have already described, in my account of Jacinta, what

suffering this separation caused us. For this reason, I do not repeat it
here. Jacinta was already sick, and was gradually growing worse.
There is no need to describe it now, as I have already done so. I shall
simply relate one or two acts of virtue, which I saw her practice, and
which I do not think I have described before. Her mother knew how
hard it was for her to take milk. So, one day, she brought her a fine
bunch of grapes with her cup of milk, saying: Jacinta, take this. If
you cant take the milk, leave it there, and eat the grapes. No
mother. I dont want the grapes; take them away and give me the milk
instead. Ill take that. Then without showing the least sign of
repugnance, she took it. My aunt went happily away, thinking her
little girls appetite was returning. She had no sooner gone than
Jacinta turned to me and said: I had such a longing for those grapes
and it was hard to drink the milk! But I wanted to offer this sacrifice
to Our Lord.
One morning I found her looking dreadful, and I asked her if she
felt worse. Last night, she answered: I had so much pain, and I
wanted to offer Our Lord the sacrifice of not turning over in bed,
therefore I didnt sleep at all. On another occasion, she told me:
When Im alone, I get out of bed to recite the angels prayer. But
now Im not able to touch the ground any more with my head, because
I fall over, so I only pray on my knees.
One day, I had the opportunity of speaking to the Vicar. His
Reverence asked me about Jacinta and how she was. I told him what I
thought about her condition, and afterwards related what she had said
to me about being unable to touch the ground when she prayed. His
Reverence sent me to tell her that she was not to get out of bed to
pray, but that she was to pray lying down, and then only as long as she
could do so without getting tired. I delivered the message at the very
first opportunity. And will Our Lord be pleased? she asked. He is
pleased, I replied. Our Lord wants us to do whatever the Reverend
Vicar says. Thats alright, then I wont get up any more.
Whenever I could, I loved to go to the Cabeco to pray in our
favourite cave. Jacinta was very fond of flowers, and coming down
the hillside on the way home, I used to pick a bunch of irises and
peonies, when there were any to be found, and then take them to her
saying: Look! These are from the Cabeco! She would take them

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eagerly and sometimes with tears running down her cheeks, she would
say To think Ill never go there again! Nor Valinhos, nor Cova da
Iria! I miss them all so much! But what does it matter, if youre
going to Heaven to see Our Lord and Our Lady? Thats true, she
replied. Then she lay there contentedly, plucking off the petals and
counting them one by one.
A few days after falling ill, she gave me the rope she had been
wearing and said: Keep it for me; Im afraid my mother may see it. If
I get better I want it back again! This cord had three knots, and was
somewhat stained with blood. I kept it hidden until finally I left my
mothers home. Then not knowing what to do with it, I burned it, and
Franciscos as well.
Lucia In Poor Health
Several people who came from a distance to see us, noticing that
I looked very pale and anemic, asked my mother to let me go and
spend a few days in their homes, saying the change of air would do
me good. With this end in view, my mother gave her consent and they
took me with them, now to one place, now to another. When away
from home like this, I did not always meet with esteem or affection.
While there were some who admired me and considered me a saint,
there were also others who heaped abuse upon me and called me a
hypocrite, a visionary and a sorceress. This was the good Lords way
of throwing salt into the water to prevent it from going bad. Thanks to
this Divine Providence, I went through the fire without being burned,
or without becoming acquainted with the little worm, vanity, which
has the habit of gnawing its way into everything. On such occasions, I
used to think to myself: They are all mistaken. Im not a saint, as
some say, and Im not a liar either, as others say. Only God knows
what I am. When I got home I would run to see Jacinta, who said:
Listen! Dont go away again. I have been so lonely for you! Since
you went away, I have not spoken to anyone. I dont know how to talk
to other people.
The time finally came for Jacinta to leave for Lisbon. I have
already described our leave taking, and therefore I wont repeat it
here. How sad I was to find myself alone! In such a short space of
time Our dear Lord had taken to Heaven my beloved father, and then

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Francisco; and now He was taking Jacinta, who I was never to see
again in this world. As soon as I could, I slipped away to the Cabeco,
and hid within our cave among the rocks. There, alone with God, I
poured forth my grief and shed tears in abundance. Coming back
down the slope, everything reminded me of my dear companions; the
stones on which we had so often sat, the flowers I no longer picked,
not having anyone to take them to; Valinhos, where the three of us had
enjoyed the delights of paradise! As though I had lost all sense of
reality, and still half abstracted, I went to my aunts house one day, and
made for Jacintas room, calling out to her. Her sister Teresa, seeing
me like that, barred the way and reminded me that Jacinta was no
longer there!
Shortly afterwards, news arrived that she had taken flight to
Heaven. Her body was then brought back to Vila Nova de Ourem. My
aunt took me there one day, to pray beside the mortal remains of her
little daughter, in the hope of thus distracting me. But for a long time
after, my sorrow only seemed to grow ever greater. Whenever I found
the cemetery open, I went and sat by Franciscos grave, or beside my
fathers and there I spent long hours. My mother, thank God, decided
some time later after this to go to Lisbon, and to take me with her.
Through the kindness of Dr. Formigao a good lady received us into
her house, and offered to pay for my education in a boarding school, if
I was willing to remain. My mother, after consulting doctors, found
that she needed an operation for kidneys and spinal column; but the
doctors would not be responsible for her life, since she also suffered
from a cardiac lesion. She therefore went home, leaving me in the care
of this lady. When everything was ready and the day arranged for my
entering boarding school, I was informed that the Government was
aware that I was in Lisbon and was seeking my whereabouts. They,
therefore, took me to Santarem to Dr. Formigaos house, and for some
days I remained hidden, without even being allowed out to Mass.
Finally, His Reverences sister arrived to take me home to my
mother, promising to arrange for my admittance to a boarding school
that the Dorothean Sisters had in Spain, and assuring us that as soon as
everything was settled, she would come and fetch me. All these
happenings distracted me somewhat, and so the oppressive sadness
began to disappear.

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Lucias First Meeting With The Bishop

It was about this time that Your Excellency was installed as
Bishop of Leiria, and your dear Lord confided to your care this poor
flock that had been so many years without a shepherd. There was not
wanting people who tried to frighten me about Your Excellencys
arrival, just as they had done before about another holy priest. They
told me that Your Excellency knew everything, that you could read
hearts and penetrate the depths of consciences and that now you were
going to discover all my deception. Far from frightening me, it made
me earnestly desire to speak to you, and I thought to myself: If it is
true that he knows everything, he will know that I am speaking the
truth. For this reason as soon as a kind lady from Leiria offered to
take me to see Your Excellency, I accepted her suggestion with joy.
There was I, full of hope, in expectation of this happy moment.
At last the day came, and the lady and I went to the Palace. We
were invited to enter, and shown to a room, where we were asked to
wait for a little while. A few moments later, Your Excellencys
secretary came in and spoke kindly with Dona Gilda who
accompanied me. From time to time, he asked me some questions. As
I had already been twice to confession to His Reverence, I already
knew him, and it was therefore a pleasure to talk to him. A little later,
Rev. Dr. Marques dos Santos came in wearing shoes with buckles, and
wrapped in a great big cloak. As it was the first time that I had seen a
priest dressed like this, it caught my attention. He then embarked on a
whole repertoire of questions that seemed unending. Now and again,
he laughed, as though making fun of my replies, and it seemed as if
the moment when I could speak to Your Excellency would never
come. At last, Your Secretary returned to speak to the lady who was
with me. He told her that when Your Excellency arrived, she was to
make her apologies and take her leave, saying that she had to go
elsewhere, since Your Excellency may want to speak to me in private.
I was delighted when I heard this message, and I thought to myself:
As His Excellency knows everything, he wont ask me many
questions, and he will be alone with me! What a blessing!
When Your Excellency arrived, the good lady played her part
very well, and so I had the happiness of speaking with you alone. I am
not going to describe now what happened during this interview,

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because Your Excellency certainly remembers it better than I do. To

tell the truth, when I saw Your Excellency receive me with such
kindness, without the least attempting to ask me any useless or curious
questions, being concerned solely for the good of this poor little lamb
that the Lord had just entrusted to you, then I was more convinced
than ever that Your Excellency did indeed know everything; and I did
not hesitate for a moment to give myself completely in your hands.
Thereupon, Your Excellency imposed certain conditions which,
because of my nature, I found easy that is to keep completely secret all
that Your Excellency had said to me, and to be good. I kept my secret
to myself, until the day when Your Excellency asked my mothers
consent.
Farewell to Fatima
Finally, the day of my departure was settled. The evening before
I went to bid farewell to all the familiar places so dear to us. My heart
was torn with loneliness and longing, for I was sure I would never set
foot on the Cabeco, the Rock, Valinhos, or in the parish church where
Our dear Lord had begun His work of mercy, and the cemetery, where
rested the mortal remains of my beloved Father and of Francisco,
whom I could still never forget. I said goodbye to our well, already
illumined by the pale rays of the moon, and to the old threshing floor
where I had so often spent long hours contemplating the beauty of the
starlit heavens, and the wonders of sunrise and sunset which so
enraptured me. I loved to watch the rays of the sun reflected in the
dew drops, so that the mountains seemed covered with pearls in the
morning sunshine; and in the evening, after a snowfall, to see the
snowflakes sparkling on the pine trees was like a foretaste of the
beauties of paradise.
Without saying farewell to anyone, I left the next day at two
oclock in the morning, accompanied by my mother and a poor laborer
called Manuel Correia who was going to Leiria. I carried my secret
with me, inviolate. We went by the way of the Cova da Iria, so I could
bid it my last farewell. There for the last time I prayed my Rosary. As
long as this place was still in sight, I kept turning round to say my last
good bye. We arrived at Leiria at nine oclock in the morning. There I
met Dona Filomena Miranda, whom Your Excellency had charged to
accompany me. This lady was later to be my godmother at

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Confirmation. The train left at two oclock in the afternoon, and there
I was at the station, giving my poor mother a last embrace, leaving her
overwhelmed with sorrow and shedding abundant tears. The train
moved out, and with it went my poor heart plunged in an ocean of
loneliness and filled with memories that I could never forget.
Epilogue
I think, Your Excellency, that I have just picked the most
beautiful flower and the most delicious fruit from my little garden, and
I now place it in the merciful hands of the Good Lord, whom you
represent, praying that He will make it yield a plentiful harvest of
souls for eternal life. And since Our dear Lord takes pleasure in the
humble obedience of the least of His creatures, I end with the words of
Her whom He, in His infinite mercy, has given me as Mother,
Protectress and Model, the very same words with which I began:
Behold the handmaid of the Lord! May He continue to make use of
her, as He thinks best.
Further Memories of Jacinta
P.S. I forgot to say that when Jacinta went to the hospital in Vila
Nova de Ourem and again in Lisbon, she knew she was not going to
be cured, but only to suffer. Long before anybody spoke to her of the
possibility of her entering the hospital of Vila Nova de Ourem, she
said one day: Our Lady wants me to go to two hospitals, not to be
cured, but to suffer more for the love of Our Lord and for sinners. I
do not know Our Ladys exact words in these apparitions to Jacinta
alone, for I never asked her what they were. I confined myself to
merely listening to what she occasionally confided to me. In this
account, I have tried not to repeat what I have written in the previous
one, so as not to make it too long.
Lucias Magnetic Personality
It may seem from this account that, in my village, nobody
showed me any love or tenderness. But this is not so. There was a dear
chosen portion of the Lords flock, who showed me singular affection.

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These were the little children. They ran up to me bubbling over with
joy, and when they knew I was pasturing my sheep in the
neighbourhood of our little village, whole groups of them used to
come and spend the day with me. My mother used to say: I dont
know what attraction you have for children! They run after you as if
they were going to a feast! As for myself, I did not feel at ease in the
midst of such merriment, and for that reason I tried to keep out of their
way.
The same thing happened to me with my companions in Vilar,
and I would almost venture to say that it is happening to me now with
my Sisters in religion. A few years ago, I was told by my Mother
Mistress, who is now Rev. Mother Provincial: You have such an
influence over the Sisters that if you want to you can do them a great
deal of good. And quite recently, Rev. Mother Superior in
Pontevedra said to me: To a certain degree, you are responsible to
Our Lord for the state of fervour or negligence in observance, on the
part of the other Sisters, because their fervour is increased or
diminished at recreation; whatever the others see you doing at that
time, they do as well. Certain topics you brought up at recreation
helped other Sisters to understand the Rule better, and made them
resolve to observe it more faithfully. Why is this? I dont know.
Perhaps it is a talent which the Lord has given me, and for which He
will hold me to account. Would that I knew how to trade with it, that I
might restore it to Him a thousand fold.
Lucias Excellent Memory
Maybe someone will want to ask: How can you remember all
this? How? I dont know. Our dear Lord, Who shares out His gifts as
He thinks fit, has allotted to me this little portionmy memory. He
alone knows why. And besides as far as I can see, there is this
difference between natural and supernatural things: When we are
talking to a mere creature, even while we are speaking, we tend to
forget what is being said; whereas these supernatural things are ever
more deeply engraved on the soul, even as we are seeing and hearing
them, so that it is not easy to forget them.

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THE THIRD MEMOIR OF SISTER LUCIA

(1941)
Prologue
Your Excellency,
In obedience to the order which Your Excellency gave me in
your letter of July 26th, 1941, that I should think it over and note
down anything else I could remember about Jacinta, I have given
thought to the matter and decided that, as God was speaking to me
through you, the moment has arrived to reply to two questions which
have often been sent to me, but which I have put off answering until
now.
In my opinion, it would be pleasing to God and to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary; that in the book of Jacinta, one chapter
would be devoted to the subject of hell, and another to the Immaculate
Heart of Mary. Your Excellency will indeed find this opinion rather
strange and perhaps inopportune, but it is not my own idea. God
Himself will make this clear to you that this is a matter that pertains to
His glory and to the good of souls. This will entail my speaking about
the secret, and thus answering the first question.
What Is The Secret?
It seems to me that I can reveal it since I already have
permission from Heaven to do so. Gods representatives on earth have
authorized me to do this several times and various letters, one I
believe is in your keeping, This letter is from Rev. Fr. Jose Bernardo
Goncalves, and in it he advises me to write to the Holy Father,
suggesting among other things, that I should reveal the secret. I did
say something about it. But in order not to make my letter too long,
since I was told to keep it short, I confined myself to the essentials,
leaving it to God to provide another more favourite opportunity.
In my second account, I have already described in detail the
doubt which tormented me from June 13th until July 13th, and how it
disappeared completely during the Apparition on that day.

