Eight Catholic Stories

Eight
Catholic Stories
That Will Motivate and Inspire Your Faith
—America Needs Fatima—

Eight
Catholic Stories
That Will Motivate and Inspire Your Faith
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Contents
Chapter 1
Our Lady’s Prophecies for Our Times 1
Chapter 2
Jacinta’s Transformation and the Secret of Mary 5
Chapter 3
The Incorrupt Body of Saint Bernadette Soubirous 7
Chapter 4
The Three Days of Darkness and Prophecies of Latter Times 12
Chapter 5
The Heroic Virtues of Jacinta and Francisco 21
Chapter 6
The Educational Importance of Manners 39
Chapter 7
The Conversion of Alphonse Ratisbonne 46
Chapter 8
How to Develop a Lively Devotion to the Blessed Mother 49
Prayers
The Restoration Prayer 54
Act of Reparation to the Blessed Virgin Mary 55
Chapter 1 1
Chapter 1
Our Lady’s Prophecies for Our Times
As told to Mother Mariana of Jesus Torres
by Our Lady of Good Success, Quito, Ecuador, (1582—1635).
By: America Needs Fatima

Feast: February 2
T he pope’s “infallibility will be declared a dogma of Faith by the same

pope chosen to proclaim the dogma of the mystery of my Immacu-
late Conception. He will be persecuted and imprisoned in the Vatican
through the usurpation of the Pontifical States and through the malice,
envy, and avarice of an earthly monarch.”
Unbridled Passions and Sacrilege

“Unbridled passions will give way to a total corruption of customs because
Satan will reign through the Masonic sects, targeting the children in par-
ticular to ensure general corruption. Unhappy, the children of those times!
Seldom will they receive the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation.
2 Eight Catholic Stories
As for the sacrament of Penance, they will confess only while attending
Catholic schools, which the devil will do his utmost to destroy by means
of persons in authority.
“The same will occur with Holy Communion. Oh, how it hurts me to tell
you that there will be many and enormous public and hidden sacrileges!
“In those times, the sacrament of Extreme Unction will be largely ig-
nored.… Many will die without receiving it, being thereby deprived of in-
numerable graces, consolation, and strength in the great leap from time
to eternity.
“The sacrament of Matrimony, which symbolizes the union of Christ
with the Church, will be thoroughly attacked and profaned. Masonry,
then reigning, will implement iniquitous laws aimed at extinguishing
this sacrament. They will make it easy for all to live in sin, thus multiply-
ing the birth of illegitimate children without the Church’s blessing.
“Secular education will contribute to a scarcity of priestly and reli-
gious vocations.”
“The holy sacrament of Holy Orders will be ridiculed, oppressed, and
despised, for in this both the Church and God Himself are oppressed and
reviled, since He is represented by His priests. The devil will work to per-
secute the ministers of the Lord in every way, working with baneful cun-
ning to destroy the spirit of their vocation and corrupting many. Those
who will thus scandalize the Christian flock will bring upon all priests
the hatred of bad Christians and the enemies of the One, Holy, Roman
Catholic, and Apostolic Church.
This apparent triumph of Satan will cause enormous suffering to the
good pastors of the Church...and to the Supreme Pastor and Vicar of
Christ on earth who, a prisoner in the Vatican, will shed secret and bit-
ter tears in the presence of God Our Lord, asking for light, sanctity, and
perfection for all the clergy of the world, to whom he is King and Father.”
Betrayal from Within

“Unhappy times will come wherein those who should fearlessly defend
the rights of the Church will instead, blinded despite the light, give their
hand to the Church’s enemies and do their bidding. But when [evil] seems
triumphant and when authority abuses its power, committing all man-
Chapter 1 3
ner of injustice and oppressing the weak, their ruin shall be near. They
will fall and crash to the ground.”
The Church Will Triumph

“Then will the Church, joyful and triumphant like a young girl, reawaken
and be comfortably cradled in the arms of my most dear and elect son
of those times. If he lends an ear to the inspirations of grace – one of
which will be the reading of these great mercies that my Son and I have
had toward you – we shall fill him with graces and very special gifts and
will make him great on earth and much greater in Heaven. There we have
reserved a precious seat for him because, heedless of men, he will have
fought for truth and ceaselessly defended the rights of the Church, de-
serving to be called ‘martyr.’”
“At the end of the nineteenth century and throughout a great part of
the twentieth, many heresies will be propagated in these lands.…
“The small number of souls who will secretly safeguard the treasure of
Faith and virtues will suffer a cruel, unspeakable, and long martyrdom.
Many will descend to their graves through the violence of suffering and
will be counted among the martyrs who sacrificed themselves for the
country and the Church.
“To be delivered from the slavery of these heresies, those whom the
merciful love of my Son has destined for this restoration will need great
will-power, perseverance, courage, and confidence in God. To try the
faith and trust of these just ones, there will be times when all will seem
lost and paralyzed. It will then be the happy beginning of the complete
restoration….”
Impurity, Cowardice, Corruption

“In those times the atmosphere will be saturated with the spirit of im-
purity which, like a filthy sea, will engulf the streets and public places
with incredible license…Innocence will scarcely be found in children, or
modesty in women.
“He who should speak seasonably will remain silent.
“There shall be scarcely any virgin souls in the world. The delicate
flower of virginity will seek refuge in the cloisters.…Without virginity, fire
from heaven will be needed to purify these lands…
“Sects, having permeated all social classes, will find ways of introduc-
ing themselves into the very heart of homes to corrupt the innocence of
children. The children’s hearts will be dainty morsels to regale the devil.…
“Religious communities will remain to sustain the Church and work
with courage for the salvation of souls.… The secular clergy will fall far
short of what is expected of them because they will not pursue their
sacred duty. Losing the divine compass, they will stray from the way of
priestly ministry mapped out for them by God and will become devoted
to money, seeking it too earnestly.”
We Must Pray and Do Penance

