Skip to content

5 Things to know about Venerable Lucia dos Santos

Pope Francis has advanced the cause for sainthood of Sister Lucia Dos Santos

Sister Lucia dos Santos, one of the Fatima visionaries, just had her cause for sainthood advanced by Pope Francis on June 22. 

Jacinta and Francisco Marto, the two other Fatima visionaries, were already canonized by Pope Francis in 2017. The two shepherd children, who died at ages 10 and 11 respectively, are the youngest non-martyr saints in the Church’s history.

So, who was Lucia dos Santos? Here are five things to know about this new venerable.

The oldest Fatima seer

Lucia was born on March 22, 1907, in Aljustrel, Portugal. She was the youngest of seven children. At 10 years old, she was the oldest of the shepherd children who witnessed apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary from May to October 1917. Her cousins, Jacinta and Francisco Marto, were 7 and 9, respectively.

Shortly after the early deaths of her cousins, Lucia was sent to attend school with the Dorothean Sisters of Villar at age 14, and in 1928 she became a sister of St. Dorothy. In 1946, she transferred to the convent of the Carmelite Sisters of Coimbra, Portugal, and took the name Sister Maria Lucia of the Immaculate Heart.

More messages from Jesus and Mary

Throughout the rest of her life, Lucia is believed to have received several visions and messages from both Mary and Jesus. A vision she received in 1925 led to the First Saturday devotions, which include praying the rosary, receiving Communion and confession, and meditating on the first Saturday of the month for five consecutive months.

In 1943, Our Lord appeared to Sister Lucia and told her that what he desired was for people to fulfill their daily duties and to make sacrifices in accordance with his law.

A ‘jokester’

Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, a Portuguese cardinal who was the prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints from 1998–2008, knew Lucia personally during the last few years of her life. He called her a “jokester” with quite a sense of humor.

Martins said Lucia was always full of little quips and at one point jokingly threatened to stop sending rosaries to the pope if he didn’t allow the beatification of her cousins — Francisco and Jacinta Marto — to take place in Fatima rather than in Rome.

Her sense of humor wasn’t the only thing that stood out. The cardinal described her as “a very humble person, simple, very intelligent, and very confident.”

Friends with Pope John Paul II

Later in life, Sister Lucia became a friend of Pope John Paul II, who credited her visions with saving his life. It was Pope John Paul II who revealed the third secret of Fatima, which spoke of a “bishop in white” being shot by soldiers. Many linked this to the assassination attempt of Pope John Paul II on May 13, 1981.

The two met on multiple occasions, and Vatican sources said her death shocked the Holy Father, who was recovering from an illness at the time.

Sister Lúcia with Pope John Paul II in Fátima before the beatification of Lúcia's cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto in 2000. Credit: Jornal O Bom Católico, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sister Lúcia with Pope John Paul II in Fátima before the beatification of Lúcia’s cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto in 2000. Credit: Jornal O Bom Católico, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Lived a long life 

Lucia died on Feb. 13, 2005, at the age of 97 at the Carmelite convent of St. Teresa in Coimbra, where she had lived since 1948.

Lucia’s cause for canonization opened in 2008, three years after her death, since Pope Benedict XVI granted a dispensation for the usually required five-year waiting period. More than 15,000 letters, testimonies, and other documents were collected during the diocesan phase of her cause, which concluded in 2017.

In a decree signed on June 22, Pope Francis recognized Lucia’s heroic virtue and declared her “venerable.” The Church will now need to approve a miracle attributed to her intercession before she can be beatified.

Receive the most important news from EWTN Vatican via WhatsApp. It has become increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. Subscribe to our free channel today

Share

Would you like to receive the latest updates on the Pope and the Vatican

Receive articles and updates from our EWTN Newsletter.

More news related to this article

French bishops vote to open sainthood cause of Henri de Lubac

French bishops have voted to open the sainthood cause of 20th-century theologian Henri de Lubac. The French bishops’

Fifty Years of Italy’s Pro-Life Movement

Every year, abortion statistics reveal that the lives of many children are already threatened in the womb. Yet the unborn always have had a powerful ally in the Catholic Church.

Spiritual Daughter of Padre Pio recounts some of the miracles and torments of the devil experienced

Maria Teresa Manelli, a spiritual daughter of Padre Pio, shares personal insights into his exceptional role as a

The EWTN Travel Jubilee App – Your Mobile Guide to Rome & Beyond

Discover the beauty and history of Rome’s Catholic treasures with the EWTN Travel Jubilee App, your free, interactive guide for pilgrims and travelers.

Missed Pope Benedict XVI’s funeral? Watch it here

Tens of thousands of people were present in St. Peter’s Square for the funeral Thursday of Pope Emeritus

Fr. Hans Zollner on the Protection of Minors & Leaving the Vatican

In this interview with EWTN's Colm Flynn he talks about why he decided to tell Pope Francis that he wanted to resign, and how he is still committed and focused on advancing the Church's mission to protect minors and those most vulnerable.

LIVE
FROM THE VATICAN

Be present live on EWTN.it