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The Vision of Hell

Well, the secret is made up of three distinct parts, two of which I
am now going to reveal. The first part is the vision of hell.
Our Lady showed us a great sea of fire which seemed to be
under the earth. Plunged in this fire were demons and souls in human
form, like transparent burning embers, all blackened, or burnished
bronze, floating about in the conflagration, now raised into the air by
the flames which issued from within themselves together with great
clouds of smoke, now falling back on every side like sparks in a huge
fire, without weight or equilibrium, and amid shrieks and groans of
pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear.
The demons could be distinguished by their terrifying and repellent
likeness to frightful and unknown animals, all black and transparent.
This vision lasted but an instant. How can we ever be grateful enough
to Our dear Heavenly Mother, who had already prepared us by
promising us in the first Apparition, to take us to Heaven. Otherwise I
think we would have died of fear and terror.
We then looked up at Our Lady, who said to us so kindly and so
sadly:
You have seen hell where the souls if poor sinners go. To save them,
God wishes to establish in the world devotion to My Immaculate
Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there
will be peace. The war is going to end, but if people do not cease
offending God, a worse one will break out during the pontificate of
Pius XI. When you see a night illumined by an unknown light, know
that this is the great sign given to you by God that He is about to
punish the world for its crimes by means of war, famine and
persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father.
To prevent this I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to
my Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of reparation on the First
Saturdays. If My requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and
there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the
world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be
martyred; they Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations
will be annihilated, in the end My Immaculate Heart will triumph. The

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Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me and she will be converted

and a period of peace will be granted to the world.
Lasting Impression On Jacinta
Your Excellency, as I already told you in the notes I sent to you
after reading the book about Jacinta, some of the things revealed in the
secret made a strong impression on her. This was indeed the case. The
vision of hell filled her with horror to such a degree, that every
penance and mortification was nothing in her eyes, if it could only
prevent souls from going there. Well, I am now going to answer the
second question, one which has come to me from various quarters.
How is that Jacinta, small as she was, let herself be possessed by
such a spirit of mortification and penance, and understood it so well? I
think the reason is this: firstly, God willed to bestow on her a special
grace, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary; and secondly, it was
because she had looked upon hell, and had seen the ruin of souls who
fall therein. Some people, even the most devout, refuse to speak to
children about hell, in case it would frighten them. Yet God did not
hesitate to show hell to three children, one of whom was only six
years old, knowing well that they would be horrified to the point of, I
would almost dare to say, withering away with fear. Jacinta often sat
thoughtfully on the ground or on a rock and exclaimed: Oh Hell!
Hell! How sorry I am for the souls who go to hell! And the people
down there burning a live, like wood in the fire!
Then shuddering, she knelt down with her hands joined and
recited the prayer that Our Lady taught us: Oh my Jesus! Forgive us,
save us from the fire of hell. Lead all souls to Heaven, especially those
who are most in need. Now Your Excellency will understand how
my own impression was that the final words of this prayer refer to
souls in greatest danger of damnation, or those who are nearest to it.
Jacinta remained on her knees like this for a long periods of time,
saying the same prayer over and over again. From time to time, like
someone waking from sleep, she called out to her brother or myself:
Francisco, Francisco! Are you praying with me? We must pray very
much, to save souls from hell! So many go there! So many! At other
times, she asked: Why doesnt Our Lady show hell to sinners? If they
saw it, they would not sin, so as to avoid going there! You must tell

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Our Lady to show hell to all those people (referring to those who were
in Cova da Iria at the time of the Apparition). Youll see how they
will be converted. Afterwards, unsatisfied, she asked me: Why
didnt you tell Our Lady to show hell to all those people? I forgot I
answered. I didnt remember either! she said, looking very sad.
Sometimes, she also asked: What are the sins people commit,
for which they go to hell? I dont know! Perhaps the sin of not
going to Mass on Sunday, of stealing, of saying ugly words, of cursing
and of swearing. So for just one word, then, people can go to hell?
Well its a sin! It wouldnt be hard for them to keep quiet and go to
Mass! Im so sorry for sinners! If only I could show then hell.
Suddenly, she would seize hold of me and say: Im going to Heaven,
but you are staying here. If Our Lady lets you, tell every- body what
hell is like, so that they wont commit anymore sins and not go to
hell. To quieten her, I said: Dont be afraid! Youre going to
Heaven. Yes I am; she said serenely, but I want all those people
to go there too!
When in a spirit of mortification, she did not want to eat. I said
to her: Listen Jacinta! Come and eat now. No! Im offering this
sacrifice for sinners who eat too much. When she was ill, and yet
went to Mass on a week day, I urged her: Jacinta, dont come! You
cant, youre not able. Besides today is not Sunday! That doesnt
matter! Im going for sinners who dont go on a Sunday. If she
happened to hear any of those expressions which some people make, a
show of uttering, she covered her face with her hands and said: Oh,
my God, dont these people realize that they can go to hell for saying
those things? My Jesus, forgive them and convert them. They
certainly dont know that they are offending God by all this! What a
pity, my Jesus! Ill pray for them. There and then she repeated the
prayer that Our Lady taught us: Oh my Jesus, forgive us.
Lucia Looks Back
Now Your Excellency, another thought comes to my mind. I
have sometimes been asked if, in any Apparitions, Our Lady pointed
out to us which kind of sins offend God most. They say that Jacinta,
when in Lisbon, mentioned sins of the flesh. She had often questioned
me on this matter, and I think now, that when at Lisbon, perhaps it

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occurred to her to put the question to Our Lady herself, and that was
the answer she received. Well Your Excellency, it seems to me that I
have now made known the first part of the secret.
The Immaculate Heart Of Mary
The second part refers to the devotion to the Immaculate Heart
of Mary. As I have already written in the second account, Our Lady
told me on June 13th, 1917, that she would never forsake me, and that
Her Immaculate Heart would be my refuge and the way that would
lead me to God.
As She spoke these words, She opened Her hands, and from
them streamed a light that penetrated to our inmost hearts. I think that
on that day, I think the main purpose of this light was to infuse within
us a special knowledge and love of the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
just as on the other two occasions it was intended to do, as it seems to
me, with regard to God and the mystery to the most Holy Trinity.
From that day onwards, our hearts were filled with a more ardent love
for the Immaculate Heart of Mary. From time to time, Jacinta said to
me: The Lady said that Her Immaculate Heart will be your refuge
and the way that will lead you to God. Dont you love that? Her Heart
is so good! How I love it!
As I explained earlier, Our Lady told us, in the July secret, that
God wished to establish in the world devotion to her Immaculate
Heart, and that to prevent a future war, she would come to ask for the
consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart, and for the
Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays. From then on,
whenever we spoke of this among ourselves, Jacinta said: I am so
grieved to be unable to receive Communion in reparation for the sins
committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary!
I have also mentioned already how Jacinta chose the litany of
ejaculations which Father Cruz suggested to us, this one Sweet Heart
of Mary, be my salvation! After saying it, she used to add sometimes,
with the simplicity that was natural to her: I so love the Immaculate
Heart of Mary! It is the Heart of our dear Mother in Heaven! Dont
you love saying many times: sweet Heart of Mary, Immaculate Heart
of Mary?: I love it so much, so very much. At other times, as she

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gathered wild flowers, she sang a little tune that she made up herself
as she went along: Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation!
Immaculate Heart of Mary, convert sinners, save souls from hell!
Jacintas Visions Of The Holy Father
One day we spent our siesta down by my parents well. Jacinta
sat on the stone slabs on top of the well. Francisco and I climbed up a
steep bank in search of wild honey among the brambles in a nearby
thicket. After a little while, Jacinta called out to me: Didnt you see
the Holy Father? No. I dont know how it was, but I saw the Holy
Father in a very big house, kneeling by a table, with his head buried in
his hands, and he was weeping. Outside the house, there were many
people. Some of them were throwing stones, others were cursing him
and using bad language. Poor Holy Father, we must pray very much
for him. I have already told you, how one day two priests
recommended us to pray for the Holy Father, and explained to us who
the Pope was.
Afterwards Jacinta asked me: Is he the one I saw weeping, the
one Our Lady told us about in the secret? Yes, he is, I answered.
The Lady must have shown him also to those priests. You see, I was
not mistaken. We need to pray a lot for him. At another time, we
went to the cave called Lapa Cabeco. As soon as we got there, we
prostrated on the ground, saying the prayers the Angel had taught us.
After sometime, Jacinta stood up and called to me: Cant you see all
those highways and roads and fields full of people, who are crying
with hunger and have nothing to eat? And the Holy Father in a church
praying before the Immaculate Heart of Mary? And so many people
praying with him? Some days later, she asked me: Can I say that I
saw the Holy Father and all those people? No! Dont you see that
thats part of the secret? If you do theyll find out straight away. All
right! Then Ill say nothing at all.
Visions of War
One day, I went to Jacintas house to spend a little while with
her. I found her sitting on her bed, deep in thought. Jacinta, what are
you thinking about? About the war that is coming. So many people

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are going to die, and almost all of them are going to hell! Many homes
will be destroyed and many priests will be killed. Look I am going to
Heaven, and as for you, when you see the light which the Lady told us
would come one night before the war, you run up there too. Dont
you see that nobody can just run up to Heaven! Thats true, you
cannot! But dont be afraid! In Heaven I will be praying hard for you,
for the Holy Father, for Portugal, so that the war will not come here,
and for all the priests.
Your Excellency is not aware that a few years ago, God
manifested that sign, which astronomers chose to call an aurora
borealis. I dont know for certain, but I think if they investigated the
matter, they would discover that, in the form in which it appeared, it
could not possibly have been an aurora borealis. Be that as it may,
God made use of this to make me understand that His justice was
about to strike the guilty nations. For this reason, I began to plead
insistently for the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays,
and the consecration of Russia. My intention was to obtain mercy and
pardon, not only for the whole world but for Europe in particular.
When God, in His infinite mercy, made me feel that the terrible
moment was drawing near, Your Excellency may recall how,
whenever occasion offered, I took the opportunity of pointing out, I
still say that the prayer and penance which have been done in
Portugal, have not yet appeased the Divine Justice, for they have not
been accompanied by either contrition or amendment. I hope that
Jacinta is interceding for us in Heaven.
As I said in the notes I sent about the book called Jacinta, she
was most deeply impressed by some of the things revealed to us in the
secret. Such was the case with the vision of hell and the ruin of so
many souls who go there, or again, the future war with all its horrors
which seemed to be always present to her mind. These made her
tremble with fear. When I saw her deep in thought, and asked her:
Jacinta, what are you thinking about? She frequently replied:
About the war which is coming, and all the people who are going to
die and go to hell! How dreadful! If they would only stop offending
God, then there wouldnt be any war and they wouldnt go to hell!
Sometimes, she also said to me: I feel so sorry for you!
Francisco and I are going to Heaven, and youre going to stay here for

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a while longer. When the war comes, do not be afraid. In heaven, Ill
be praying for you. Shortly before she went to Lisbon, at one of those
times when she felt sad at the thought of our coming separation. I said
to her: Dont be upset because I cant go with you. You can then
spend your time thinking of Our Lady and Our Lord, and saying many
times over those words you love so much: My God, I love You!
Immaculate Heart of Mary, Sweet Heart of Mary and so on. Yes,
indeed she eagerly replied, Ill never get tired of saying those words
until I die! And then, I can sing them many times over in Heaven!
Lucia Explains Her Silence
It may be, Your Excellency, that some people think that I should
have made known all this some time ago, because they consider that it
would have been twice as valuable years beforehand. This would have
been the case if God had willed to present me to the world as a
prophetess. But I believe God had no such intention when He made
known these things to me. If that had been the case, I think that in
1917, when He ordered me to keep silent, and this order was
confirmed by those who represented Him, He would on the contrary,
have ordered me to speak.
I consider then, Your Excellency, that God willed only to make
use of me to remind the world that it is necessary to avoid sin, and to
make reparation to an offended God, by means of prayer and penance.
Where could I have hidden myself in order to escape from
innumerable questions they would have asked me about such matters?
Even now I am afraid, just thinking of what lies ahead of me! And I
must confess that my repugnance in making this known is so great
that, although I have before me the letter in which Your Excellency
orders me to write everything else that I can remember, and I feel
convinced that this is indeed the hour that God has chosen for my
doing this, I still hesitate and experience a real inner conflict, not
knowing whether to give you what I have written, or to burn it. As yet
I do not know what will be the outcome of the struggle. It will be as
God wills.
For me keeping silent has been a great grace. What would have
happened had I described hell? Being unable to find words which
exactly express the realityfor what I say is nothing and gives only a

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feeble idea of it all. I would therefore had said, now one thing, now
another, wanting to explain but not succeeding in doing so. I might
thus perhaps have caused such a confusion of ideas as even to spoil,
who knows, the work of God. For this reason, I give thanks to the
Lord, and I know that He does all things well. God usually
accompanies His revelations with an intimate and detailed
understanding of their significance. But I do not venture to speak of
this matter, for fear of being led astray, as can all too easily happen,
by my own imagination. Jacinta seemed to have this understanding to
quite a remarkable degree.
Jacinta and the Immaculate Heart of Mary
A little while before going to hospital, Jacinta said to me: It
will not be long now before I go to Heaven. You will remain here to
make known that God wishes to establish in the world devotion to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary. When you are to say this, dont go and
hide. Tell everybody that God grants us graces through the
Immaculate Heart of Mary; that people are to ask Her for them; and
that the Heart of Jesus wants the Immaculate Heart of Mary to be
venerated at His side. Tell them also to pray to the Immaculate Heart
of Mary for peace, since God has entrusted it to Her. If I could only
put into the hearts of all, the fire that is burning within my own heart,
and that makes me love the Hearts of Jesus and Mary so very much!
One day, I was given a holy picture of the Heart of Jesus, quite a
nice one, as man made pictures go. I took it to Jacinta: Do you want
this holy picture? She took it, looked at it attentively and remarked:
Its so ugly! It doesnt look like Our Lord at all. He is so beautiful!
But I want it; it is He just the same. She always carried it with her. At
night and during her illness, she kept it under her pillow, until it fell
apart. She kissed it frequently, saying: I kiss the Heart because I love
it most! How I would love to have a Heart of Mary! Dont you have
one? I would love to have the two together.
On another occasion, I brought her a picture of a chalice with a
host. She took it and kissed it and radiant with joy she exclaimed: It
is the Hidden Jesus! I love Him so much! If only I could receive Him
in Church! Dont they receive Holy Communion in Heaven? If they
do, then I will go to Holy Communion every day. If only the Angel

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would go to the hospital to bring me Holy Communion again, how

happy I would be! Sometimes, on returning from church, I went in to
see her, and she asked me: Did you receive Holy Communion? And
if I answered in the affirmative, she said: Come over here close to
me, for you have the hidden Jesus in your heart.
At other times she told me: I dont know how it is! But I feel
Our Lord within me. I understand what He says to me, although I
neither see Him nor hear Him, but it is so good to be with Him! On
another occasion, she remarked: Look, do you know this? Our Lord
is sad, because Our Lady told us not to offend Him anymore, for He is
already very much offended; yet nobody takes any notice, and they
continue to commit the same sins!
Epilogue
There, Your Excellency, is everything else I can remember
about Jacinta, and which I dont think I have already said before. The
meaning of all I say is exact.
And regards the manner of expressing myself, I do not know if I
have exchanged one word for another, as for example, when we spoke
of Our Lady: sometimes we said Our Lady, sometimes we said the
Lady. And now I do not remember which of the two phrases we used
at a given time. It is the same with a few other small details, which I
think are only of minor importance. I offer to Our Good God and to
the Immaculate Heart of Mary, this little work, which is the fruit of
my poor and humble submission to those who represent Him in my
regard. I beg them to make it fruitful for their glory and the good of
souls.
Notes
There are two points of importance in relation to the third
memoir of Sister Lucia. Sister Lucia affirms that the Consecration
made by John Paul II, in union with the Bishops, on 25th March 1984,
corresponded to the request of Our Lady and was accepted by Heaven.
She confirmed that a numerical union of all the Bishops was not
required, that a moral union was sufficient.

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In a vision by the Blessed Virgin to Lucia at Pontevedra on the

10th of December 1925, Our Lady fulfilled Her promise to come back
made during the apparitions of 1917. On the 13th of June, 1929, Lucia
had a further vision at Tuy, where Our Lady asked for the
consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart. Unfortunately, the
consecration was not done when Our Lady asked for it to be done, and
therefore Russia had already spread her errors, before the
Consecration was made. Also, that Communion of Reparation has not
been fulfilled. It could not be said that Lucias prophecies were post
eventum, simply because Lucias superiors released her manuscripts
for publication only after the events which had been announced in
them. These manuscripts were in fact, already composed prior to the
events taking place.
Confidence and Abandonment
Your Excellency,
After a humble prayer at the feet of Our Lord in the tabernacle
and before the Immaculate Heart of Mary, our loving heavenly
Mother, asking the grace not to be permitted to write one word, or
even a single letter, that is not for their glory, I come now to begin this
work, happy and at peace as are those whose conscience assures them
that they are doing in all things the will of God. Abandoning myself
completely into the arms of our heavenly Father and to the protection
of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I therefore once again place in Your
Excellencys hands the fruits of my tree, the tree of obedience.
Inspiration in the Attic
Before making a start, I thought of opening the New Testament,
the only book I desire to have here in front of me, in this remote
corner of the attic, lit by a single skylight, to which I withdraw
whenever I can, in order to escape, as far as possible from all human
eyes. My lap serves as a table, and an old trunk as a chair. But,
someone will say, Why dont you write in your cell? Our dear Lord
has seen fit to deprive me even of a cell?