“Pray constantly, implore tirelessly, and weep bitter tears in the seclusion
of your heart, beseeching the Eucharistic Heart of my most holy Son to
take pity on His ministers and to end as soon as possible these unhappy
times by sending to His Church the Prelate who shall restore the spirit of
her priests.”
Chapter 2 5
Chapter 2
Jacinta’s Transformation and
the Secret of Mary
By: Professor Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira
Feast: February 20
C onsidering Our Lady’s action upon the three Fatima children in a

broader sense, the changes she brought about in them were some-
thing extraordinary — something far beyond their capacity. From this,
we gather that Our Lady suddenly and suavely transformed them through
her repeated apparitions.
Here we discover something akin to the “Secret of Mary,” of which Saint
Louis de Montfort speaks. We see grace working profoundly in souls, and
we see how it works silently, without the person perceiving it. As a result,
the person feels truly free. More than ever, the person feels inspired to
practice virtue and reject the evil chains of sin; consequently, their love
of God blossoms.
Their desire to serve Him increases, and so does their hatred of sin. This
marvelous transformation of soul occurs in such a way that the person
does not experience the systematic uphill struggle of those who follow
the classical system of the spiritual life to obtain virtue, sanctity, and
Heaven. Much to the contrary, Our Lady changes them suddenly.
The changes in the two children Our
Lady called to Heaven, Jacinta and Fran-
cisco, were particularly striking. What
does this mean? Does this mean Our
Lady will perform the same transforma-
tion upon us?
Is it a foretaste of how Our Lady intends
to change Humanity when she fulfills her
Fatima promises?
Can I say that the transformation in
the souls of Jacinta and Francisco is the
beginning of Our Lady’s reign? Is this not
her triumph over the souls of Jacinta and
Francisco, heralds of Our Lady’s message,
who helped others accept the Fatima
Saints Francisco and message through their prayers and sacri-
Jacinta Marto fices? And who still help us today through
their prayers in Heaven?
If this is true, it is logical that Jacinta and Francisco be our interces-
sors before Our Lady and obtain the coming of her reign in our hearts. Is
this not the mysterious transformation that we call the “Secret of Mary”?
I firmly believe that we must ask Jacinta and

Francisco to transform us, to grant us the same
gifts they received, and to guide us, whose mission
it is to live and to preach the Fatima message.
—Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira
Adapted from a lecture of Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira on October 13, 1971.
Chapter 3 7
Chapter 3
The Incorrupt Body of
Saint Bernadette Soubirous
By: Tonia Long
Feast: April 16
“You will not allow your holy one to see corruption”

Psalm 16:10
T he Catholic Church is full of mystery and miracles; those supernat-

ural occurrences in time that display the power of God for eternity.
Incorruptibility is one of those miracles.
Saint Bernadette is one of the saints chosen by God to show
forth His power.
Every Ash Wednesday, we hear, “You are dust and unto dust you shall
return.” Death and decay are a fact of life for us mere mortals; all of us, that
is, except for God’s chosen few – the Incorruptibles. These are the saints
throughout the history of the Church whose bodies have not decayed
over time. Even millennia have

passed, as in the case of Saint Cecilia,
without their bodies turning to dust.
The light of Christ has always
shone brightest in times of darkness,
and the twentieth century was no ex-
ception; a dark time of apostasy and
the disintegration of customs. Al-
though, one light that shone brightly
was the canonization of Saint Ber-
nadette Soubirous, the visionary of
Lourdes, France.
The Life of Saint

Bernadette Soubirous
Through Our Lady, Saint Bernadette (1844 – 1879)
acquired a love of suffering and
the Cross of Christ. It could be viewed as ironic that the
messenger of Our Lady at Lourdes, a
place of healing, should be so burdened by illness throughout her natural
life. It seems the miracle of Lourdes was not for her. As a matter of fact, in
a vision Our Lady said to Saint Bernadette:
“I cannot promise you happiness in this life,

only in the next.” — Our Lady of Lourdes
Born into a humble family which little by little fell into extreme pover-
ty, Bernadette had always been a frail child. Quite young, she had already
suffered from digestive trouble, then after having just escaped being a
victim of the cholera epidemic of 1855, she experienced painful attacks
of asthma, and her ill health almost caused her to be cut off forever from
the religious life. When asked by Monsignor Forcade to take Bernadette,
the Mother Superior of the Sisters of Nevers replied: “Monsignor, she will
be a pillar of the infirmary.”
Chapter 3 9
She lived in the convent for thir-

teen years, spending a large portion
of this time, as predicted by the
Mother Superior, ill in the infirma-
ry. When a fellow nun accused her
of being a “lazybones,” Bernadette
said, “My job is to be ill.” She was
gradually struck by other illnesses
as well as asthma: among them, tu-
berculosis of the lung and a tuber-
cular tumor on her right knee.
On Wednesday, April 16, 1879,
her pain got much worse. Shortly
after 11:00 a.m. she seemed to be
almost suffocating and was carried
to an armchair, where she sat with Bernadette offered her life as
her feet on a footstool in front of a an expiatory victim for sinners,
blazing fire. She died at about 3:15 but above all, for a mysterious
in the afternoon. She was thirty-five. sinner whom she did not name.
Doctor Declares: “Not a Natural Phenomenon”

Over the course of the next forty-six years, Saint Bernadette’s body was
exhumed no less than three times: the first time in 1909, then again in
1919, and finally in 1925.
At the first exhumation, it was quickly evident that a miracle had tak-
en place; Saint Bernadette’s skin tone was perfectly natural. The mouth
was open slightly, and it could be seen that the teeth were still in place.
Although the rosary in her hands had decayed, showing rust and cor-
rosion in some spots, the virginal hands that still grasped it were perfect!
The sisters present thoroughly washed the body and clothed it in a new
habit before placing it in an officially-sealed double casket.
The second exhumation, in 1919, showed no further evidence of de-
composition, though her hands and face had become somewhat discol-
ored due to the well-intended washing given by the nuns ten years prior.
A worker in wax was commissioned to create a light wax mask of Saint
Bernadette’s hands and face. It was feared that, although the body was
preserved, the blackish tinge to the face and the sunken eyes and nose
would make an unpleasant impression on the public.
That brings us to 1925 and the final disturbing of Saint Bernadette’s
resting place. One of the doctors overseeing the final exhumation, Doc-
tor Comte, writes:
“From this examination I conclude that the body of the

Venerable Bernadette is intact, the skeleton is complete,
the muscles have atrophied, but are well preserved; only the
skin, which has shriveled, seems to have suffered from the
effects of the damp in the coffin. … the body does not seem
to have putrefied, nor has any decomposition of the cadaver
set in, although this would be expected and normal after
such a long period in a vault hollowed out of the earth.”
The doctor was amazed by the state of preservation of the liver:
“What struck me during this examination, of course, was