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Our dear Lord has seen fit to deprive me even of a cell, although
there are quite a few empty ones in the house. As a matter of fact, the
community room that we use for work and recreation would seem
more suitable for the fulfillment of His designs; but, just as it is
inconvenient for writing during the day, so it is all too conducive to
drowsiness at night time. But I am glad and I thank God for the grace
of having been born poor, and for living more poorly still for love of
him. Dear Lord! That is not at all that I wanted to say. I must return to
what God presented to me when I opened the New Testament.
In St. Pauls letter to the Philippians 2, 58, I read as follows;
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being
in the form of God, emptied Himself, taking the form of a
servant, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death.
After reflecting a while, I read also verse 12 and 13 of the same
chapter: with fear and trembling work out your salvation. It is God
that works in you, both to will and to accomplish, according to His
good will.
Very well then. I need no more than this: obedience and abandonment
to God who works within me. I am truly no more than a poor and
miserable instrument which He desires to use, and in a little while,
like a painter who casts his now useless brush into the fire so that it
may be reduced to ashes, the divine Artist will Himself reduce his
now useless instrument to the ashes of the tomb, until the great day of
the eternal Alleluias. And I ardently desire that day, for the tomb does
not annihilate everything, and the happiness of eternal and infinite
love beginsnow!
Unction of the Spirit
Your Excellency,
In Valenca, on October 7th, 1941, I was asked the following
questions by Rev. Dr. Galamba: Sister, when you said that penance
had been done only in part, did you say this of yourself, or was it
revealed to you? I think, Your Excellency, that, in such cases, I never
speak or write anything at all that comes from myself alone. I have to
thank God for the assistance of the Divine Holy Spirit, whom I feel
within me, suggesting to me what I am to write or say. If, at times, my

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own imagination or understanding suggests something to me, I at once

feel the lack of the Divine Unction, and I stop what I am doing, until I
know in my inmost heart what it is that God wants me to say instead.
But why do I tell you all this? I do not know. God knows, who has
inspired your Excellency to command me to tell everything, and not
deliberately conceal anything.
Franciscos Character, His Spirituality
I am going to begin then, your Excellency, by writing what God
wills to bring to my mind about Francisco. I hope that our Lord will
make him know in Heaven what I am writing about him on earth, so
that he may intercede for me with Jesus and Mary, especially during
these coming days. The affection that bound me to Francisco was just
one of kinship, and one which had its origin in the graces which
Heaven designed to grant us. Apart from his features and his practice
of virtue, Francisco did not seem at all to be Jacintas brother. Unlike
her, he was neither capricious nor vivacious. On the contrary, he was
quiet and submissive by nature.
When we were at play and he won the game, if anyone made a
point of denying him his rights as a winner, he yielded without more
ado and merely said, You think you won? Thats all right, I dont
mind! He showed no love for dancing, as Jacinta did; he much
preferred playing the flute while the others danced. In our games he
was quite lively; but few of us liked to play with him as he nearly
always lost. I must confess that I myself did not always feel too kindly
disposed towards him, as his naturally calm temperament exasperated
my own excessive vivacity. Sometimes, I caught him by the arm,
made him sit down on the ground or on a stone, and told him to keep
still; he obeyed me as if I had real authority over him. Afterwards, I
felt sorry, and went and took him by the hand, and he would come
along with me goodhumoured as if nothing had happened. If one of
the other children insisted on taking something away from him, he
said Let them have it! What do I care?
I recall how, one day, he came to my house and was delighted to
show me a handkerchief with a picture of our Lady of Nazarene on it,
which someone had bought him from the seaside. All the children
gathered round him to admire it. The handkerchief was passed from

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hand to hand, and in a few minutes it disappeared. We looked for it,

but it was nowhere to be found. A little later, I found it myself in
another small boys pocket. I wanted to take it away from him, but he
insisted that it was his own, and that someone had bought him one
from the beach as well. To put an end to the quarrel, Francisco then
went up to him and said, Let him have it! What does a handkerchief
matter to me? My own opinion is that, if he had lived to manhood,
his greatest defect would have been his attitude of never mind!
When I was seven and began to take our sheep out to pasture, he
seemed to be quite indifferent. In the evenings he waited for me in my
parents yard with his little sister, but this was not out of affection for
me, but rather to please her. As soon as Jacinta saw the tinkling of the
sheep bells, she ran out to meet me; whereas Francisco waited for me,
sitting in the stone steps leading up to our front door. Afterwards he
came with us to play on the old threshing floor while we watched for
Our Lady and the Angels to light their lamps. He eagerly counted the
stars with us, but nothing enchanted him as much as the beauty of
sunrise and sunset. As long as he could still glimpse one last ray of the
setting sun, he made no attempt to watch for the first lamp to be lit in
the sky. No lamp is as beautiful as Our Lords he used to remark to
Jacinta, who much preferred Our Ladys lamp, because as she
explained: It doesnt hurt our eyes.
Enraptured he watched the sun rays glinting on the window
panes of the homes in the neighbouring villages, or glistening in the
drops of water which spangled the trees and furze bushes of the serra,
making them shine like so many stars; in his eyes these were a
thousand times more beautiful than the Angels lamps. When he
persisted in pleading with his mother to let him take care of the flock
and therefore come along with me, it was more to please Jacinta than
anything else, for she much preferred Franciscos company to that of
her brother John.
One day his mother, already quite annoyed, refused this
permission and he answered with his usual tranquility: Mother, it
doesnt matter to me, it was more to please Jacinta who wants me to
go. He confirmed this on yet another occasion. One of my
companions came to my house to invite me to go with her, as she had
a particularly good pasturage in view for that day. As the sky was
overcast I went to my aunts house to enquire who was going out that

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day, Francisco and Jacinta, or their brother John; in case of the latter, I
preferred the company of my former companion. My aunt had already
decided that, as it looked like rain, John should go. But Francisco
went to his mother again and insisted on going himself. He received a
curt and decided No! Whereupon he exclaimed: Its all the same
with me. it is Jacinta who felt badly about it.
Natural Inclinations
What Francisco enjoyed most, when we were out on the
mountains together, was to perch on the top of the highest rock and
sing or play his flute. If his little sister came down to run races with
me, he stayed up there entertaining himself with his music and song.
The song he sang most often went like this:
CHORUS
I love God in Heaven,
I love Him, too, on Earth,
I love the flowers of the fields,
I love the sheep on the mountains.
I am a poor shepherd girl,
I always pray to Mary;
In the midst of my flock
I am like the sun at noon.
Together with my lambkins
I learn to skip and jump;
I am the joy of the serra
And the lily of the vale.
He always took part in our games when we invited him, but he
seldom waxed enthusiastic, remarking: Ill go, but I know Ill be the
loser. These were the games we knew and found most entertaining:
Pebbles, Forfeits, Pass the Ring, Buttons, Hit the Mark, Quoits, and
card games such as The Bisca Game, Turning up the Kings, Queens
and Knaves, and so on. We had two packs of cards: I had one and they
had the other. Francisco liked best to play cards, and The Bisca was
his favourite game.

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Francisco Sees the Angel

During the apparition of the Angel, he prostrated like his sister
and myself, carried away by the same supernatural force that moved
us to do so: but he learned the prayer by hearing us repeat it, since he
told us he heard nothing of what the Angel had said. Afterwards, when
we prostrated to say that prayer, he was the first to feel the strain of
such a posture; but he remained kneeling, or sitting and still praying,
until we had finished. Later he said: I am not able to stay like that for
a long time, like you. My back aches so much that I cant do it.
At the second apparition of the Angel, down by the well,
Francisco waited a few moments after it was over, then asked: You
spoke to the Angel. What did he say to you? Didnt you hear? No!
I could see that he was talking to you. I heard what you said to him;
but what he said to you, I dont know. As the supernatural
atmosphere in which the Angel left us had not yet entirely
disappeared, I told him to ask Jacinta or myself the next day. Jacinta,
you tell me what the Angel said. Ill tell you tomorrow. Today I
cant talk about it. Next day, as soon as he came up to me, he asked
me: Did you sleep last night? I kept thinking about the Angel and
what he could have said. I then told him all that the Angel had said at
the first and second apparitions.
But it seemed that he had not received an understanding of all
that the words meant, for he asked: Who is the Most High? What is
the meaning of: The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to the
voice of your supplications? Having received an answer, he remained
deep in thought for a while, and then broke in with another question.
But my mind was not yet free, so I told him to wait until the next day,
because at that moment I was unable to speak. He waited quite
contently, but he did not let slip the very next opportunity of putting
more questions. This made Jacinta say to him: Listen! We shouldnt
talk much about these things. When we spoke about the Angel, I
dont know what it was that we felt. I dont know how I feel, Jacinta
said. I can no longer talk or sing, or play. I havent the strength
enough for anything. Neither have I, replied Francisco, but what
of it? The Angel is more beautiful than all this. Lets think about
him.

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In the third apparition, the presence of the supernatural made

itself felt more intensely still. For several days even Francisco did not
venture to speak. Later he said: I love to see the Angel, but the worst
of it is that, afterwards, we are unable to do anything. I couldnt even
walk. I dont know what was the matter with me. In spite of that,
after the third apparition of the Angel, it was he that noticed that it
was getting dark, and who drew our attention to the fact, and thought
we should take our flocks back home.
Once the first few days were over and we had returned to
normal, Francisco asked: The Angel gave you Holy Communion, but
what was it that he gave to Jacinta and me? It was Holy
Communion too, replied Jacinta, with inexpressible joy. Didnt you
see that it was the Blood that fell from the Host? I felt that God was
within me, but I did not know how! Then prostrating on the ground,
he and his sister remained for a long time, saying over and over again
the prayer of the Angel, Most Holy Trinity Little by little the
atmosphere of the supernatural faded away, and by the 13th of May,
we were playing with almost as much enjoyment and freedom of spirit
as we had done before.
Impressions of the First Apparition
The apparition of Our Lady plunged us once more into the
atmosphere of the supernatural, but this time more gently. Instead of
that annihilation, in the Divine Presence, which exhausted us even
physically, it left us filled with peace and expansive joy, which did not
prevent us from speaking afterwards of what had happened. However,
with regard to light communicated to us when Our Lady opened Her
hands, and everything connected with this light, we experienced a
kind of interior impulse that compelled us to keep silent.
Afterwards, we told Francisco all that Our Lady had said. He
was overjoyed and expressed the happiness he felt when he heard of
the promise that he would go to Heaven. Crossing his hands on his
breast, he exclaimed: Oh, my dear Our Lady! Ill say as many
Rosaries as You want! And from then on he made a habit of moving
away from us, as though going for a walk. When we called him and
asked him what he was doing, he raised his hand and showed me his
Rosary. If we told him to come and play, and say the Rosary with us

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afterwards, he replied: Ill pray then as well. Dont you remember

that Our Lady said: I must pray many Rosaries? He said to me, on
one occasion: I loved seeing the Angel, but I loved still more seeing
Our Lady. What I loved most of all was to see Our Lord in that light
from Our Lady which penetrated our hearts. I love God so much! But
He is very sad because of so many sins! We must never commit any
sins again.
I have already said in the second account about Jacinta, how he
was the one who gave me the news that she had broken our agreement
not to say anything. As he shared my opinion that the matter should be
kept secret, he added sadly, As for me, when my mother asked me if
it were true, I had to say that it was, so as not to tell a lie. From time
to time he said: Our Lady told us that we would have to suffer, but I
dont mind. Ill suffer all that She wishes! What I want is to go to
Heaven!
One day, when I showed how unhappy I was over the
persecution now beginning both in my family and outside, Francisco
tried to encourage me with these words. Never mind! Didnt Our
Lady say that we would have much to suffer, to make reparation to
Our Lord and to her own Immaculate Heart for all the sins by which
they are offended? They are so sad! If we can console them with these
sufferings how happy we shall be!
When we arrived at our pasturage a few days after Our Ladys
first apparition, he climbed up to the top of a steep rock and called to
us: Dont come up here. Let me stay up here alone. All right, and
off I went chasing butterflies with Jacinta. We no sooner caught them
than we made another sacrifice of letting them fly away, and we never
gave another thought to Francisco. When lunch time came we missed
him and went to call him: Francisco, dont you want to come for your
lunch? No, you eat. And to pray the Rosary? That, yes, later on.
Call me again later. When I went to call him again, he said to me:
You come up here and pray with me. We climbed up to the peak,
where the three of us could scarcely find room to kneel down, and I
asked him: But what have you been doing all this time? I am
thinking about God, who is so sad because of so many sins! If only I
could give Him joy! One day, we began to sing in happy chorus
about the serra:

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CHORUS
Ah! tra la la la
Tra la la la
La la la!
In this life everything sings.
And who sings better than I?
The shepherdess out of serra,
Or the maid a-washing in the stream.
Theres the merry chirp of the goldfinch
That comes to awaken me,
As soon as the sun arises.
The brambles come alive with his song.
The screech owl cries at night
Seeking to frighten me,
The girl in the moonlight sings
As she gaily shucks the corn.
The nightingale in the meadow
Spends the whole day long in song,
The turtle dove sings in the wood,
Even the cart squeaks out a song!
The serra is a rock-strewn garden
Smiling happily all the day long,
Sparkling with gleaming dew drops
That glisten on the mountain side!
We sang it right through once, and were about to repeat it, when
Francisco interrupted us: Lets not sing anymore. Since we saw the
Angel and Our Lady, singing doesnt appeal to me any longer.
Impressions of the Second Apparition
At the second apparition on June 13th, 1917, Francisco was
deeply impressed by the light which, as I related to you in the second
account, Our Lady communicated to us at the moment when She said:
My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the way which will
lead you to God. At the time, he did not seem to grasp the
significance of what was happening. Perhaps it was because it was not
given to him to hear the accompanying words. For this reason, he
asked later: Why did Our Lady have a heart in Her hand, spreading
out over the world that great light which is God? You were with Our

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Lady in the light which went down towards the earth, and Jacinta was
with me in the light which rose towards heaven! That is because you
and Jacinta will soon go to Heaven, I replied. While I, with the
Immaculate Heart of Mary will remain for some time on the earth.
How many years longer will you stay here? he asked. I dont
know. Quite a lot. Was it Our Lady that said so? Yes, and I saw in
the light that She shone into our hearts.
Jacinta confirmed the very same thing saying: It is just so!
Thats exactly how I saw it too! He remarked sometimes: These
people are so happy just because you told them that Our Lady wants
the Rosary said, and that you are to learn to read! How would they
feel if they only knew what She showed us in God in Her Immaculate
Heart, in that great light! But this is a secret, it must not be spoken
about. Its better that no one should know it!
After this apparition, whenever they asked us if Our Lady had
said anything else, we began to give this reply: Yes She did, but its a
secret. If they asked us why it was a secret, we shrugged our
shoulders, lowered our heads and kept silent. But after July 13th, we
said: Our Lady told us we were not to tell it to anybody, thus
referring to the secret imposed on us by Our Lady.
Francisco Strengthens Lucias Courage
In the course of this month, the influx of people increased
considerably, and so did the constant questionings and contradictions.
Francisco suffered quite a lot from all this, and complained to his
sister saying: What a pity! If you had only kept quiet, no one would
know! If only it were not a lie we could tell all the people that we saw
nothing, and that would be the end of it. But this cant be done!
When he saw me perplexed and in doubt, he wept, and said: But how
can you think that it is the devil? Didnt you see Our Lady and God in
that great light? How can we go there without you, when it is you who
does the talking?
That night after supper he came back to my house, called me out
to the old threshing floor, and said: Look! Arent you going
tomorrow? I am not going. Ive already told you Im not going back
there anymore. But what a shame! Why is it that you now think that

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way? Dont you see that it cant be the devil? God is already sad
enough on account of so many sins and now if you dont go, Hell be
sadder still! Come on, say youll go! Ive already told you Im not
going. It is no use asking me. And I returned abruptly to the house. A
few days later, he said to me: You know I never slept at all that night.
I was the whole time crying and praying, begging Our Lady to make
you go!
Impressions of the Third Apparition
In the third apparition, Francisco seemed to be the one on whom
the vision of hell made the least impression, though it did indeed have
quite a considerable effect on him. What made the most powerful
impression on him and what wholly absorbed him, was God, the Most
Holy Trinity, perceived in that light which penetrated our inmost
souls. Afterwards he said: We were on fire in that light which is God
and yet we were not burnt! What is God? We could never put it
into words. Yes, that is something indeed which we could never
express! But what a pity it is that He is so sad! If only I could console
Him!
One day, I was asked if Our Lady had told us to pray for sinners,
and I said she had not. At the first opportunity, while the people were
questioning Jacinta, he called me aside and said: You lied just now!
How could you say that Our Lady didnt ask us to pray for sinners
then? For sinners, no! She told us to pray for peace, for the war to
end. But for sinners she told us to make sacrifices. Ah! Thats true. I
was beginning to think you had lied.
Francisco in Prison
I have already described how Francisco spent the day praying
and weeping, perhaps even more upset than I was when my father
received an order to present me before the administrator at Vila Nova
de Ourem. In prison, he was quite courageous and tried to cheer up
Jacinta when she felt most homesick. While we were saying the
Rosary in prison, he noticed that one of the prisoners was on his knees
with his cap still on his head. Francisco went up to him and said: If
you wish to pray, you should take your cap off. Right away the poor

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man handed it to him and he went over and put it on the bench on top
of his own.
During Jacintas interrogation, he confided to me with boundless
joy and peace: If they kill us as they say, well soon be in heaven!
How wonderful! Nothing else matters! Then after a moments silence
he added: God grant that Jacinta wont be afraid. I am going to say a
Hail Mary for her! He promptly removed his cap and prayed. The
guard seeing him praying, asked him: What are you saying? I am
saying a Hail Mary so that Jacinta wont be afraid. The guard made a
scornful gesture and let him go ahead.
One day after our return from Vila Nova Ourem, we began to be
aware of the presence of the supernatural all around us and to feel that
we were about to receive some heavenly communication. Francisco at
once showed his concern over Jacintas absence. What a pity it
would be, he exclaimed, if Jacinta did not get here in time! He
begged his brother to go quickly and get her, adding: Tell her to run
here. After his brother had left us, Francisco said: Jacinta will be
very sad if she doesnt arrive in time. After the apparition, his sister
wanted to stay there the whole afternoon, so he said: No! You must
go home because mother didnt let you come out with the sheep. And
to encourage her, he went back to the house with her.
In prison we noticed that it was already past midday, and that
they would not let us go to the Cova da Iria. Francisco said: Perhaps
Our Lady will come and appear to us here. On the following day, he
could not hide his distress and almost in tears, he said: Our Lady
must have been very sad because we didnt go to the Cova da Iria, and
She wont appear to us again. I would so love to see Her!
While in prison, Jacinta wept bitterly, for she was so homesick
for her mother and all the family. Francisco tried to cheer her saying:
Even if we never see our mother again, lets be patient! We can offer
it for the conversion of sinners. The worst thing would be if Our Lady
never came back again! That is what hurts me the most. But I offer
this as well for sinners. Afterwards he asked me: Tell me! Will Our
Lady not come and appear to us anymore? I dont know. I think She
will. I miss Her so much! The apparition at Valinhos was,
therefore a double joy for him. He had been tormented by the fear that
She would never return. He told me later: Most likely, She didnt

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appear on the 13th, so as to avoid going to the administrators house,

maybe because he is such a bad man.
Impressions of the Last Apparitions
After the 13th of September, when I told Francisco that in
October Our Lord would come as well, he was overwhelmed with joy:
Oh, how good He is! Ive only seem Him twice, and I love Him so
much! From time to time, he asked: Are there many days left till the
13th? Im longing for that day to come, so that I can see Our Lord
again. Then he thought for a moment, and added: But listen! Will
He still be so sad? I am so sorry to see Him sad like that! I offer Him
all the sacrifices I can think of. Sometimes, I dont even run away
from all those people just in order to make sacrifices!
After October 13th, he said to me: I loved seeing Our Lord, but
I loved still more seeing Him in that light where we were with Him,
and then I can look at Him forever. One day I asked Him: When
you are questioned, why do you put your head down and not want to
answer? Because I want you to answer, and Jacinta too. I didnt hear
anything. I can only say what I saw. Then supposing I said something
you dont want me to say? Every now and then he went off and left
us without warning. When we missed him, we went in search of him,
calling out his name. He answered from behind a little wall, or a shrub
or a clump of brambles, and there he was on his knees praying: why
didnt you tell us so that we could come and pray with you?
Because I prefer to pray alone.
In my notes on the book called Jacinta, Ive already related what
happened on a piece of land known as Varzea. I dont think I need to
repeat it here. On my way home one day, we had to pass by my
godmothers house. She had just been making a mead drink, and
called us in to give us a glass. We went in, and Francisco was the first
to whom she offered a glassful. He took it and without drinking it, he
passed it on to Jacinta, so that she and I could have a drink first.
Meanwhile he turned on his heel and disappeared.
Where is Francisco? My godmother asked. I dont know, he was
here just now. He did not return, so Jacinta and I thanked my
godmother for the drink and went in search of Francisco. We knew

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without a shadow of a doubt that he would be sitting on the edge of

the well which I have mentioned so often. Francisco, you didnt
drink your glass of mead! My godmother called you so many times,
and you didnt appear! When I took the glass, I suddenly
remembered I could offer that sacrifice to console Our Lord, so while
you two were taking a drink, I ran over here.
Anecdotes And Popular Songs
Between my house and Franciscos lived my godfather
Anastacio, who was married to an older woman whom God had not
blessed with children. They were farmers and quite well off, so they
didnt need to work. My father was overseer of their farm and had
charge of the day laborers. In gratitude for this they had a special
liking for me, particularly my godfathers wife, whom I called my
godmother Teresa. If I didnt call in during the day, I had to go and
sleep there at night, because she couldnt get along without her little
sweet meat, as she called me.
On festive occasions, she delighted in dressing me up with her
gold necklace and heavy earrings which hung down below my
shoulders, and a pretty little hat decorated with immense feathers of
different colours and fastened with an array of gold beads. At the
festas, there was no one better turned out than I, and how my sisters
and my godmother gloried in the fact! The other children crowded
round me to admire the brilliance of my finery. To tell the truth, I
myself greatly enjoyed the festa, and vanity was my worst adornment.
Everybody showed liking and esteem for me, except a poor
orphan girl whom my godmother Teresa had taken into her home on
the death of her mother. She seemed to fear that I would get part of the
inheritance she was hoping for, and indeed she would not have been
mistaken, had not Our Lord destined for me a far more precious
inheritance. As soon as the news of the apparitions got round, my
godfather showed unconcern, and my godmother was completely
opposed to it all. She made no secret of her disapproval of such
inventions, as she called them. I began, therefore, to keep away from
her house as much as I could. My disappearance soon followed by that
of the groups of children who so often gathered there, and whom my

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godmother loved to watch singing and dancing. She treated them to

dried figs, nuts, almonds, chestnuts, fruit, and so on.
One Sunday afternoon, I was passing near her house with
Francisco and Jacinta, when she called out to us: Come in, my little
swindlers, come! Youve not been here for a long time! Once inside,
she lavished her usual attentions on us. The other children seemed to
guess we were there, and began to come along as well. My kind
godmother, happy at seeing us all gathered in her house once again
after such a long space of time, heaped delicacies upon us, and wanted
to see us sing and dance. Come on, we said, what will it be, this
one or that? My godmother made the choice herself. It was
Congratulations with Illusions, a part song for boys and girls:
CHORUS
You are the sun of the sphere,
Do not deny your rays!
These are the smiles of springtime,
Ah! Change them not into sighs!
Congratulations to the maiden,
Fragrant as the dewy dawn,
Smiling, you anticipate
The caressing of another morn.
The year is rich in flowers,
Rich in fruit and every good!
And may the year that dawns
Be rich in hopes for you!
There hopes are the best of gifts,
Our warmest wishes for you!
Place them upon your brow,
Theyre the finest crown of all!
If the past was lovely,
The future will be so too!
Greetings for the year now gone,
For the year to come as well!
In this merry banquet of life ,
Charming Atlantic flower,
The gardener and the garden fair
Are lauded in glad some song!
Your heart is yearning for the flowers

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That bloom on your native soil,

For your home and its purest loves
That entwine around your heart!
CHORUS 2
Do you think it right, good sir,
When the topsail veers in sight,
That Berlenga and the Carvoeiro
- Ah! Extinguish their lighthouse beams?
But the sea is lashed to fury:
An everlasting swirling main!
Each night is a howling turmoil
That leads to a watery grave.
Gloomy sand banks of Papoa,
Estelas and Farilhoes!
What tragedy ever re-echoes
In the crash of the foaming waves!
Each rugged reef in these waters
Is a grim presage of death!
Every wave chants a doleful dirge
Each cross recalls a wreck!
Then, how can you be so cruel
And put out your light that is life
Way out on the darkened waters
Guiding boats securely ashore.
CHORUS 3
I no longer shed any tears
When I speak of our farewell,
My hesitating took only a moment
- Ah! My loss lasts all life through
Go and tell heaven to arrest
The flowing torrent of its grace,
Let the flowers wilt and wither
They no longer bespeak your care
Go, I am too disconsolate
My sanctuary all in mourning,
High up in the towering steeple

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The bronze bells tolls out death.

But if leave me sad and lonely
In the churchyard grey and grim,
Carved out on the black of your tombstone
I leave my eternal laments.
This garden today is so bare,
But once all smiling and gay,
No care did it lack before,
Twas the gardener who left it to doe.
I trust in Providence bestowing
Tender caresses to come!
Hopefully prepared for everyone,
All who leave the homely nest.
Francisco the Little Moralist
The women of the neighbourhood no sooner heard the lively
singing than they came over to join us, and at the end they asked us to
sing it through again. Francisco, however came up to me and said:
Lets not sing that song any more. Our Lord certainly does not want
us to sing songs like that now. We therefore slipped away among the
other children, and ran off to our favourite well. To tell the truth, now
that I have just finished writing out the song under obedience, I cover
my face with shame. But Your Excellency, at the request of Rev. Dr.
Galamba, has seen fit to order me to write down the popular songs that
we knew. Here they are then! I do not know why they are wanted, but
for me it is enough to know that I am thus fulfilling Gods will.
Meanwhile, it was getting near Carnival time in 1918. The boys
and girls met once again that year to prepare the usual festive meals
and fun of those days. Each one brought something from home such
as olive oil, flour, meat, and so on, to one of the houses, and the girls
then did the cooking for a sumptuous banquet. All those three days,
feasting and dancing went on well into the night, above all on the last
day of the carnival. The children under fourteen had their own
celebration in another house. Several of the girls came to ask me to
help them organise our festa. At first, I refused. But finally I gave in
like a coward, especially after hearing the pleading of Jose Carreiras
sons and daughter, for it was he who had placed his home in Casa

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Velha at our disposal. He and his wife insistently asked me to go

there.
I yielded then, and went with a crowd of youngsters to see the
place. There was a fine large room, almost as big as a hall, which was
well suited for the amusements, and a spacious yard for the supper!
Everything was arranged, and I came home, outwardly in most festive
mood, but inwardly with my conscience protesting loudly. As soon as
I met Jacinta and Francisco I told them what had happened. Are you
going back again to those parties and games? Francisco asked me
sternly. Have you forgotten that we promised never to do that any
more? I didnt want to go at all. But you can see how they never
stopped begging me to go: and now I dont know what to do!
There was indeed no end to the entreaties, nor to the number of
girls who came insisting that I play with them. Some even came from
far distant villagesfrom Moita came Rosa, Ana Caetano and Ana
Brogueira; from Fatima, the two daughters of Manuel Caracol; from
Boleiros, the two daughters of Manuel da Ramira, and two of Joaquim
Chapeleta as well from Amoreira, the two Silva girls; from Currais,
Laura Gato, Josefa Valinho, and several others whose names I have
forgotten; besides those who came from Boleiros and Lomba da
Pederneira, and so on; and this quite apart from all those who came
from Eira da Pedra, Casa Velha, and Aljustrel. How could I so
suddenly let down all those girls, who seemed not to know how to
enjoy themselves without my company, and make them understand
that I had to stop going to these gatherings once and for all? God
inspired Francisco with the answer. Do you know how you could do
it? Everybody knows that Our Lady has appeared to you. Therefore
you can say that you have promised Her not to dance any more, and
for this reason you are not going! Then, on such days, we can run
away and hide in the cave on the Cabeco. Up there nobody will find
us!
I accepted his proposal, and once I had made my decision,
nobody else thought of organizing any such gathering. Gods blessing
was with us. Those friends of mine who until then sought me out to
have me join in their amusements, now followed my example, and
came to my home on Sunday afternoons to ask me to go with them to
pray the Rosary in the Cova da Iria.

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Francisco, Lover of Solitude and Prayer

Francisco was a boy of few words. Whenever he prayed or
offered sacrifices, he preferred to go apart and hide, even from Jacinta
and myself. Quite often we surprised him hidden behind a wall or a
clump of blackberry bushes, whither he had ingeniously slipped away
to kneel and pray, or think, as he said, of Our Lord, Who is sad on
account of so many sins.
If I asked him: Francisco, why dont you tell me to pray with
you and Jacinta too? I prefer to pray by myself, he answered, so
that I can think and console Our Lord, who is so sad! I asked him one
day: Francisco, which do you like betterto console Our Lord, or to
convert sinners, so that no more souls will go to hell? I would rather
console Our Lord. Didnt you notice how sad Our Lady was last
month, when She said that people must not offend Our Lord any more,
for He is already much offended? I would rather console Our Lord,
and after that convert sinners so that they wont offend Him any
more.
Sometimes, on our way to school, as soon as we reached Fatima,
He would say to me: Listen! You go to school, and Ill stay here in
the church, close to Hidden Jesus. Its not worth my while learning to
read, as Ill be going to heaven very soon. On your way home, come
here and call me. The Blessed Sacrament was kept at that time near
the entrance of the church, on the left side, as the church was
undergoing repairs. Francisco went over there, between the baptismal
font and the altar, and thats where I found him on my return.
Later, when he fell ill, he often told me, when I called in to see
him on my way to school: Look! Go to the church and give my love
to the Hidden Jesus. What hurts me most is that I cannot go there
myself and stay awhile with Hidden Jesus. When I arrived at his
house one day, I said goodbye to a group of school children who had
come with me, and I went in to pay a visit to him and his sister. As he
had heard all the noise, he asked me: Did you come with all that
crowd? Yes, I did. Dont go with them, because you might learn
to commit sins. When you come out of school, go and stay for a little
while near the Hidden Jesus, and afterwards come home by yourself.