…the totally unexpected state of the liver after 46 years.
One would have thought that this organ, which is basical-
ly soft and inclined to crumble, would have decomposed
very rapidly or would have hardened to a chalky consis-
tency. Yet it was soft and almost normal in consistency. I
pointed this out to those present, remarking that this did
not seem to be a natural phenomenon.”
Final Considerations
This is truly the body of Bernadette, lifelike in her attitude of medita-
tion and prayer.
This is the face which was lifted eighteen times to the Lady of Lourdes,
the very same hands which fingered her rosary during the apparitions,
Chapter 3 11
The final exhumation of Saint Bernadette in 1925
and the fingers which scratched the earth in obedience to Our Lady’s re-
quest that made the miraculous spring appear.
It seems only right that Our Lord would preserve perfectly those ears
which heard the message of Lourdes and the lips which repeated “the
Lady’s” name to Father Peyramale: “I am the Immaculate Conception.”
This is the heart, too, which bore so much love for Jesus Christ, the Virgin
Mary, and sinners.
There was a profound understanding in this heart which would
one day write:
“I was nothing, and of this nothing God made

something great. In Holy Communion I am heart
to heart with Jesus. How sublime is my destiny.”
Yes, how very sublime is the destiny of any Catholic who embraces the
call of Christ to be a light shining in the darkness of whatever century in
which he is found. And how sublime the destiny of those who find heal-
ing in the arms of she who is “the Immaculate Conception.”
Chapter 4
The Three Days of Darkness and
Prophecies of Latter Times
By: America Needs Fatima
A lot has been written about the intriguing prophecy of the three days
of darkness, but one needs to sift through them carefully lest one
succumbs to exaggerated and sensational ideas and, more importantly,
to serious doctrinal errors. And with regard to this subject, separating
the chaff from the wheat is indeed a daunting task.
What Does the Catholic Church Say Regarding Prophecies?

So in order to start on the right footing, it would be wise and salutary to
inform ourselves with what the Church has to say about this topic.
For our enlightenment, let us refer to the Catholic Encyclopedia for
some guidelines regarding prophecies. The following explanations were
taken verbatim from the New Advent website:1
Chapter 4 13
“As the term is used in mystical theology, it applies both to the proph-
ecies of canonical Scripture and to private prophecies.
“Understood in its strict sense, it means the foreknowledge of future
events, though it may sometimes apply to past events of which there is
no memory, and to present hidden things which cannot be known by the
natural light of reason.
“St. Paul, speaking of prophecy in 1 Corinthians 14, does not confine
its meaning to predictions of future events, but includes under it Divine
inspirations concerning what is secret, whether future or not.
“As, however, the manifestation of hidden present mysteries or past
events comes under revelation, we have here to understand by proph-
ecy what is in its strict and proper sense, namely the revelation of
future events.
“The knowledge must be supernatural and infused by God because it
concerns things beyond the natural power of created intelligence; and
the knowledge must be manifested either by words or signs, because the
gift of prophecy is given primarily for the good of others, and hence needs
to be manifested.
“It is a Divine light by which God reveals things concerning the un-
known future and by which these things are in some way represented
to the mind of the prophet, whose duty it is to manifest them to others.”
Exercise Prudence in One’s Discernment

The Church considers the Apocalypse as Divinely inspired and remains
to be the last prophetic work She acknowledges as such. Though the pro-
phetic spirit continued through the centuries, the Church has never pro-
moted any other prophetic work even as She proclaimed countless saints
who were gifted with prophesy.
The Church prudently gives ample latitude as to the acceptance or
rejection of particular or private prophecies based on evidence for or
against them. The Catholic faithful’s attitude should be that of prudence
and balance always being careful and slow in accepting or rejecting them
especially when they come from trustworthy sources and do not contra-
dict Catholic doctrine and morals.
How Do They Measure Up?

Veracity or accuracy of their fulfillment remains to be the litmus test to
which all prophecies are to be judged. The character of these prophecies
covers a wide gamut ranging from pious anticipations of Providence; to
events in the lives of saints; to the fate of nations; to the popes and the
papacy; and to apocalyptic catastrophes leading to the end of the world.
They may sometimes be realized in part and in part may even run con-
trary to events. Due to the conditional nature of some of them, they may
or may not be fulfilled.
Prophecies Regarding the “Latter Times”

The common and outstanding character among latter day prophecies
seems to be the foreboding of a terrible destruction of the world due to an
unrepentant mankind, the resurgence of the Church, and the conversion
of the world. E.H. Thompson keenly pointed out in his Life of Anna Maria
Taigi (chapter 18) that the revelations have the following features: “First
they all point to some terrible convulsion, to a revolution springing from
most deep-rooted impiety, consisting in a formal opposition to God and
His truth, and resulting in the most formidable persecution to which the
Church has ever been subject. Secondly, they all promise for the Church
a victory more splendid than she has ever achieved here below.”
The Fatima prophecies fit exactly into this category when Our Lady
spoke of a terrible chastisement if men do not repent and amend their
lives, but she also gave hope by promising that in the end Her Immacu-
late Heart will triumph.
The Three Days of Darkness

In Scriptures, we find many references to days of darkness, the most fa-
miliar perhaps being the ninth plague that fell upon Pharaoh and the
Egyptians during the time of Moses.
But the Lord said to Moses:

“Extend your hand toward heaven. And may there be darkness upon the
land of Egypt, so dense that it may be felt. And Moses extended his hand
toward heaven. And a horrible darkness occurred in all the land of
Chapter 4 15
Egypt for three days. No one saw his brother, nor moved himself from
the place where he was. But wherever the sons of Israel lived, there was
light:” (Exodus 10:21-23).
The prophet Isaiah also spoke of a day of darkness:

“Behold, the day of the Lord shall come, a cruel day, and full of indigna-
tion, and of wrath, and fury, to lay the land desolate, and to destroy the
sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven, and their brightness
shall not display their light: the sun shall be darkened in his rising,
and the moon shall not shine with her light. And I will visit the evils
of the world, and against the wicked for their iniquity: and I will make
the pride of infidels to cease, and will bring down the arrogancy of the
mighty” (Isaiah 13: 9-11).
From the New Testament:

We also learn that a cloak of darkness enveloped the world when Our
Lord died on Calvary, as was recorded by the Evangelists.
“Then from the sixth hour, there was darkness over the entire earth,
until the ninth hour” (Matthew 27:45).
“And when the sixth hour came, there was darkness throughout all
the earth, until the ninth hour” (Mark 15:33).
“But it was almost the sixth hour, and there was darkness in the en-
tire earth, until the ninth hour” (Luke 23:44).
So as not to belabor the point, it suffices to say that there are several
more scriptural texts referring to days of darkness and that there is solid
ground upon which later prophecies, symbolic or otherwise, were based.
Modern-Day Prophecies
Of the more recent revelations about these days of darkness, we will
mention only two: those of Blessed Anna Maria Taigi and Blessed Eliza-
beth Canori Mora.
Though an ordinary housewife and mother, Blessed Anna Maria Taigi
led an exemplary spiritual and Christian life that gained her the reputa-
tion as one of the greatest saints of all time.
She experienced frequent ecstasies, performed miraculous cures, read
hearts, foretold deaths, and predicted the coming of future events.
She foretold the first two world

wars that wreaked havoc in the twen-
tieth century.
Eighteen years after her death, her
body remained supple and incorrupt.
Amid praises, Pope Benedict XV beatified
her on May 20, 1920.
The following is her revelation about three

days of darkness:2
“God will send two punishments: one
will be in the form of wars, revolutions
and other evils; it shall originate on earth.
Blessed Anna Maria Taigi
The other will be sent from Heaven. There
shall come over the whole earth an intense darkness lasting three days
and three nights. Nothing can be seen, and the air will be laden with pes-
tilence which will claim mainly, but not only, the enemies of religion. It
will be impossible to use any man-made lighting during this darkness,
except blessed candles. He, who out of curiosity, opens his window to
look out, or leaves his home, will fall dead on the spot. During these three
days, people should remain in their homes, pray the Rosary and beg
God for mercy.”
“All the enemies of the Church, whether known or unknown, will per-
ish over the whole earth during that universal darkness, with the excep-
tion of a few whom God will soon convert. The air shall be infected by
demons who will appear under all sorts of hideous forms.”
“Religion shall be persecuted, and priests massacred. Churches shall
be closed, but only for a short time. The Holy Father shall be obliged to
leave Rome.”
Blessed Elizabeth Canori Mora 3 was born in 1774 and lived in Italy
until her saintly death in 1825. Thanks to her confessor, her revelations
were preserved in hundreds of pages of her own writings.
Today, the Trinitarian Fathers at San Carlino, Rome, hold her manu-
scripts for safekeeping in their archives.
These writings were meticulously examined at length as a safeguard
against doctrinal errors when Pope Blessed Pius IX authorized Elizabeth
Chapter 4 17
Canori Mora’s cause for canoniza-

tion to proceed.
The ecclesiastical censor commis-
sioned by the Holy See released his of-
ficial judgment on November 5, 1900.
It stated, “there is nothing against faith
and good customs, and no doctrinal
innovation or deviation was found.”
Elizabeth Canori Mora was beati-
fied in 1994.
Some of her prophecies are as follows:

On Christmas, 1816, Blessed Elizabeth
saw Our Lady, who appeared extreme-
ly sad. Upon inquiring why, Our Lady
Blessed Elizabeth Canori Mora answered, “Behold, my daughter, such
great ungodliness.” Blessed Elizabeth
then saw “apostates brazenly trying to rip her most holy Son from her
arms. Confronted with such an outrage, the Mother of God ceased to ask
mercy for the world, and instead requested justice from the Eternal Fa-
ther. Clothed in His inexorable Justice and full of indignation, he turned
to the world.
“At that moment all nature went into convulsions, the world lost its
normal order and was filled with the most terrible calamity imaginable.
This will be something so deplorable and atrocious that it will reduce the
world to the ultimate depths of desolation.”
On the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, June 29, 1820, she saw Saint Peter
descending from heaven, robed in papal vestments and surrounded by
a legion of angels. With his crosier he drew a great cross over the face of
the earth, separating it into four quadrants. In each of these quadrants,
he then brought forth a tree, sprouting with new life. Each tree was in
the shape of a cross and enveloped in magnificent light. All the good laity
and religious fled for protection underneath these trees and were spared
from the tremendous chastisement. “Woe! Woe to those unobservant re-
ligious who despise their Holy Rules. They will all perish in the terrible
chastisement together with all who give themselves to debauchery and

follow the false maxims of their deplorable contemporary philosophy!
“The sky took on a morbid blue color which terrified everyone who
looked at it. A dark wind blew everywhere. An impassioned and mourn-
ful shrieking filled the air, like the terrible roar of a fierce lion, and re-
sounded all over the earth in blood-curdling echoes.
“All men and animals brimmed with terror. The entire world convulsed
and everyone pitilessly slaughtered one another…
“When this bloody fight will arrive, the vengeful hand of God will
weigh upon these fated ones and with His omnipotence He will chastise
the proud for their rashness and shameless insolence. God will use the
powers of darkness to exterminate these sectarian, iniquitous and crim-
inal men, who plot to eradicate the Catholic Church, our Holy Mother,
by tearing Her up by Her deepest roots, and casting Her on the ground.”
Relevance in Our Days

It is clear from the above two revelations that God had forewarned man-
kind of a great and terrible chastisement. Perhaps they seem far-fetched
and severe, but in face of so much impiety, blasphemy, desecration, cor-
ruption, and immorality pervasive in our times, it wouldn’t be superflu-
ous to surmise that the world indeed deserves such grave punishments.
Unfortunately, man has progressively slid down the slippery slope of
pride and arrogance and has gone from worse to worst!
More importantly, it is crucial to note that Our Lady of Fatima echoed
the same sentiments when she warned us at Fatima in 1917, thus giving
support to these two previous prophecies.
Message of Hope
A striking similarity, however, occurs between Our Lady’s message
of hope regarding the triumph of Her Immaculate Heart and the two
above prophecies.
Chapter 4 19
Blessed Anna Maria Taigi spoke of this restoration in the following manner:
“After the three days of darkness, Saints Peter and Paul, having come
down from heaven, will preach throughout the world and designate a
new pope. A great light will flash from their bodies and will settle upon
the cardinal, the future Pontiff. Then Christianity will spread throughout
the world. Whole nations will join the Church shortly before the reign of
Anti-Christ. These conversions will be amazing. Those who shall survive
shall have to conduct themselves well. There shall be innumerable con-
versions of heretics, who will return to the bosom of the Church; all will
note the edifying conduct of their lives, as well as that of all other Catho-
lics. Russia, England, and China will come to the Church.”
Blessed Elizabeth Canori Mora’s vision of a great restoration which would

follow after the earth’s debacle is detailed as follows:
“Then a beautiful splendor came over the earth, to announce the recon-
ciliation of God with mankind.
“The small flock of faithful Catholics who had taken refuge under the
trees will be brought before Saint Peter, who will choose a new pope.
All the Church will be reordered according to the true dictates of the
holy Gospel. The religious orders will be reestablished and the homes of
Christians will become homes imbued with religion.
“So great will be the fervor and zeal for the glory of God that every-
thing will promote love of God and neighbor. The triumph, glory and
honor of the Catholic Church will be established in an instant. She will
be acclaimed, venerated and esteemed by all. All will resolve to follow
Her, recognizing the Vicar of Christ as the Supreme Pontiff.”
God Will Not Abandon the Faithful