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On one occasion I asked him: Francisco, do you feel very

sick? I do, but Im suffering to console Our Lord. When Jacinta
and I went into his room one day, he said to us: Dont talk much
today, as my head aches so badly. Dont forget to make the offering
for sinners, Jacinta reminded Him. Yes. But first I make it to
console Our Lord and Our Lady, and then, afterwards, for sinners and
for the Holy Father.
On another occasion, I found him very happy when I arrived.
Are you better? No. I feel worse. It wont be long now till I go to
heaven. When Im there, Im going to console Our Lord and Our Lady
very much. Jacinta is going to pray a lot for sinners, for the Holy
Father, and for you. You will stay here, because Our Lady wants it
that way. Listen, you must do everything that She tells you. While
Jacinta seemed to be solely concerned with the one thought of
converting sinners and saving souls from going to hell, Francisco
appeared to think only of consoling Our Lady, who had seemed to him
to be so sad.
Francisco Sees the Devil
How different is the incident that I now call to mind. One day
we went to a place called Pedreira, and while the sheep were
browsing, we jumped from rock to rock, making our voices echo
down in the deep ravines. Francisco withdrew, as was his wont, to a
hollow among the rocks.
A considerable time had elapsed, when we heard him shouting
and crying out to us and to Our Lady. Distressed lest something might
have happened to him, we ran in search of him, calling out his name.
Where are you? Here! Here! But it still took us some time before
we could locate him. At last, we came upon him, trembling with
fright, still on his knees, and so upset that he was unable to rise to his
feet. Whats wrong? What happened to you? In a voice half
smothered with fright, he replied: It was one of those huge beasts that
we saw in hell. He was right here breathing out flames! I saw
nothing, neither did Jacinta, so I laughed and said to him: You never
want to think about Hell, so as not to be afraid. Indeed when Jacinta
appeared particularly moved by the remembrance of hell, he used to

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say: Dont think so much about hell! Think about Our Lord and Our
Lady instead. I dont think about hell, so as not to be afraid.
He was anything but fearful. Hed go anywhere in the dark
alone at night, without the slightest hesitation. He played with lizards,
and when he came across snakes he got them to entwine themselves
round a stick, and even poured sheeps milk into the holes in the rocks
for them to drink. He went hunting for foxes, holes and rabbit
burrows, for genets, and other creatures of the wilds.
Francisco and His Feathered Friends
Francisco was very fond of birds and could not bear to see
anyone robbing their nests. He always kept part of the bread he had
for his lunch, breaking it into crumbs and spreading them out on top of
the rocks, so that the birds could eat them. Moving away a little, he
called them as though he expected them to understand him. He didnt
want anyone else to approach lest they be frightened. Poor wee
things! You are hungry, he said, as though conversing with them.
Come, come and eat! And they, keen-eyed as they are, did not wait
for the invitation, but came flocking around him. It was his delight to
see them flying back to the tree tops with their little craws full, singing
and chirping in a deafening chorus, in which Francisco joined with
rare skill.
One day we met a little boy carrying in his hand a small bird
that he caught. Full of compassion, Francisco promised him two coins,
if only he would let the birds fly away. The boy readily agreed. But
first he wished to see the money in his hand. Francisco ran all the way
home from the Carreira pond, which lies a little distance below the
Cova da Iria, to fetch the coins, and so let the little prisoner free. Then
he watched it fly away, he clapped his hands for joy, and said: Be
careful! Dont let yourself be caught again.
Thereabouts lived an old woman called Ti Maria Carreira,
whose sons sent her out sometimes to take care of her flock of goats
and sheep. The animals were rather wild, and often strayed in different
directions. Whenever we met Ti Maria in these straits, Francisco was
the first to run to her aid. He helped her to lead the flock to pasture,
chased after the stray ones and gathered them together again. The poor

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old woman overwhelmed Francisco with her thanks and called him
her dear guardian angel. When we came across any sick people, he
was filled with compassion and said: I cant bear to see them, as I
feel so sorry for them! Tell them Ill pray for them.
One day, they wanted to take us to Montelo to the home of a
man called Joaquim Chapeleta. Francisco did not want to go. Im not
going, because I cant bear to see people who want to speak and
cannot. (The mans mother was dumb.) When Jacinta and I returned
home at nightfall, I asked my aunt where Francisco was. How do I
know! she replied. I am worn out looking for him all afternoon.
Some ladies came and wanted to see you. But you two were not here.
He vanished, and never appeared again. Now you go and look for
him! We sat down for a bit on a bench in the kitchen, thinking that
we would go later to the Loca do Cabeco, certain that we would find
him there. But no sooner had my aunt left the house, than his voice
came from the attic through a little hole in the ceiling. He had climbed
up there when he thought that some people were coming. From this
vantage point he had observed everything that happened, and told us
afterwards: There were so many people! Heaven help me if they had
ever caught me by myself! Whatever would I have said to them.
(There was a trapdoor in the kitchen, which was easily reached by
placing a chair on a table, thus affording access to the attic.)
Franciscos Love and Zeal
As I have already said, my aunt sold her flock before my mother
disposed of ours. From then onwards, before I went out in the
morning, I let Jacinta and Francisco know the place where I was going
to pasture the sheep that day; as soon as they could get away, they
came to join me.
One day, they were waiting for me when I arrived. Oh! How
did you get here so early? I came, answered Francisco, becauseI
dont know whybeing with you didnt matter so much to me before,
and I just came because of Jacinta, but now I cant sleep in the
morning as Im so anxious to be with you. Once the apparitions on
each 13th of the month were over, he said to us on the eve of the
following 13th: Look! Early tomorrow morning, Im making my

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escape out through the back garden to the cave on the Cabeco. As
soon as you can, come and join me there.
Oh dear! There I was, writing things about his being sick and
near to death, and now I see that I have gone back to the happy times
we had on the serra, with the birds chirping away merrily all around
us. I ask your forgiveness. In writing down what I can remember, I am
like a crab that walks backwards and forwards without bothering
about reaching the end of its journey. I leave my work to Dr.
Galamba, in case he can make use of anything in it, though I suppose
he will find little or nothing.
I return therefore to Franciscos illness. But first, I will tell you
something about his brief schooling. He came out of the house one
day and met me with my sister Teresa, who was already married and
living in Lomba. Another woman from a nearby hamlet had asked her
to come to me about her son who had been accused of some crime of
which I no longer remember, and if he could not prove his innocence
he was to be condemned, either to exile or to a term of some years
imprisonment. Teresa asked me insistently, in the name of the poor
woman for whom she wished to do such a favour, to plead for this
grace with Our Lady. Having received the message, I set out for
school, and on the way, I told my cousins all about it. When we
reached Fatima, Francisco said to me: Listen! While you go to
school, Ill stay with the Hidden Jesus, and Ill ask Him for that
grace. When I came out of school, I went to call him and asked: Did
you pray to Our Lord to grant that grace? Yes, I did. Tell your
Teresa that hell be home in a few days time. And indeed, a few
days later, the poor boy returned home. On the 13th, he and his entire
family came to thank Our Lady for the grace they had received.
On another occasion I noticed, as we left the house, that
Francisco was walking very slowly: Whats the matter? I asked him.
You seem unable to walk! Ive such a bad headache, and I feel as
though I am going to fall. Then dont come. Stay at home! I dont
want to. Id rather stay in the church with the Hidden Jesus, while you
go to school. Francisco was already sick, but could still manage to
walk a little, so one day I went with him to the cave on the Cabeco,
and to Valinhos. On our return home, we found the house full of
people. A poor women was standing near a table, pretending to bless
innumerable pious objects: rosary beads, medals, crucifixes and so on.

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Jacinta and I were soon surrounded by a crowd of people who wanted

to question us. Francisco was seized upon by the would-be blessed,
who invited him to help her. I could not give a blessing, he replied
very seriously, and neither should you! Only priests do that. The
little boys words went round the crowd like lighting, as though
spoken by some loud-speaker, and the poor women had to make a
quick departure amid a hail of insults from the people, all demanding
back the objects they had just handed over to her. I already related in
my account of Jacinta, how he managed to go one day to the Cova da
Iria; how he wore the rope and then handed it back to me; how he was
first, on a day when the heat was suffocating, to offer the sacrifice of
not taking a drink; and how he sometimes reminded his sister about
suffering for sinners, and so on. I presume, therefore, that it is not
necessary to repeat these things here.
One day, I was by the bedside, keeping him company. Jacinta,
who had got up for a while, was there too. Suddenly, his sister Teresa
came to warn us that a veritable multitude of people was coming down
the road, and were obviously looking for us. As soon as she had gone
out, I said to Francisco: Alright! You two wait for them here. Im
going to hide. Jacinta managed to run out behind me, and we both
succeeded in concealing ourselves inside a barrel which was
overturned just outside the door leading to the back garden. It was not
long before we heard the noise of people searching the house, going
out through the garden and even standing right beside the barrel; but
we were saved by the fact that its open was turned in the opposite
direction. When we felt that they had all gone away, we came out of
our hiding place, and went to join Francisco, who told us all that had
happened: There were so many people and they wanted me to tell
them where you were, but I didnt know myself. They wished to see
us and ask us lots of things. Besides that, there was a woman from
Alqueidao, who wanted the cure of a sick person and the conversion
of a sinner. Ill pray for that woman, and you pray for the others
theres such a lot of them. Shortly after Franciscos death, this
woman came to see us, and asked me to show her his grave. She
wished to go there and thank him for the two graces for which she had
asked him to pray.
One day, we were just outside Aljustrel, on our way to the Cova
da Iria, when a group of people came upon us by surprise around the

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bend in a road. In order the better to see and hear us, they sent Jacinta
and myself on top of a wall. Francisco refused to let himself be put
there, as though he was afraid of falling. Then, little by little, he edged
his way out and leaned against a dilapidated wall on the opposite side.
A poor woman and her son, seeing that they could not manage to
speak to us personally, as they wished, went and knelt down in front
of Francisco. They begged him to obtain from Our Lady the grace that
the father of the family would be cured and that he would not have to
go to the war. Francisco knelt down also, took off his cap and asked if
they would like to pray the Rosary with him. They said they would,
and began to pray. Very soon, all those people stopped asking curious
questions, and also went down on their knees to pray. After that, they
went with us to the Cova da Iria, reciting a Rosary along the way.
Once there, we said another Rosary, and then they went away, quite
happy.
The poor woman promised to come back and thank Our Lady
for the graces she had asked for, if they were granted. She came back
several times, accompanied not only by her son but also her husband,
who had by now recovered. They came from the parish of St.
Mamede, and we called them the Casaleiros.
Franciscos Illness
While he was ill, Francisco always appeared joyful and content.
I asked him sometimes: Are you suffering a lot Francisco? Quite a
lot, but never mind! I am suffering to console Our Lord, and then
afterwards, within a short time, I am going to heaven! Once you get
there, dont forget to ask Our Lady to take me there soon as well.
That, I wont ask! You know very well that She doesnt want you
there yet.
The day before he died, he said to me: Look! I am very ill; it
wont be long now before I go to heaven. Then listen to this. When
youre there, dont forget to pray a great deal for sinners, for the Holy
Father, for me and for Jacinta. Yes, Ill pray. But look, youd better
ask Jacinta to pray for these things instead, because Im afraid Ill
forget when I see Our Lord. And then, more than anything else I want
to console Him.

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One day, early in the morning, his sister Teresa came looking
for me. Come quickly to our house! Francisco is very bad, and says
he wants to tell you something. I dressed as fast as I could and went
over there. He asked his mother and brothers and sisters to leave the
room, saying that he wanted to ask me a secret. They went out, and he
said to me: I am going to confession so that I can receive Holy
Communion, and then die. I want you to tell me if you have seen me
commit any sin, and then go and ask Jacinta if she has seen me
commit any. You disobeyed your mother a few times, I answered,
when she told you to stay at home, and you ran off to be with me or
to go and hide. Thats true. I remember that. Now go and ask Jacinta
if she remembers anything else.
I went, and Jacinta thought for a while, then answered: Well,
tell him that, before Our Lady appeared to us, he stole a coin from our
father to buy a music box from Jose Marto of Casa Velha; and when
the boys from Aljustrel threw stones at those from Boleiros, he threw
some too! When I gave him this message from his sister, he
answered: Ive already confessed those, but Ill do it again. Maybe, it
is because of these sins that I committed that Our Lord is so sad! But
even if I dont die, Ill never commit them again. Im heartily sorry for
them now. Joining his hands, he recited the prayer: O my Jesus,
forgive us, save us from the fire of hell, lead all souls to heaven,
especially those who are most in need.
Then he said: Now listen, you must also ask Our Lord to
forgive me my sins. Ill ask that, dont worry. If Our Lord had not
forgiven them already, Our Lady would not have told Jacinta the other
day that She was coming to take you to heaven. Now, Im going to
Mass, and there Ill pray to the Hidden Jesus for you. Then, please
ask Him to let the parish priest give me Holy Communion. I
certainly will. When I returned from the church, Jacinta had already
gotten up and was sitting on his bed. As soon as Francisco saw me, he
asked: Did you ask the Hidden Jesus that the parish priest would give
me Holy Communion? I did. Then, in heaven, Ill pray for you.
You will? The other day you said you wouldnt! That was about
taking you there very soon. But if you want me to pray for that, I will,
and then let Our Lady do as She wishes. Yes, do. You pray.
Alright. Dont worry, Ill pray.

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Then I left them, and went off to my usual daily lessons and
work. When I came home at night, I found him radiant with joy. He
had made his confession, and the parish priest had promised to bring
him Holy Communion next day. On the following day, after receiving
Holy Communion, he said to his sister: I am happier than you are,
because I have the Hidden Jesus in my heart. Im going to heaven, but
Im going to pray very much to Our Lord and Our Lady for them to
bring you both here soon. Jacinta and I spent almost the whole of that
day at his bedside. As he was already unable to pray, he asked us to
pray the Rosary for him. Then he said to me: I am sure I shall miss
you terribly in heaven. If only Our Lady would bring you there soon,
also! You wont miss me! Just imagine! And you right there with
Our Lord and Our Lady! They are so good! Thats true! Perhaps, I
wont remember! Then I added: Perhaps youll forget! But never
mind!
Franciscos Holy Death
That night I said goodbye to him. Goodbye, Francisco! If you
go to heaven tonight, dont forget me when you get there, do you hear
me? No, I wont forget. Be sure of that. Then seizing my right
hand, he held it tightly for a long time, looking at me with tears in his
eyes. Do you want anything more? I asked him, with tears running
down my cheeks too. No! he answered in a low voice, quite
overcome.
As the scene was becoming so moving, my aunt told me to leave
the room. Goodbye then, Francisco! Till we meet in heaven,
goodbye! Heaven was drawing near. He took his flight to heaven the
following day in the arms of his heavenly Mother. I could never
describe how much I missed him. This grief was a thorn that pierced
my heart for years to come. It is a memory of the past that echoes
forever unto eternity.
Twas night: I lay peacefully dreaming
That on this festive longed-for day
Of heavenly union, the Angels above
Vied with us here in holy emulation!
What golden crown beyond all telling,
What garland of flowers garnered here below

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Could equal the crown heaven was offering

Angelic beauty, all earthly longing stilled.
The joy, the smile, of our loving Mother
In the heavenly realms, he lives in God
Ravished with love, with joys surpassing,
Those years on earth were so swift, so fleeting
Farewell!

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THE FOURTH MEMOIR OF SISTER LUCIA

(1941)
The Story of the Apparitions
Now, Your Excellency, we come to the most difficult part of all
that you have commanded me to put in writing. First of all, Your
Excellency has expressly required of me to write about the apparitions
of the Angel, putting down every circumstance and detail, and even as
far as possible, their interior effects upon us. Then, along comes Dr.
Galamba to ask you to command me to also write about the
Apparitions of Our Lady.
Command her, he said a little while ago in Valencia. Yes,
Your Excellency, command her to write everything absolutely
everything. Shell have to do the rounds of Purgatory many a time for
having kept silent about so many things! As for Purgatory, I am not
in the least afraid of it, from this point of view. I have always obeyed,
and obedience deserves neither penalty nor punishment. Firstly, I
obeyed the interior inspirations of the Holy Spirit, and secondly, I
obeyed the commands of those who spoke to me in His name. This
very thing was the first order and counsel which God deigned to give
me through Your Excellency. Happy and content I record the words I
have heard long a go from the lips of that Holy priest, the Vicar of
Torres Novas: The secret of the Kings daughter should remain
hidden in the depths of her heart. Then beginning to penetrate their
meaning, I said: My secret is for myself. But now I can longer say
so. Immolated on the altar of obedience, I say rather: My secret
belongs to God. I have placed it in His hands; may He do with it as
best pleases Him.
Dr Galamba said then: Your Excellency, command her to say
everything, everything, and to hide nothing. And Your Excellency
assisted most certainly by the Holy Spirit, pronounced this judgment:
No I will not command that! I will have nothing to do with this
matter of secrets. Thanks be to God! Any other order would have
been for me a source of endless perplexities and scruples. Had I
received a contrary command, I would have asked myself, times
without number: Whom should I obey? God or His representative?