Thus, while the world faces a fearsome and terrible destruction in light
of mankind’s insolence and impiety, God assures us that He will not
abandon those who are faithful to Him. Our Lady gave us the remedy
at Fatima by asking for the daily recitation of the rosary; the establish-
ment of the First Five Saturdays devotion; devotion to Her Immaculate
Heart; a prayerful life; penance and amendment of life. These requests
remain ever relevant and urgent. And we must continue to heed Her ma-
ternal warnings.
Amid the confusion of our days, let us remain steadfast and continue
to hope, confide, and turn to Our Lady, who is our Mother of Good Coun-
sel and our confidence.
We must always trust in Her words and never tire in believing:
“Finally, my Immaculate Heart will triumph!”
References:
1. Arthur Devine, “Prophecy,” The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 12
(New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911), https://www.newadvent.org
/cathen/12473a.htm.
2. Yves Dupont, Catholic Prophecy: The Coming Chastisement
(Rockford, Illinois: TAN Books and Publishers, Inc., 1973).
3. TFP, “A Century Before Fatima, Providence Announced a Chastisement,”
The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property,
April 10, 2007, https://www.tfp.org/a-century-before-fatima-providence
-announced-a-chastisement/.
Chapter 5 21
Chapter 5
The Heroic Virtues of
Jacinta and Francisco
By: Plinio Maria Solimeo
Francisco and Jacinta Marto are the youngest non-martyred children

ever to be beatified, and later canonized. They were raised to the honor of the
altars not simply because they saw Our Lady but also because
they generously heeded her call to prayer, penance, and reparation.
They are, thus, the first fruits of the Message of Fatima.
This is the lesson that all of us, both young and old, should
learn from the beatification of the two seers.
“W ith our Apostolic authority, we grant that, from this day forth,
the venerable Servants of God Francisco Marto and Jacinta
Marto be called ‘Blessed’ and that their feast day be celebrated yearly on
February 20 in the places and according to the norms established by law.”
This solemn papal proclamation occasioned an explosion of joy in the
square at Fatima on the morning of May 13, 2000.
On the last bench behind the altar in the Basilica of Fatima sat a nine-
ty-three-year-old Carmelite nun, Sister Lucia of the Immaculate Heart.
She, in recollection, followed the solemn proceedings that raised her

cousins Jacinta and Francisco to the honors of the altar, those same cous-
ins with whom she had been privileged to see the “Lady more brilliant
than the sun.” *
The Youngest Non-Martyred

Children Ever to Be Beatified
Jacinta and Francisco Marto are the two
youngest non-martyrs to be declared
blessed in the history of the Church.
It is true that they received the enor-
mous grace of the apparitions of the
Most Blessed Virgin in Fatima. Never-
theless, they were not beatified simply
for having seen and heard Our Lady.
Rather, they were declared blessed be-
cause they attained sanctity. This they
did by taking the apparitions serious-
ly, drawing consequences from them
for their personal lives, and making of
them the center of their thoughts and
interests. They attained sanctity be-
cause they corresponded to the graces
they received, generously heeding the
Lady’s requests for prayer, penance, and
The Basilica of Fatima on the day reparation. It is their correspondence to
of the beatification of Francisco these graces and their heeding of these
and Jacinta Marto, May 13, 2000.
requests that are now acknowledged in
their beatification.
Our objective in this article is not to write of the apparitions or the
message of Fatima. Crusade Magazine has already and often done this,
and the subject is generally known. Less known, however, are the lives of
these two children and the high degree of virtue they attained. Our main
aim here, then, is to present some aspects of their lives with the inten-
Chapter 5 23
tion of demonstrating how they, despite being so young, did in fact reach
heights of sanctity and were thus the first fruits of the Fatima message.
Francisco—An Innocent and Upright Soul,

a Mild Temperament
Francisco and Jacinta Marto were, respectively, the eighth and ninth
children of Manuel Pedro Marto, known as “Ti” Marto (Uncle Marto)
and his wife, Olimpia de Jesus. Both were born in the hamlet of Aljus-
trel, in the parish of Fatima, Francisco on June 11, 1908, and Jacinta on
March 11, 1910.
Ti Marto, the most respected person in the area in the opinion of his
contemporaries, said that his youngest son enjoyed good health, had
good nerves, was robust and resolute.
“He was anything but a coward. He
would go out at night, alone in the dark,
without a sign of fear. He played with
lizards and snakes and would roll them
around a stick and make them drink
out of holes in the rocks. Fearlessly he
hunted hares and foxes and moles.”1
Francisco was docile and a model
of obedience. Always kind and pleas-
ant, “he would play with all the chil-
dren without showing preference,” says
Lucia, “and he never quarreled. But if
something happened that he did not
like, he would sometimes leave the
game. If asked why he left, he would re-
ply, ‘Because you’re bad,’ or simply, ‘Be-
cause I want to.’”
“Although he tried his best at
games,” continues Lucia, “he was
dull to play with because he al-
most always lost. His peaceful tem-
perament sometimes used to get
Francisco Marto
very much on my nerves. If I ordered him to sit on a stone, he would

meekly do so, as if I had to be obeyed. Later I would be sorry for my
impatience and go to him, and he would always be as friendly as if noth-
ing had happened.”2
Yes, Francisco liked games and play but he avoided confrontations.
He surrendered his rights without a fight: “You think you won? That’s
all right! I don’t mind!”3 “If one of the other children insisted on taking
away something belonging to him,” says Lucia, “he said: ‘Let them have
it! What do I care?’”4
He was very innocent and had a delicate conscience. One morning his
mother suggested that he take advantage of his godmother’s absence to
take the sheep to pasture on her fields. He answered that he would not
do that. When his mother slapped him across the face, he faced her with
dignity and asked: “Is my mother teaching me to steal?” He went only
after obtaining permission from his godmother.
Francisco had an artist’s soul. He marveled at the beauties of creation.
He loved the starry sky, the creeks and springs, and, above all, the sun,
which he saw as the symbol of God’s power. Being a contemplative, he
found entertainment in small things. With only his small flute he would
spend hours on end content with playing nostalgic tunes reminiscent of
heaven, or happy tunes for Lucia and Jacinta to dance to in the fields.
Like every child, Francisco had his small faults. Can it be that it was
because of these that Our Lady said he would have to say many rosaries
before he could go to heaven? For example, some nights he did not want
to pray and would hide in the garden shed. His father had to go after
him and bring him in. But, Ti Marto said that this was before the appa-
ritions of Cova da Iria: “After Our Lady appeared, he was never missing;
Francisco and Jacinta were the ones who insisted with everyone to say
the rosary.”
In a few words, this was Francisco before the apparitions: innocent,
preserved, a very upright soul, but perhaps a bit soft and carefree. Yet,
this did not prevent the Mother of God from choosing him as one of her
confidantes.
Chapter 5 25
Jacinta—A Sensitive
Temperament and
an Upright Spirit
Lucia describes Jacinta as the op-
posite of Francisco, to the point
that they did not seem like brother
and sister except for their simi-
lar features.
Her soul was extraordinari-
ly sensitive and very easily im-
pressed. “When she was five years
old or less,” relates Lucia, “she
would melt into tears on hearing
the story of the Passion of Our
Lord. ‘Poor Jesus,’ she would say,
‘I must never sin and offend Him
any more.’” She ran as if from the
plague from those who spoke bad
words or held questionable con-
versations “because this is a sin
and saddens Our Lord.”5
She also shunned lying, under-
standing its sinfulness. Her father
relates: “When her mother told
her some little fib, such as that
Jacinta Marto she was only going to the cab-
bage-patch when she was really
going much farther, Jacinta would always detect the deception and not
hesitate to scold her own mother: ‘So, mother is lying to me? She said she
was going here and went there? Lying is ugly!’”6
Like her brother Francisco, and perhaps more than he, hers was a re-
fined, tender, and affectionate soul.
She loved her sheep and gave each of them a name—Dove, Star, Meek,
Snow, and the like. The white baby lambs were her favorite. Many times
she carried them over her shoulders as she had seen Our Lord depicted
carrying them on holy cards.
Jacinta had a veritable passion for flowers. Gathering them in the fields
was one of her favorite pastimes. Sometimes she made garlands with
them to adorn her cousin. At other times, she would take them apart to
toss their petals at Lucia as she had seen the little girls dressed as angels
doing in the Corpus Christi procession.
She loved the moon, which she called “Our Lady’s lamp.” She preferred
it to the sun, “because it does not hurt the eyes.” When the moon was full,
she would run to break the good news: “Mother, here comes the queen
of the sky!”
Had this little angel no defects? Yes, she had them, albeit small ones.
Lucia tells us that Jacinta was a little spoiled, being the baby of a large
family. Because of this, when things did not go her way, she sulked a bit.
Then, the only way to get her to return to the games was to allow her to
choose not only the next game but also her partner. With her amazing en-
ergy, she would sometimes go a bit overboard in dancing, which is quite
a common pastime among the Portuguese peasantry. With incredible
agility and grace she skipped and hopped until flushed and breathless.
On this point her biographer, Fr. Joseph Galamba de Oliveira, com-
ments: “The faults and imperfections we note in her life are evident proof
of the transformation later effected in her soul by grace and the generos-
ity with which she responded to the workings of the Holy Spirit.”7
These souls, with much that was angelic, were thus prepared by divine
grace to receive the heavenly visits.
Apparitions Propel These Childish Souls toward Sanctity

In the spring of 1916, the life of the three happy and carefree little shep-
herds of only nine, eight, and seven years was to suffer a dramatic change
after an angel appeared and spoke to them. “The Hearts of Jesus and
Mary are attentive to the voice of your supplications.”8
In another apparition in the summer of that same year, the angel ad-
vised: “Offer prayers and sacrifices constantly to the Most High…. Make
of everything you can a sacrifice, and offer it to God as an act of repara-
tion for the sins by which He is offended, and in supplication for the con-
Chapter 5 27
version of sinners….
Above all, accept and
bear with submission
the suffering the Lord
will send you.”9
This is a regime of
sanctity that is asked
only of those who are
called to be truly inti-
mate with Our Lord.
The three fulfilled it to
the letter with fervor,
without complaining
or self-pity, with true
joy and loving submis-
sion. They even went
The Angel of Portugal appears to the three so far as to invent var-
Fatima children, Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta. ious ways of sacrific-
ing themselves.
Thus, around a year later, they were ready to receive the visit of the
Queen of Heaven.
When she came, it was not with pleasantries or caresses but with seri-
ousness. In the very first encounter she repeated the angel’s invitation to
prayer and suffering: “You will have much to suffer, but the grace of God
will be your comfort.”10
They were asked to offer up prayer and suffering in reparation to the
Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, so offended by
the terrible apostasy of humanity. They were to understand the full extent
of this request only as time went by and with the help of a special grace.
Francisco—A Contemplative Soul, a “Consoler of God”

Though innocent and detached, Francisco must still have had some
weaknesses or small lack of generosity that he needed to correct. If these
did not keep him from seeing the angel and Our Lady, nevertheless, he
could not hear them.
The three Fatima children, Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta before the cross.
Chapter 5 29
Still, when his cousin told him that the Lady had said he must say
“many rosaries” so that she could also take him to heaven, he exclaimed
without a shadow of resentment or envy, “O, my dear Our Lady! I will say
as many rosaries as you want!”11
Curiously, of the three, Francisco was the least impressed with the vi-
sion of Hell. During that vision, what most attracted and absorbed him
was God, the Holy Trinity “in that immense light that penetrated us to
our innermost souls.” This gives us an idea of this small shepherd’s spiri-
tuality and of the vocation God gave him.
In any case, the vision of Hell marked a decisive threshold in the spiri-
tual lives of all three seers. It was after the vision that the little shepherds
began to make great spiritual progress.
Lucia comments, “While Jacinta seemed to think only of converting
sinners and of saving souls from going to Hell, Francisco seemed to think
only of consoling Our Lord and Our Lady, who had seemed so sad.” When
his cousin asked him what he liked best, to console Our Lord or to con-
vert sinners, he did not hesitate: “I’d rather console Our Lord. Don’t you
remember how sad Our Lady was the last month when she said not to
offend Our Lord, because He was much offended already? I want to con-
sole Our Lord first and then convert the sinners so that they won’t of-
fend anymore.”12
With reason, Fr. Jose Maria Alonso comments: “A consoling reparation
as expressed by the words of Francisco, of a type that is so exquisitely
‘theocentric’ is not possible without an extraordinary mystical grace.”13
Following this appeal for contemplation, Francisco, wanting to pray
alone, frequently took leave of the girls. When they asked him what he
was doing, he showed them his rosary. If they insisted with him to come
play with them he answered, “Don’t you remember that Our Lady said
that I must pray many rosaries?”14 And if they asked why he did not pray
with them he answered, “I’d rather pray alone, to think, and to console
Our Lord. He is so sad.”15
Blessed Francisco: Contemplator of the Universe