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And perhaps, being unable to come to a decision, I would have been

left in a state of real inner torment!
Then Your Excellency continued speaking in Gods name:
Sister, write down the Apparitions of the Angel and of Our Lady,
because my dear sister, this is for the glory of God and of Our Lady.
How good God is! He is the God of peace, and it is along paths of
peace that He leads those who trust in Him. I shall begin then my new
task, and thus fulfill the commands received from Your Excellency as
well as the desires of Rev. Dr Galamba. With the exception of that
part of the secret which I am not permitted to reveal at present, I shall
say everything. I shall not knowingly omit anything, though I suppose
I may forget just a few small details of minor importance.
Apparition of the Angel
Although I cannot give the exact date, it seems to me that it was
1915 that the first Apparition took place. As far as I can judge, it was
the Angel, although at the time he did not venture to make himself
fully known. From what I can recall of the weather, I think that this
must have happened between the months of April and October in the
year 1915.
My three companions from Casa Velha, by name of Teresa
Matias and her Sister Maria Rosa, and Maria Justino, were with me on
the southern slope of the Cabeco. We were just about to pray the
Rosary when I saw, poised in the air above the trees that stretched
down to the valley which lay at our feet, what appeared to be a cloud
in human form, whiter than snow and almost transparent. My
companions asked me what it was. I replied that I did not know. This
happened in two further occasions, but on different days. This
Apparition made a certain impression upon me, which I do not know
how to explain. Little by little, this impression faded away, and were it
not for the events that followed, I think I would have forgotten it
completely.
The dates I cannot set down with certainty, because at that time,
I did not know how to reckon the years, the months or even days of
the week. But I think it must have been in the spring of 1916 that the
Angel appeared to us for the first time in our Loca do Cabeco. As I

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have already written in my account of Jacinta, we climbed the hillside

in search of shelter. After having taken our lunch and said our prayers,
we began to see, some distance off, above the trees that stretched
away towards the east, a light, whiter than snow, in the form of a
young man transparent, and brighter than any crystal, pierced by the
rays of the sun. As he drew nearer, we could distinguish his features
more and more clearly. We were surprised, absorbed, and struck dumb
with amazement. On reaching us, he said: Do not be afraid. I am the
Angel of Peace. Pray with me.
Kneeling down on the ground, he bowed down until his
forehead touched the earth. Led by a supernatural atmosphere which
enveloped us was so intense, that we were scarcely aware of our own
existence, remaining in the same posture in which he had left us, and
continually repeating the same prayer. The presence of God made
itself felt so intimately and so intensely that we did not even venture
to speak to one another. Next day we were still immersed in this
spiritual atmosphere, which only gradually began to disappear. It did
not occur to us to speak about this apparition, nor did we think of
recommending that it be kept a secret. The very Apparition itself
imposed secrecy. It was so intimate, that it was not easy to speak of it
at all. The impression upon us was all the greater, perhaps, in that it
was the first such manifestation that we had experienced.
The second Apparition must have been at the height of summer,
when the heat of the day was so intense that we had to take the sheep
home before noon and only let them out again in the early evening.
We went to spend the siesta hours in the shade of the trees which
surrounded the well that I have already mentioned several times.
Suddenly, we saw the same Angel right beside us. What are you
doing? he asked. Pray! Pray very much! The Hearts of Jesus and
Mary have designs of mercy on you. Offer prayers and sacrifices
constantly to the most High. How are we to make sacrifices? I
asked. Make everything you do a sacrifice, and offer it to God as an
act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and in
supplication for the conversion of sinners. You will thus draw down
peace upon your country. I am its Angel Guardian, the Angel of
Portugal. Above all accept and bare with submission, the suffering
which the Lord will send you.

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These words were indelibly impressed upon our minds. They

were like a light which made us understand who God is, how He loves
us and desires to be loved, the value of sacrifice, how pleasing it is to
Him and how, on account of it, he grants the grace of conversion to
sinners. It was for this reason that we began, from then on, to offer the
Lord all that mortified us, without however seeking out other forms of
mortification and penance, except that we remained for hours on end
with our foreheads touching the frond, repeating the prayer the Angel
had taught us.
It seems to me that the third Apparition must have been in
October, or towards the end of September, as we were no longer
returning home for siesta. As I have already written in my account of
Jacinta, we went one day from Pregueira ( a small olive grove
belonging to my parents) to the Lapa, making our way along the slope
of the hill on the side facing Aljustrel and Casa Velha. We said our
Rosary there and the prayer the Angel had taught us at the first
Apparition. While we were there, the Angel appeared to us for the
third time, holding a chalice in his hand, with a Host above it from
which drops of Blood were falling into the sacred vessel. Leaving the
chalice and the Host suspended in the air, the Angel prostrated on the
ground and repeated this prayer three times: Most Holy Trinity,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly, and I offer You
the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ,
present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference with which He Himself is offended.
And, through the infinite merits of His most Sacred Heart, and the
Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You the conversion of poor
sinners.
Then rising, he once more took the chalice and the Host in his
hands. He gave the Host to me, and to Jacinta and Francisco he gave
the contents of the chalice to drink, saying as he did so: Take and
drink the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, horribly outraged by
ungrateful men. Repair their crimes and console your God. Once
again, he prostrated on the ground and repeated with us three times
more, the same prayerMost Holy Trinity. and then he
disappeared. Impelled by the power of the supernatural that enveloped
us, we imitated all that the Angel had done, prostrating ourselves on
the ground as he did and repeating the prayers that he said. The force

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of the presence of God was so intense that it absorbed us and almost

completely annihilated us. It seemed to deprive us of all our exterior
actions as though guided by the same supernatural being who was
impelling us thereto. The peace and happiness which we felt were
great, but wholly interior, for our souls were completely immersed in
God. The physical exhaustion that came over us was also great.
Lucias Silence
I do not know why, but the Apparitions of Our Lady produced in
us very different effects. We felt the same peace and happiness, but
instead of physical prostration, an expansive ease of movement;
instead of this annihilation in the Divine Presence, a joyful exultation;
instead of the difficulty of speaking, we felt a certain communicative
enthusiasm. Despite these feelings, however, we felt inspired to be
silent, especially concerning certain things. Whenever I was
interrogated, I experienced an interior inspiration which directed me
how to answer, without either failing in truth or revealing what should
remain hidden for the time being. In this respect, I still have just this
one doubt: Should I have not said everything in this canonical
enquiry?
But I have no scruples about having kept silence, because at that
time I had as yet no realization of the importance of this particular
interrogation to which I was accustomed. The only thing I thought
strange was the order to take the oath. But as it was my confessor who
told me to do so, and as I was swearing to the truth, I took the oath
without any difficulty. Little did I suspect, at that moment, that the
devil would make the most of this, in order to torment me with
scruples later on. But thank God that is all over now.
There was yet another reason which confirmed me in my
conviction that I did well to remain silent. In the course of the
canonical enquiry, one of the interrogators, Rev. Dr. Marques dos
Santos, thought he could extend somewhat his questionnaire, and
began therefore to ask me more searching questions. Before
answering, I looked enquiringly at my confessor. His Reverence saved
me from my predicament, and answered on my behalf. He reminded
the interrogator that he was exceeding his rights in this matter.

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Almost the same thing happened when I was questioned by Rev.

Dr. Fischer. He had the authorization of Your Excellency and of Rev.
Mother Provincial, and seemed to have the right to question me on
everything. But, thank God, he came accompanied by my confessor.
At a given moment, he put to me a carefully studied question about
the secret. I felt perplexed and did not know how to answer. I glanced
towards my confessor, he understood me and answered for me. The
interrogator understood also, and confined himself to picking up some
magazines lying near by and holding them in front of my face. In this
way, God was showing me that the moment appointed by Him had not
yet arrived.
I shall now go on to write about the Apparitions of Our Lady. I
shall not delay over the circumstances that preceded or followed them,
since Rev. Dr. Galamba has kindly dispensed me from doing so.
The 13th of May, 1917
High up on the slope in the Cova da Iria, I was playing with
Jacinta and Francisco at building a little stone wall around a clump of
furze. Suddenly we saw what seemed to be a flash of lightning. Wed
better go home, I said to my cousins, thats lightning; we may have
a thunderstorm. Yes, indeed! they answered. We began to go down
the slope, hurrying the sheep along towards the road. We were more
or less halfway down the slope, and almost level with a large holmoak
tree that stood there, when we saw another flash of lightning.
We had only gone a few steps further when, there before us on a
small holmoak, we beheld a Lady all dressed in white. She was more
brilliant than the sun, and radiated a light more clear and intense than
a crystal glass filled with sparkling water, when the rays of the
burning sun shine through it. We stopped, astounded, before the
Apparition. We were so close, just a few feet from her, that we were
bathed in the light which surrounded her, or rather, which radiated
from her. Then Our Lady spoke to us: Do not be afraid. I will do you
no harm. Where are you from? I am from heaven. What do you
want from me? I have come to ask you to come here for six months
in succession, on the 13th day, at this same hour. Later on, I will tell
you who I am and what I want. Afterwards, I will return here yet a
seventh time. Shall I go to heaven too? Yes, you will. And

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Jacinta? She will go also. And Francisco? He will go there too,

but he must say many Rosaries.
Then I remembered to ask about two girls who had died
recently. They were friends of mine and used to come to my home to
learn weaving with my eldest sister. Is Maria das Neves in heaven?
Yes, she is. (I think she was about 16 years old). And Amelia?
She will be in purgatory until the end of the world. (It seems to me
that she was between 18 and 20 years of age). Are you willing to
offer yourselves to God and bear all the sufferings He wills to send
you, as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and
of supplication for the conversion of sinners? Yes, we are willing.
Then you are going to have much to suffer, but the grace of God will
be your comfort.
As She pronounced these last words the grace of God will be
your comfort, Our Lady opened her hands for the first time,
communicating to us a light so intense that, as it streamed from her
hands, its rays penetrated our hearts and the innermost depths of our
souls, making us see ourselves in God. Who was that light, more
clearly than we see ourselves in the best of mirrors. Then, moved by
an interior impulse that was also communicated to us, we fell on our
knees, repeating in our hearts: O most Holy Trinity, I adore You! My
God, my God, I love You in the most Blessed Sacrament!
After a few moments, Our Lady spoke again: Pray the Rosary
every day, in order to obtain peace for the world, and the end of the
war. Then She began to rise serenely, going upwards towards the
east, until She disappeared in the immensity of space. The light that
surrounded Her seemed to open up a path Her in the firmament, and
for this reason we sometimes said that we saw Heaven opening.
I think that I have already explained in my account of Jacinta, or
else in a letter, that the fear that we felt was not really fear of Our
Lady, but rather fear of the thunder storm which we thought was
coming, and it was from this that we sought to escape. The
Apparitions of Our Lady inspired neither fear nor fright, but rather
surprise. When I was asked if I had experienced fear, and I said we
had, I was referring to the fear we felt when we saw the flashes of
lightning and thought that a thunder storm was at hand. It was from
this that we wished to escape, as we were used to seeing lightening

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only when it thundered. Besides, the flashes of lightening were not

really lightning, but the reflected rays of a light which was
approaching. It was because we saw the light, that we sometimes said
we saw Our Lady coming; but properly speaking, we only perceived
Our Lady in that light when She was already on the holmoak tree.
The fact that we did not know how to explain this, and that we
wished to avoid questions, caused us to say sometimes that we saw
Her coming, we were referring to the approach of the light, which
after all was Herself; and when we said that we did not see Her
coming, we were really referring to the fact that we really saw Our
Lady only when She was on the holmoak.
The 13th of June, 1917
As soon as Jacinta, Francisco and I had finished praying the
Rosary, with a number of other people who were present, we saw once
more the flash reflecting the light which was approaching (which we
called lightning). The next moment, Our Lady was there on the
holmoak, exactly the same as in May. What do You want of me? I
asked. I wish you to come here on the 13th of next month, to pray the
Rosary every day, and to learn to read. Later I will tell you what I
want.
I asked for the cure of a sick person. If he is converted, he will
be cured during the year. I would like to ask You to take us to
Heaven. Yes. I will take Jacinta and Francisco soon. But you are to
stay here some time longer. Jesus wishes to make use of you to make
me known and loved. He wants to establish in the world, devotion to
my Immaculate Heart. Am I to stay here alone? I asked sadly. No,
my daughter. Are you suffering a great deal? Dont lose heart. I will
never forsake you. My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the
way that will lead you to God.
As Our Lady spoke these last words, She opened Her hands and
for the second time, She communicated to us the rays of that same
immense light. We saw ourselves in this light, as it were, immersed in
God. Jacinta and Francisco seemed to be in that part of the light which
rose towards Heaven, and I in that which was poured out on the earth.
In front of the palm of Our Ladys right hand was a Heart encircled by

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thorns which pierced it. We understood that this was the Immaculate
Heart of Mary outraged by the sins of humanity, and seeking
reparation. You know now, Your Excellency, what we referred to
when we said that Our Lady had revealed a secret to us in June. At the
time, Our Lady did not tell us to keep it a secret, but we felt moved to
do so by God.
The 13th of July, 1917
A few moments after arriving at the Cova da Iria, near the
holmoak, where a large number of people were praying the Rosary,
we saw the flash of light once more and a moment later, Our Lady
appeared on the holmoak. What do You want of me? I asked. I
want you to come here on the 13th of next month, to continue to pray
the Rosary every day in honour of Our Lady of the Rosary, in order to
obtain peace for the world and the end of the war, because only She
can help you.
I would like to ask You to tell us who You are, and to work a
miracle so that everybody will believe that You are appearing to us.
Continue to come here every month. In October, I will tell you who I
am and what I want, and I will perform a miracle for all to see and
believe. I then made some requests, but I cannot recall now just what
they were. What I do remember is that Our Lady said it was necessary
for such people to pray the Rosary in order to obtain these graces
during the year. And She continued: Sacrifice yourself for sinners,
and say many times especially whenever you make some sacrifice O
Jesus, it is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners, and in
reparation for the sins against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
As Our Lady spoke these last words, She opened Her hands
once more, as She had done during the two previous months. The rays
of light seemed to penetrate the earth and we saw as it were a sea of
fire. Plunged in this fire were demons and souls in human form, like
transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze,
floating about in the conflagration, now raised into the air by the
flames that issued from within themselves together with great clouds
of smoke, now falling back on every side like sparks in huge fires,
without weight or equilibrium, amid shrieks and groans of pain and
despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear. (It must

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have been the sight that caused me to cry out, as people say they heard
me). The demons could be distinguished by their terrifying and
repellent likeness to frightful and unknown animals, black and
transparent like burning coals.
Terrified and as if to plead for succor, we looked up at Our
Lady, who said to us kindly but so sadly: You have seen hell, where
poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world
devotion to My Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many
souls will be saved and there will be peace. The war is going to end;
but if people do not cease offending God, a worse one will break out
during the pontificate of Puis X1. When you see a night illumined by
an unknown light, know that this is the great sign given you by God
that He is about to punish the world for its crimes, by means of war,
famine and persecutions of the Church and of the Holy Father. To
prevent this, I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to My
Immaculate Heart, and the Communion of Reparation on the First
Saturdays. If My requests are heeded, Russia will be converted, and
there will be peace, if not she will spread her errors throughout the
world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be
martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations
will be annihilated, in the end My Immaculate Heart will triumph. The
Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me and She will be converted,
and a period of peace will be granted to the world.
In Portugal the dogma of the Faith will always be preserved
ectDo not tell this to anybody. Francisco, yes, you may tell him.
When you pray the Rosary, say after each mystery: O my Jesus,
forgive us, save us from the fire of hell. Lead all souls to Heaven,
especially those who are most in need After this, there was a
moment of silence, and then I asked: Is there anything more you
want of me? No. I do not want anything more of you today. Then
as before Our Lady began to ascend towards the east, until She finally
disappeared in the immense distance of the firmament.
The 13th of August, 1917
As I have already said what happened on this day, I will not
delay over it here, but pass on to the Apparition which in my opinion
took place on the 15th, in the afternoon. As at that time I did not yet

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know how to reckon the days of the month, it could be that I am

mistaken. But I still have a recollection that it took place on the very
day that we arrived back from Vila Nova de Ourem.
I was accompanied by Francisco and his brother John. We were
with the sheep in a place called Valinhos, when we felt something
supernatural approaching and enveloping us. Suspecting that Our
Lady was about to appear to us, and feeling sorry lest Jacinta might
miss seeing Her, we asked her brother to go and call her. As he was
unwilling to go, I offered him two small coins and off he ran.
Meanwhile, Francisco and I saw the flash of light, which we called
lightning. Jacinta arrived, and a moment later we saw Our Lady on a
holmoak tree. what do you want of me? I want you to continue
going to the Cova da Iria on the 13th, and to continue praying the
Rosary every day. In the last month, I will perform a miracle so that
all may believe.
What do You want done with the money that the people leave
in the Cova da Iria? Have two litters made. One is to be carried by
you and Jacinta and two other girls dressed in white, the other one is
to be carried by Francisco and three other boys. The money from the
litters is for the festa of Our Lady of the Rosary, and what is left over
will help towards the construction of a chapel that is to be built here.
I would like to ask You to cure some sick persons. Yes, I will cure
some of them during the year. Then looking very sad, Our Lady said:
Pray, pray very much and make sacrifices for sinners; for many souls
go to hell, because there are none to sacrifice themselves and to pray
for them. And She began to ascend as usual towards the east.
The 13th Of September, 1917
As the hour approached, I set out with Jacinta and Francisco, but
owing to the crowds around us we could only advance with difficulty.
The roads were packed with people, and everyone wanted to see us
and speak to us. There was no human respect whatsoever. Simple folk,
and even ladies and gentleman, struggled to break through the crowd
that pressed around us. No sooner had they reached us than they threw
themselves on their knees before us, begging us to place their petitions
before Our Lady. Others who could not get close to us shouted from a
distance.

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For the love of God, ask Our Lady to cure my son who is a
cripple! Yet another cried out: And to cure mine who is blindTo
cure mine who is deaf! To bring back my husband, my son, who has
gone to the war!To convert a sinner!To give me back my health
as I have tuberculosis! And so on. All the afflictions of poor
humanity were assembled there. Some climbed up to the tops of trees
and walls to see us go by, and shouted down to us. Saying yes to
some, giving a hand to others and helping them up from the dusty
ground, we managed to move forward, thanks to some gentleman who
went ahead and opened a passage for us through the multitude.
Now when I read the New Testament about those enchanting
scenes of Our Lords passing through Palestine, I think of those which
Our Lord allowed me to witness, while yet a child, on the poor roads
and lanes from Aljustrel to Fatima and on to the Cova da Iria! I give
thanks to God, offering Him the faith of our good Portuguese people,
and I think: If these people so humbled themselves before three poor
children, just because they were mercifully granted the grace to speak
to the Mother of God, what would they not do if they saw Our Lord
Himself in person before them? Well, none of this was called for
here! It was a distraction of my pen, leading me away where I did not
want to go. But, never mind! Its just another useless digression. I am
not tearing it out, so to spoil the notebook.
At last, we arrived at the Cova da Iria, and on reaching the
holmoak we began to say the Rosary with the people. Shortly
afterwards, we saw the flash of light, and then Our Lady appeared on
the holmoak. Continue to pray the Rosary in order to obtain the end
of the war. In October Our Lord will come, as well as Our Lady of
Doloures and Our Lady of Carmel. Saint Joseph will appear with the
Child Jesus to bless the world. God is pleased with your sacrifices. He
does not want you to sleep with the rope on, but only to wear it during
the daytime. I was told to ask you many things, the cure of some
sick people, of a deaf-mute Yes, I will cure some, but not others.
In October I will perform a miracle so that all may believe. Then Our
Lady began to rise as usual, and disappeared.

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The 13th of October, 1917

We left home quite early, expecting that we would be delayed
along the way. Masses of people thronged the roads. The rain fell in
torrents. My mother, her heart torn with uncertainty as to what was
going to happen, and fearing it would be the last day of my life,
wanted to accompany me. On the way, the scenes of the previous
month, still more numerous and moving, were repeated. Not even the
muddy roads could prevent these people from kneeling in the most
humble and suppliant of attitudes. We reached the holmoak in the
Cova da Iria. Once there, moved by an interior impulse, I asked the
people to shut their umbrellas and say the Rosary.
A little later, we saw the flash of light, and the Our Lady
appeared on the holmoak. What do you want of me? I want to tell
you that a chapel is to be built here in my honour. I am the Lady of the
Rosary. Continue always to pray the Rosary every day. The war is
going to end, and the soldiers will soon return to their homes. I have
many things to ask you: the cure of some sick persons, the conversion
of sinners, and other things Some yes, but not others. They must
amend their lives and ask forgiveness for their sins. Looking very
sad, Our Lady said: Do not offend the Lord our God any more,
because He is already so much offended. Then opening Her hands,
She made them reflect on the sun, and as She ascended, the reflection
of Her own light began to be projected on the sun itself.
Here, Your Excellency, is the reason why I cried out to the
people to look at the sun. My aim was not to call their attention to the
sun, because, because I was not even aware of their presence. I was
moved to do so under the guidance of an interior impulse. After Our
Lady had disappeared into the immense distance of the firmament, we
beheld St. Joseph with the Child Jesus and Our Lady robed in white
with a blue mantle, beside the sun. St. Joseph and the Child Jesus
appeared to bless world, for they traced the Sign of the Cross with
their hands. When, a little later, the apparition disappeared, I saw Our
Lord and Our Lady; it seemed to me that it was Our Lady of Dolours.
Our Lord appeared to bless the world in the same manner as St.
Joseph had done. This apparition also vanished, and I saw Our Lady
once more, this time resembling Our Lady of Carmel.

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Epilogue
Here then, Your Excellency, you have the story of the
Apparitions of Our Lady in the Cova da Iria in 1917. Whenever and
for whatever motive I speak of them, I sought to do so in a few words
as possible, with the desire of keeping to myself alone those more
intimate aspects which were so difficult for me to reveal. But as they
belong to God and not to me, and as He now through Your
Excellency, requires them of me, here they are. I return what does not
belong to me. To the best of my knowledge, I keep nothing back!
I think I have only omitted some minor details referring to the
petitions which I made. As these were merely material things, I did
not attach such great importance to them, and it is perhaps because of
this that they did not make such a vivid impression on my mind; and
then there were so many of them, so very many! It was possibly
because I was so anxious to remember the innumerable graces that I
had to ask of Our Lady, that I was mistaken when I understood that
the war would end on that very 13th.
Not a few people have expressed considerable surprise at the
memory that God has deigned to give me. In this matter indeed I have,
through His infinite goodness, been quite favoured in every respect.
Where supernatural things are concerned, this is not to be wondered
at, for these are imprinted on the mind in such a way that it is almost
impossible to forget them. At least, the meaning of what is made
known is never forgotten, unless it be that God also wills that this too
be forgotten.
Notes On Fr. Fonsecas Book
Prologue
Now, Your Excellency, it is time to comment on the book Our
Lady of Fatima by Rev. Fr. Luis Gonzaga Aires de Fonseca, S. J. Rev
de Galamba told me to make a note of anything which I found in the
book that was not quite exact. I have only found a few small details,
which are hardly worth mentioning. But as there is question of writing
book, and as Your Excellency so desires it, I shall note these things
down to prevent them being repeated.

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Annotations
In Chapter II, page 18 it says, A small piece of uncultivated
ground. Wholly uncultivated, no. In the Cova we grew maize,
potatoes, beans, wheat, etc.--whatever was being sown at the time.
On the slope which goes up to the spot where we happened to be
playing, was the criss- crossed by numerous tracks and furrows,
leaving only one path way. On the extreme left on the way up,
these tracks were formed by rows of holmoaks, both large and
small all growing at random, and which together with the furze
bushes formed dense thickets, making it difficult to get through.
Taking the pathway on the right side going down, we went
towards the large holmoak tree, and thus the small one was well to
the left of us.
A little further back, in the same paragraph, it stated 'the
second flash rooted us to the spot where we were'. This also is
inexact. We saw it when we were half way down the slope which
runs from the place of the Apparitions to the top of the hill, just
before we reached the big holmoak. We kept on going until we
came face to face with Our Lady on the small holmoak.
On the same page 19, it also says 'Amazed, they wished to
flee'. This is also incorrect. I think I have already explained this in
another account. As soon as we saw Our Lady, we never gave
another thought to running away. Our Lady does not cause fear,
but only surprise, peace and joy. When we said we had been
afraid, we were referring to the fear we felt at the thought of a
coming thunder storm, and that was why we wanted to run. I
think that when Our Lady told us not to be afraid, She wanted to
calm our fears of the thunder storm that we supposed was coming,
for we were used to seeing lightening only when there was a
storm. In our ignorance, we were as yet unable to distinguish
between the flash of light and the lightening.
Chapter II, page 20, says 'Almost the same length as the
dress' I think this 'almost' should be eliminated because it was the
same length. In the same Chapter II, page 21, it says 'what have
You come to do here'? I do not remember asking that question.
Chapter III, page 29 states: 'She then confided a secret to them
and strictly forbade them to reveal it.' As I have already said

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above in my account of the Apparitions, in this particular month

it was we ourselves who wished to keep the light and its effect
secret. It was in the following month that the secret was imposed
on us by Our Lady.
In the account of the Apparitions which the writer gives
here, there are some small details that it seems to me quite useless
to point out, since I have already written everything exactly as it
happened. Furthermore, some of these details spring from the
manner of expression used by the writer. Chapter V page 45 says
'Crying from fear'. Jacinta wept in prison because she missed her
mother and her family, but she did not cry during the
interrogation.
Chapter V page 46 says, 'The boy followed him crying'. He
did not cry. Chapter V page 47 states 'They went running to the
Cova da Iria.' We only went to the Cova Da Iria after the
Apparition in Valinhos, some days later. Chapter VII, page 60
says 'The dress has gold lines'. It had no lines at all. When
Francisco said that he was perhaps referring to the undulating
effect of the light surrounding the dress. Chapter VII Page 64 says
'Small earrings'. I didn't see any earrings. I remember a golden
cord which like a brilliant sunbeam, seemed to border her mantle.
It was reflected in the space left by the mantle as it fell from the
head to the shoulders, shimmering in the light which enveloped
Our Lady's whole person in undulating variations, which
momentarily gave the impression of small earrings. I must have
been referring to this when I gave that reply.
Chapter VII page 66, give these words, 'Could you not at
least tell it to your Confessor? She seemed somewhat puzzled and
remained silent.' I was perplexed and did not know how to reply,
because I kept several things secret which I was not forbidden to
reveal. But I thank God who inspired my questioner to go on with
the interrogation. I remember how I breathed again.
Chapter VII page 73 says, 'Is this how you fulfill the order
that Our Lady gave you?' I kept silence, not wishing to put the
blame on my mother, who at that time had not yet allowed me to
go to school. At home, they said it was out of vanity that I wanted
to learn to read. Until then, hardly any girls learned to read. The

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school was just for boys. It was only later that a school was opened
in Fatima for girls.
Interrogation by the Author Antero de Figueiredo
Chapter XIII, page 58, states in the note. 'Rev. Mother
Monfalim was present at all the authors interviews with Sister
Dores'. This is not true. Only Dr. Antero de Figueiredo's
daughter, who accompanied him, was present. Mother Monfalim,
who was then my Provincial Superior, was in Tuy. From there,
she wrote me a letter which she sent, unsealed by Dr. Antero de
Figueiredo to Pontevedra, where I then was. There the
interrogation took place, and it was one of those difficult
interrogations that God has made me undergo.
In this letter, Rev. Mother Provincial ordered me to answer
with sincerity, truthfulness and simplicity, everything that Dr.
Antero de Figueiredo wished to ask me. She requested that I offer
to God this act of obedience. Before handing me the letter, he read
it. The order given me, that under obedience I was to answer
everything with sincerity, pleased him; he judged that he could
therefore, put to me any question whatsoever that his mind might
advise. As if that were not enough, he had his daughter's head
beside him, ready to conjure up more questions.
For my part, I was not slow in realizing how far he intended
to go with his interrogation. I asked myself if I would now have to
reveal my most intimate secrets, those which I had so far kept
with such great care, and reveal them moreover to a lay man, who
seemed to me not only to know nothing about the spiritual life, but
not even to understand the bare essentials of the practice of the
Christian life. To avoid making rash judgments and in order to be
sure on how things stood, I tried to phrase my answers precisely
in such away as to draw from him an admission of the truth. In
fact he was deeply moved, and confessed more than once with
tears streaming down his cheeks, the black spot of his sorry life.
Afterwards, I regretted having given occasion for such sad
avowals, but it was then too late. In spite of begging him not to
make known to me such things, of which I knew little or nothing,

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his emotional state was such that he could not refrain from doing
so, and I had to resign myself to listen to it all.
Meanwhile I was thinking 'Have I to manifest my intimate
secrets to this man? Impossible!' And what about obedience? I
don't know!' The local Mother Superior had received orders to be
present at the interrogation. But, not wanting such a
responsibility, she had excused herself owing to lack of time, and
had withdrawn. I then asked to leave the room for a moment, and
I went to place my doubts before her and ask her advice. Mother
Superior replied that in view of Mother Provincial's order she
didn't know how to advise me.
I then asked to speak to the confessor but he was absent, and
nobody knew when he was due to return. I went to the chapel. I
offered a brief prayer to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and to
Our Lady and then returned to the parlor once more. The
interrogation began again, and it was of such a kind as to draw
out of me all that I kept locked within my heart. But the
repugnance I felt at the thought of revealing it only increased, and
the struggle between this and the doubt as to whether or not
obedience obliged me to reveal grew stronger and stronger. I soon
discovered that the good man sought to study me in depth.
The first and second day over, we reached the third day of
the interrogation, and I became more and more perplexed. On the
afternoon of the third day, it seemed that God willed to grant me a
ray of His light. From the parlor I heard a voice in the hallway,
that of a Jesuit Priest whom I had known in Tuy. Rev. Dr.
Herrera. Without loss of time, I asked to leave the room for a
moment, and made my way to Mother Superior to ask permission
to speak to him. Right then, I wanted nothing further from His
Reverence than he would tell me how far obedience obliged me to
manifest myself.
But God wanted sacrifice! Did He not also find Himself
alone in the Garden of Olives? And is He not still alone in so many
abandoned Tabernacles? We must keep Him company and
remain at His side, not only in the breaking of the bread, but also
in the drinking of the chalice. It was certainly through this
dispensation of the Almighty that Rev. Mother Superior refused

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me permission to speak to the venerable Jesuit priest. With a

heart even heavier than when I left, I went back to the parlor. The
interrogation continued becoming more and more detailed every
moment. The fourth day came, still darker than the three
preceding ones. There was already considerable discontent in the
community. A lot of work needed to be done in the house and
there was I doing nothing! As far as they could see, I was having a
fine time in the parlor, and therefore making no effort to bring
the visit to a speedy conclusion.
Mother Superior was already showing how displeased she
was, also had they been able to read my heart. O my God, they
would have seen how greatly I would have preferred, had I been
given the choice, a brush with which to scrub the house rather
than the padded chair on which they saw me so comfortably
seated! But we must not let the breath of creatures dull the mirror
that shines brightly in the sight of God. And then I must confess
were it not for the word, Obedience, that Mother Provincial put in
her letter, the interrogator would have had to return home on the
very first day with his list of questions just the same as he had
brought it, as indeed had happened to him the previous year.
'What am I to do?' I asked myself, without being able to
arrive at any decision. The interrogation seemed to be still very
far from coming to an end. God be thanked, I found that a trust
worthy messenger was going straight to Tuy that very afternoon. I
hastily wrote down on a piece of paper the main difficulties facing
me and sent it to Rev. Mother Provincial, begging the favor of an
urgent reply by telephone. The following morning at nine o'clock,
Mother Lemos, the Mistress of Novices, gave the answer over the
phone on behalf of Mother Provincial. "You can keep silent" she
said: about everything you do not wish to make known. Do not
send the interrogator away, but rather give a satisfactory answer
to all his questions, however long the interrogation might last."
Good! On the strength of this reply, I began the fifth day,
with my spirit no longer clouded over. Why worry about the
external conflicts instigated by the devil, as long as I had in my
soul the inner certainty that I was fulfilling God's will, as known
to me through obedience? The interrogation continued for several
days more. At it's close, I followed the advice of our confessor,

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who had just returned that very day, and firmly told the
interrogator that he was absolutely forbidden to publish or make
known anything whatsoever of all that I had told him, without the
express approbation of your Excellency and the Rev. Mother
Provincial.
The good gentleman was by no means pleased with such a
proposition, and did everything he could to persuade me to revoke
it. I saw that I would be obliged to take a firm stand.
Strengthened, however, by the Devine Holy Spirit, I stood firm
right to the end. You know now, Your Excellency, what happened
during Dr. Antero de Figueiredo's interrogation. As you can see,
this was the time I felt most keenly that God alone was with me.
During the interrogation, there was yet another doubt that
tormented me, and that was the absence of any authorization on
the part of Your Excellency. I asked myself: "did Rev. Mother
provincial ask the Bishop's permission before she gave me this
order? Would his Excellency be happy to have me subjected to
such an interrogation without his authorization? and what about
the order His Excellency gave me that I am not to speak about
these things?" It was because of all these doubts that I wrote a full
account of the whole affair to Your Excellency. The good Lord
was pleased to permit that I received no answer to my letter, and I
therefore left the whole matter in God's hands.
Final Annotations
Chapter VII, page 77, reads as follows: 'The little shepherd
arrived, rather better dressed than usual. The little girls wore sky
blue dresses, with white veils and wreaths of flowers on their
heads ect.' I think that this is incorrect. I seem to recall that a lady
did indeed appear and she wished to dress us up like that, but we
refused. What I do remember well about that particular day is
that I arrived home without my plaits, which I wore down to my
waist, and that my mother was most upset when she saw that I
had even less hair than Francisco. Who stole my plaits? I dont
know.
Amid the crush of such a multitude, there was no lack of
scissors or thieving hands. It was easy enough to loose my