When the little shepherds began going to school, Francisco said to the
two girls, “Look, you go to school and I will stay here in the church near
the hidden Jesus. It isn’t worth the trouble for me to learn to read. I am
leaving here soon for heaven. When you come back, call me.”16 Thus,
he spent hours before the Blessed Sacrament, seeking to console and
gladden his God.
Sometimes the girls found him absorbed in thought behind a small
wall. Asking him what he was doing, he answered, “I’ve been thinking
of God. I’ve been thinking of Our Lord and of all the sins that have made
Him unhappy. O, Lucia, if only I could comfort Him.”17
To comfort God, to gladden Him, what a high ideal! What a program
for life! This is to practice the first commandment in a sublime manner,
forgetting oneself and loving God above all things.
Thus, led by the Holy Ghost, Francisco took great strides along the
contemplative way.
“It is likely enough,” comments William Thomas Walsh, “that in this
way, without direction, Francisco learned to practice mental prayer. He
may well have become a fairly advanced contemplative; he may possibly
Chapter 5 31
have had ecstasies. He had learned from the Master Himself the lesson
that Saint Teresa teaches in her The Way of Perfection: that lofty prayer
demands love, solitude, detachment, freedom from all self-seeking or
sensuality.”18
Lucia writes about Francisco: “I asked him one day a little before he
died, ‘Francisco, do you suffer much?’ ‘Yes, I suffer. But I suffer everything
for the love of Our Lord and Our Lady.’”
Small in Age but Great in the Spirit of Sacrifice

The three little shepherds found a thousand ways of mortifying them-
selves: giving their lunch to the poor; eating bitter roots; going without
water a whole day and suffering greatly from thirst; rubbing their bodies
with nettles; remaining prostrate on their faces for hours while reciting
the prayers the angel had taught them and other prayers that their fer-
vor inspired.
One day they found a rough piece of rope and immediately tied it
around their waists under their clothes. This was so uncomfortable that
they often could not sleep. Our Lady herself had to tell them not to use
this instrument of penance at night.
A priest once also recommended that they pray for the Holy Father,
explaining to them who he was. After this, they added three Hail Marys
at the end of their rosaries for the intentions of the common Father of
Christendom.
Francisco—Heroic Patience in Suffering

On December 23, 1918, brother and sister fell victims to the epidemic of
bronchial pneumonia that was ravishing Europe. Even in sickness they
continued to sacrifice themselves for sinners.
Lucia writes about Francisco:
“He suffered with heroic patience, never letting a single complaint or
moan escape. He drank everything his mother gave him and I could nev-
er tell if anything repulsed him.
“I asked him one day a little before he died, ‘Francisco, do you
suffer much?’
“‘Yes, I suffer. But I suffer everything

for the love of Our Lord and Our Lady.’
“One day he gave me the rope (the
one he used around his waist as a
penance) and said: ‘Take it before my
mother sees it. I’m not able to use it
anymore around my waist.’
“This rope had three knots in it and
was blood stained.”
On April 4, 1919, without a single
moan or facial contraction, quietly,
and with an angelic smile on his lips,
Francisco went forth to meet the
Most Blessed Virgin who awaited him
with open arms.
Jacinta—Reparatory Victim,
Serious, and Generous
Jacinta took her mission to pray After the apparitions, Jacinta took
for sinners so seriously that she her mission to pray for sinners
was favored with several mystical so seriously that she was favored
graces. She had prophetic visions and with several mystical graces. She had
obtained cures and graces that were prophetic visions and obtained cures
considered miraculous. and graces that were considered mi-
raculous, and she is even said to have
had an instance of bilocation.
Still in Fatima, in the year following the apparitions, Our Lady ap-
peared to her three more times.
The maturity and precocity of this humble little shepherdess was im-
pressive. Lucia witnesses:
“She had a serious, modest and kind demeanor that seemed to let the
presence of God shine through in all her actions; a demeanor usually
seen in much older persons who are far advanced in virtue.
Chapter 5 33
“If in her presence, a child or even adult persons said or did something
that was improper, she would reprimand them: ‘Do not do this because
you offend Our Lord, and He is already much offended.’”
Lucia says, “Our good God gave me the grace of being her intimate
confidante; I miss her greatly, and remember her with love and respect
in appreciation for her sanctity.” In another place Lucia says she owes the
preservation of her innocence partly to the company of Jacinta.19
Her painful illness was an occasion for her to offer many sacrifices to
God. One day she asked Lucia: “Have you made any sacrifices today? I
Jacinta Marto, Lúcia dos Santos, and Francisco Marto after the vision of Hell.
have made many. My mother went away and I wanted to see Francisco
many times, but I did not go.”20
Another day she said: “It is becoming harder and harder for me to
drink milk and broth, but I do not say anything. I take them all for the
love of Our Lord and of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, our dear Heaven-
ly Mother.”21
Reparatory Victim of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Jacinta’s reparatory mission is intimately linked to the Immaculate Heart
of Mary. When Our Lady showed Hell to the three little shepherds, she
said: “You saw Hell where the souls of poor sinners go; to save them, God
wishes to establish in the world the devotion to my Immaculate Heart.”
Jacinta was, in her own way, a missionary of this devotion.
On saying goodbye to Lucia before leaving for Lisbon, she warmly
stressed: “You remain here to tell everyone that God wants to establish
the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in the world. When the
time comes for you to say this, do not hide.” And she added: “Tell every-
one that God grants us graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
that people should go to her, that the Sacred Heart of Jesus wants her
Immaculate Heart to be venerated next to His, that people should ask for
peace from the Immaculate Heart of Mary because God has placed it in
her hands. O, if only I could put into everyone’s hearts the fire that burns
here inside of mine, making me love the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the
Heart of Mary so much!”
Thus, “Jacinta well deserves the title of model-reparatory-victim of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary. For us who wish to live in depth the Message
of Fatima, this is how we should see it.”22
One day she confided to Lucia that, when alone, she got down from the
bed many times to say the prayer of the angel: “But now, I can no longer
touch my head to the floor because I fall down, and so I kneel and pray.”23
Devotion to the Heart of Mary Will Save the World

How could so young a child as Jacinta understand so deeply and take on
so seriously the spirit of mortification and penance?
Chapter 5 35
Lucia answers: “First, by means of a special grace that God wished to

grant her through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Secondly, after having
seen Hell and the unhappiness of souls who fall there.”
Father Alonso comments: “Before Jacinta, Lucia herself felt what is
usually felt before a holy person who seems to be in communion with
God in everything…. The sight of Hell had horrified her so much that all
the penances and mortifications seemed as nothing so long as she could
save a few souls from going there.”24
Our Lady had asked Jacinta if she wanted to remain on earth for a little
longer to continue suffering for the conversion of sinners. The generous
child had said yes. With this, she went to two hospitals where she suf-
fered much and finally died alone in Lisbon far from her family. But Our
Lady did not abandon her. She appeared to her frequently, instructing
her, counseling her, showing her the situation of the world and the immi-
nence of chastisements.
Mother Maria of the Purification Godinho, in whom Jacinta confid-
ed, wrote down many of the heavenly communications and meditations
of the little, young shepherdess which were later published in several
books. In these, the spiritual maturity attained by this girl of barely ten
years can be appreciated.
Dona Estefania Hospital where Blessed Jacinta died.