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kerchief, even if in fact it wasn't stolen. Already, in the two

previous months, quite a lot of my plaits had been snipped off!
Nothing is my own, so what of it! Everything belongs to God. May
he dispose all as best pleases Him.
Chapter IX, page 87, says,' Will our Lady appear again? I
don't expect she will,' I was referring to the apparitions on the
13th,in the form they had taken in the preceding months. It was in
the sense that I understood the question.
There is another question also that has often been put to me,
and to which I gave no answer other than silence or a smile. Dr.
Antero de Figueredo asked this question several times, I answered
in as few words as possible. He was completely at a loss to
understand my manner of acting, and that was what I wanted.
Almost all who questioned me were most impressed by the
fact that even while I was being interrogated, I lowered my eyes
and concentrated my thoughts in such a way that I seemed to pay
no attention to the question that was being put to me. At times,
people even repeated their question, thinking that I had not heard
it. I told Dr. Antero de Figueiredo that I was recalling what had
happened with regard to the subject on which he had questioned
me. And indeed that was true. But the real motive behind my
action was that I was seeking, in the depths of my conscience and
with the help of the Holy Spirit, an answer which, without
revealing the reality, would still be in accordance with the truth.
Jacintas Reputation for Sanctity
There remains one more question of Dr. Galambas, which I
have yet to answer: How did people feel when they were in Jacintas
presence? It is not easy to reply, for, ordinarily, I do not know what
goes on within other people, and therefore I do not know how they
feel. This means that I can only say what I feel myself, and describe
ant exterior manifestation of other peoples feelings.
Jacinta, Reflection of God
What I myself usually felt was much the same as anyone feels in
the presence of a Holy person who seems to be in continual

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communication with God. Jacintas demeanor was always serious and

reserved, but friendly. All her actions seemed to reflect the presence
of God in the way proper to people of mature age and great virtue. I
never noticed in her that excessive frivolity or childish enthusiasm for
games and pretty things, so typical of small children. This, of course,
was after the apparitions; before then, she was the personification of
enthusiasm and caprice!
I cannot say that the other children gathered around her as they
did around me. This was most probably due to the fact that she did not
know as many songs or stories with which to teach and amuse them,
or perhaps that there was in her a seriousness far beyond her years. If
in her presence a child, or even a grown up, were to say or do
anything unseemly, she would reprimand them, saying Dont do that,
for you are offending the Lord our God, and He is already so much
offended!
If, as sometimes happened, the child or adult answered back,
and called her a pious Mary or a plaster Saint, or some other such
thing, she would look at them very seriously and walk away without
saying a single word. Perhaps this was one of the reasons she did not
enjoy more popularity. If I was with her, dozens of children would
gather round us in no time; but if I went away, she would soon find
herself all alone. Yet when I was with her, they seemed to delight in
her company. They would hug and kiss her in the affectionate way of
innocent children. They loved to sing and play with her, and
sometimes begged me to go and look for her when she had not come
out to play. If she told them that she did not want to come because
they were naughty, they promised to be good if only she would come
out: Go and get her, and tell her we promise to be good if shell
come.
When I went to visit her during her illness, I often found a large
group waiting at the door, hoping to be able to come in with me and
see her. They seemed to be held back by a certain sense of respect.
Sometimes, before I left, I asked her, Jacinta, do you want me to tell
some of them to stay here with you and keep you company? Oh, yes!
But just the ones smaller than myself. Then they all vied with each
other, saying, Ill stay! Ill stay! After that, she entertained them by
teaching them the Our Father, Hail Mary, how to bless themselves,
and to sing. Sitting on her bed or, if she was up, on the floor of the

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living room, they played pebbles, using crab apples, chestnuts, sweet
acorns, dried figs and so on, all which my aunt was only too happy to
supply, so that her little girl might enjoy the childrens company.
She prayed the Rosary with them, and counseled them not to
commit sin, and so avoiding offending the Lord our God and going to
hell, and seemed very happy in her company. but once they had left
her presence, they did not dare to go back in the trusting way so
natural to children. Sometimes they came in search of me, begging me
to go in with them, or they waited for me outside the house, or they
waited at the door until my aunt or Jacinta herself invited them in to
see her. They seemed to like her and enjoy her company, but they felt
themselves held back by a certain shyness or respect that kept them
somewhat at a distance.
Jacinta Model Of Virtue
Grown-ups also went to visit her. They showed clearly how
much they admired her demeanor, which was always the same,
always patient, without being in the least demanding or
complaining. Whatever the position in which she was lying when
her mother left her, this was how she remained. If they asked her
whether she felt better, she answered: "I'm just the same," or "I
think I'm worse, thank you very much." There was an air of
sadness about her, as she lay silent in the presence of visitors.
People stayed sitting by her bedside for long periods at a stretch,
and looked as though they felt happy to be there. It was there also
that Jacinta had to undergo detailed and exhausting
interrogations. She never showed the slightest impatience or
repugnance, but merely told me later: "My head aches so much
after listening to all those people! Now that I cannot run away and
hide, I offer more of these sacrifices to Our Lord."
The neighbours sometimes brought along clothes they were
making, so that they could sit and sew by her bedside. "I'll work a
little beside Jacinta," they would say; "I don't know what it is
about her, but it is good to be with her." They brought their little
ones along too. The children amused themselves by playing with
Jacinta, and their mothers were thus left free to do their sewing.
When people asked her questions, she answered in a friendly
manner, but briefly.

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If they said anything which she thought was improper, she

promptly replied: "Don't say that; It offends the Lord our God."
If they related something unbecoming about their families, she
answered: "Don't let your children commit sin, or they could go to
hell." If there were grown-ups involved, she said: "Tell them not
to do that, for it is a sin. They offend the Lord our God, and later
they could be damned." People who came to visit us from a
distance, either out of curiosity or from devotion, seemed to sense
something supernatural about Jacinta. At times, when they came
to my house to speak to me, they remarked: "We've just been
talking to Jacinta and Francisco; when with them we feel that
there is something supernatural about them." Sometimes, they
went so far as to want me to explain why they felt like that. As I
did not know, I simply shrugged my shoulders and said nothing. I
have often heard people commenting on this.
One day, two priests and a gentleman came to my home.
While my mother was opening the door and inviting them to come
in and sit down, I climbed into the attic to hide. My mother, after
showing them in, left them alone, while she went into the yard to
call me. In the meantime, the good gentleman were discussing the
matter: "We'll see what this one will tell us." "What impressed
me," remarked the gentleman, "was the innocence and sincerity
of Jacinta and her brother. If this one does not contradict herself,
I'll believe. I don't know what it is I felt in the presence of those
two children!" "It's as though one feels something supernatural in
their presence," added one of the priests. "It did my soul good to
talk to them."
My mother did not find me, and the good gentleman had to
resign themselves to taking their departure without having been
able to speak to me. "Sometimes," my mother told them, "she
goes off to play with other children, and nobody can find her."
"We're very sorry! We greatly enjoyed talking to the two little
ones, and we wanted to talk to your little girl as well; but we shall
come back another time."
One Sunday, my friends from Moita, Maria, Rosa and Ana
Caetano, and Maria and Ana Brogueira, came after Mass to ask
my mother to let me go and spend the day with them. Once I
received permission, they asked me to bring Jacinta and Francisco

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along too. I asked my aunt and she agreed, and so all three of us
went to Moita.
After dinner, Jacinta was so sleepy that her little head began
to nod. Mr. Jose Alves sent one of his nieces to go and put her to
bed. In just a short while, she fell fast asleep. The people of the
little hamlet began to gather in order to spend the afternoon with
us. They were so anxious to see Jacinta that they peeped in to see
if she were awake.
They were filled with wonder when they saw that, although
in a deep sleep, she had a smile on her lips, the look of an angel,
and her little hands joined and raised to towards heaven. The
room was soon filled with curious people. Everyone wanted to see
her, but those inside were in no hurry to come out and make room
for the others.
Mr. Jose Alves, his wife and his nieces all said: "This must
be an angel." Overcome, as it were, with awe, they remained
kneeling beside the bed until, about half-past four, I went to call
her, so that we could all go and pray the Rosary in the Cova da
Iria and then returned home. Mr. Jose Alves' nieces are the
Caetano girls mentioned above.
Francisco was Different
In contrast to Jacinta, Francisco was quite different. He had an
easy manner, and was always friendly and smiling, playing with all
the children without distinction. He did not rebuke anybody. All he
did was to go aside, whenever he saw anything that was not as it
should be. If he was asked why he went away, he answered: Because
youre not good, or Because I dont want to play any more.
During his illness, the children ran in and out of his room with
the greatest, freedom talked to him through the window and asked him
if he was feeling better, and so forth. If he was asked whether he
wanted some of the children to stay with him and keep him company,
he used to say that he preferred not, as he liked to be alone. He would
say to me sometimes: I just like having you here, and Jacinta too.
When grown-ups came to see him, he remained silent, only answering
when directly questioned, and then in as few words as possible.

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People who came to visit him, whether they were neighbours or

strangers, often spent long periods sitting by his bedside, and
remarked: I dont know what it is about Francisco, but it feels so
good to be here!
Some women from the village commented on this one day to my
aunt and my mother, after having spent quite a long time in
Franciscos room: Its a mystery one cannot fathom! They are
children just like any others, they dont say anything to us, and yet in
their presence one feels something one cant explain, and that makes
them different from all the rest. It seems to me that when we go into
Franciscos room, we feel just as we do when we go into a church,
said one of my aunts neighbours, a woman named Romana, who
apparently did not believe in the Apparitions. There were three others
in this group also: the wives of Manuel Faustino, Jose Marto and Jose
Silva.
I am not surprised that people felt like that, being accustomed to
find in everyone else only the preoccupation with material things
which goes with an empty, superficial life. Indeed, the very sight of
these children was enough to lift their minds to our heavenly Mother,
with whom the children were believed to be in communication; to
eternity, for they saw how eager, joyful and happy they were at the
thought of going there; to God, for they said that they loved Him more
than their own parents; and even to hell, for the children warned them
that people would go there if they continued to commit sin.
Externally, they were, so to speak, children like all others.
But if these good people, so accustomed to the material side of
life, had only known how to elevate their minds a little, they would
have seen without difficulty that, in these children, there was
something that marked them out as being different from all others. I
have just remembered something else connected with Francisco, and I
am going to relate it here. A woman called Mariana, from Casa Velha,
came one day into Franciscos room. She was most upset because her
husband had driven their son out of the house, and she was asking for
the grace that her son will be reconciled with his father. Francisco said
to her in reply: Dont worry. Im going to heaven very soon, and
when I get there I will ask Our Lady for that grace. I do not recall
just how many days remained before he took his flight to heaven, but
what I do remember is that, on the very afternoon of Franciscos

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death, the son went for the last time to ask pardon of his father, who
had previously refused it because his son would not submit to the
conditions imposed.
The boy accepted everything that the father demanded, and
peace reigned once again in that home. The boys sister, Leocadia by
name, later married a brother of Jacinta and Francisco and became the
mother of their niece, whom Your Excellency met in Cova da Iria
when she was about to enter the Dorotheans.
A Wonderful Cure
Furthermore, Rev. Galamba has asked me to write down any
other favour that may have been obtained by means of Jacinta. I have
given the matter some thought and can recall only two instances. I
spoke of Senhora Emilia in the second account of Jacinta. The first
time that this kind of lady came to take me to the priests house in
Olival, Jacinta went there with me. When we reached the village
where that good widow lived, it was already night. In spite of this,
news of our arrival quickly spread abroad, and Senhora Emilias
house was soon surrounded by a crowd of people. They all wanted to
see us, question us, ask for graces, and so on.
It happened that a certain devout woman from a little village
nearby was accustomed to recite the Rosary in her own home, in
company with any of the neighbours who wished to join her. She,
therefore, invited us to go and pray the Rosary in her house. We
sought to excuse ourselves, explaining that we were going to say it
with Senora Emilia, but she spoke so insistently that there was nothing
to do but to yield to her request. When the news went round that we
were going there, crowds of people hurried to the good womans
house in the hope of securing a good place. This was all the better for
us, since we found the road comparatively free.
On our way to the house, a girl about twenty years old came out
to meet us. Weeping, she knelt down, and begged us to enter her
house and say at least one Hail Mary for the recovery of her father,
who for three years had been unable to take any rest, on her account of
continual hiccoughs. In such circumstances, it was impossible to
resist. I helped the poor girl to her feet. As it was already late into the
night, and we were finding our way along by the light of lanterns, I

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therefore told Jacinta to remain there, while I went on ahead to pray

the Rosary with the people, promising to call for her on my return.
She agreed. When I came back I, too, went into the house. I found
Jacinta sitting on a chair, facing a man who was also seated.
He was not so very old but he looked emaciated, and he was
weeping with emotion. Some persons were gathering around him,
members of his family, I should think. On seeing me Jacinta got up,
said goodbye and promised that she would not forget him in her
prayers. Then we returned to Senora Emilias house. Early next
morning, we set out for Olival, and only came back three days later.
When we reached Senora Emilias house, there we found the happy
girl accompanied by her father. He now looked much better, and had
lost all trace of nervous strain and extreme weakness. They came to
thank us for the grace they had received for, they said, he was no
longer troubled by the annoying hiccoughs.
The Prodigal Son
The other favour was received by an aunt of mine called Vitoria,
who was married and lived in Fatima. She had a son who was a real
prodigal. I do not know the reason, but he left his fathers house, and
no one knew what had become of him. In her distress, my aunt came
to Aljustrel one day to ask me to pray to Our Lady for this son of hers.
Not finding me, she asked Jacinta instead, who promised to pray for
him. A few days later, he suddenly returned home, asked his parents
forgiveness, and then went to Aljustrel to relate his sorry story.
He told us that, after having spent all that he had stolen from his
parents, he wandered about for quite a while like a tramp until, for
some reason I have now forgotten, he was put in jail at Torres Novas.
After he had been there for some time, he succeeded in escaping one
night and fled to the remote hills and unfamiliar pine groves.
Realizing he had completely lost his way, and torn between the fear of
being captured and the darkness of a stormy night, he found that his
only recourse was prayer. Falling on his knees, he began to pray.
Some minutes had passed, he affirmed, when Jacinta appeared to him,
took him by the hand and led him to the main road which runs from
Alqueldao to Reguengo, making a sign for him to continue in that
direction. When morning dawned, he found himself on the road to

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Boleiros. Recognizing the place where he was, he was overcome with

emotion and directed his steps straight home to his parents.
Now what he declared was that Jacinta had appeared to him, and
that he had recognized her perfectly. I asked Jacinta if it was true that
she had gone there to guide him. She answered that she had not, that
she had no idea at all of the location of the pine woods and the hills
where he had been lost. I only prayed and pleaded very much with
Our Lady for him because I felt so sorry for Aunt Vitoria. That was
how she answered me. How then, did it happen? I dont know. Only
God knows.
Epilogue
I think, Your Excellency, that I have written everything that you
have asked of me for now. Up to this, I did all I could to conceal the
more intimate aspects of Our Ladys Apparitions in the Cova da Iria.
Whenever I found myself obliged to speak about them I was careful to
touch on the subject very lightly, to avoid revealing what I wanted so
much to keep hidden. But now that obedience has required this of me,
here it is!
I am left like a skeleton, stripped of everything, even of life
itself, placed in the National Museum to remind visitors of the misery
and nothingness of passing things. Thus despoiled, I shall remain in
the Museum of the world, reminding all who pass, not of misery and
nothingness, but of the Divine Mercies.
May the Good God and the Immaculate Heart of Mary deign to
accept the humble sacrifices that they have seen fit to ask of me, in
order to vivify in souls the spirit of faith, confidence and love.
Tuy, 8th December, 1941

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