A Profound and Serious Understanding of Eternity

Seeing people who visited the sick immodestly dressed or nurses who
wore too much makeup, she would say to Mother Godinho: “What good
is all this? If they only considered that they will have to die one day and
knew what eternity is!” About some atheistic doctors, she commented:
“Poor men! With all their science they hardly know what awaits them.”
After Mother Godinho asked her to pray for certain hardened sinners,
she answered: “Yes, my Mother; but for these there is no more remedy!”
Jacinta underwent a second operation in February of 1920. Because of
her weakened condition the doctors could only use chloroform and local
anesthesia. Finding herself without clothing in the doctors’ hands, she
cried. Two ribs were extracted, leaving a cavity large enough for a hand to
be introduced. She bore it all quietly, only whispering painfully at times:
“O, my Our Lady!” But, to console those who saw her suffering, she would
say, “Patience! We all must suffer to go to Heaven.”
Christ’s Passion in Our Days

“Our Lord united Jacinta most intimately to His dolorous passion and the
sufferings of the Blessed Virgin. Yet, all the consolation she derived from
the visits of Our Lady did not prevent her own passion from reaching the
limits of a most intense martyrdom. We could say that to be a model of a
reparatory victim, Jacinta had to experience all the nights of the senses
and the spirit, suffering the fearsome solitude that she so dreaded.”25
On Friday, February 20, Our Lady came to take Jacinta.
“When Mother Godinho held vigil beside the coffin, she glanced at the
little lamp nearby. She was astonished to see that the lamp contained no
oil but still burned brightly. Her body which at times before death did
not exude a pleasant odor, because of infection and open sores, and the
extreme sufferings which afflicted her, after death exuded the scent of
sweet perfume. When the body was carried into the Lisbon Church, the
bells rang while no one was at the ropes, and the tower door was locked.”26
Jacinta’s body was first exhumed on September 12, 1935. Her incorrupt
face appeared much older than she was at the time of her death. “Perhaps
one explanation is that her body reflected her spiritual maturity at the
Chapter 5 37
time of her death, which came when

Jacinta was not quite ten years old.”27
“Unless You Become

as Little Children…”
These two children died, respective-
ly, before their eleventh and tenth
years, yet each practiced the three
theological virtues and the four car-
dinal virtues in the degree required
to be raised to the honors of the al-
tar, that is, heroically.
The beatification of Jacinta and
Francisco should serve as a lesson
for our children who have in these
little shepherds of Fatima apt mod-
els for their age.
Should they be models only for
Dr. Luis Fischer examines Jacinta’s
body during the first exhumation,
children? By no means. They can
September 12, 1935 and should also serve as models for
adults who find in their own weak-
nesses and shortcomings an excuse to avoid the ways to sanctity. Here we
can fittingly apply our Divine Savior’s admonition: “Unless you become
as little children, you shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matt. 23:3).
We must follow the example of Francisco and Jacinta and heed with open
hearts Our Lady’s requests at Fatima, her emphatic requests for prayer,
penance, and reparation.
“I praise Thee, O Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, because thou hast
hidden these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them
to little ones” (Luke 10:21).
This article was originally published in the July/August 2000 edition of Crusade
Magazine before the canonization of Saints Francisco and Jacinta on May 13, 2017.
* — Quotations without references in the text are taken from

Sister Lucia’s manuscript.
Footnotes
1. Rev. John de Marchi, I.M.C., The True Story of Fatima (St. Paul, Minn, 1952), 28.
2. Ibid., 27-28.
3. Rev. Fernando Leite, S.J., Francisco of Fatima (Fatima, 1992), 10.
4. Ibid., 12.
5. De Marchi, 32.
6. Ibid., 31.
7. Rev. Joseph Galamba de Oliveira, Jacinta, the Flower of Fatima, (New York,
1946), 50.
8. Leite, 26.
9. Ibid., 28.
10. Ibid., 34.
11. Ibid., 58.
12. William T. Walsh, Our Lady of Fatima (New York, 1949), 162.
13. Fr. Joaquim Maria Alonso, Doctrina y espiritualidad del mesaje de
Fatima (Madrid, 1990), 127.
14. Leite, 58.
15. Walsh, 162.
16. Ibid., 161.
17. De Marchi, 238.
18. Walsh, 161-162.
19. Galamba de Oliveira, 54.
20. Ibid., 166.
21. Ibid., 165.
22. Alonso, 143.
23. Galamba de Oliveira, 166.
24. Alonso, 132-134.
25. Ibid., 144.
26. Fr. Robert Fox, “The Faith of the Fatima Shepherds: Spirituality of Blessed
Jacinta Marto,” part 2, Daily Catholic 2000, May 8, 2000.
27. Ibid.
Chapter 6 39
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Chapter 6
The Educational
Importance of Manners
By: John Horvat II
A t first glance it might seem rather forced to make a connection be-

tween education and manners. In our secular society, manners like
morals seem to be optional in the formation of youth.
It is something relegated to parents to teach children at the dinner
table if and when they eat together. Manners are a feel good thing, a way
to be nice to people, or maybe even a “social lubricant” that helps one get
ahead but hardly an essential part of education.
If we accept the premise that education is the mere imparting of
knowledge to children, then manners are indeed superfluous and really
serve no purpose.
However, if we believe that education involves the formation of the
whole character in addition to imparting knowledge, then we must
enthusiastically endorse manners as something that has an enormous

educational importance.
Indeed, when we say in Spanish that a person is “educado,” or literally
“educated,” it is not to say he is a Ph.D. candidate. Rather, it means he is
well mannered. Similar distinctions were made in the Portuguese and
Italian languages which show how these traditional societies definitely
made the connection. The teaching of manners was a very important
part of the whole education of a child.
And so manners and education definitely do mix.
However, it would be quite premature to recommend a mandated
Manners 101 course in public schools or turn an edition of Manners for
Dummies into a standard textbook.
This is because manners cannot be seen as a kind of a feel-good set of
rules for being nice to everyone or a politically correct framework for tol-
erating just about anything. There are those who are all too ready to spin
manners into, for example, “evolution’s solution to easing the stresses of
communal living.”
If manners are to be taught, it must be within their proper framework.
We must go beyond the rules of etiquette and into the very nature of
manners themselves.
The Nature of Manners

What are manners? There are many good definitions: unenforced stan-
dards of conduct, passed down codes for human behavior, norms set by
society to facilitate the common good and the concrete practice of char-
ity toward our neighbor.
Manners are such that they become so ingrained in a person that they
come to characterize that person. A lady is a term used for a woman who
follows proper manners; a gentleman is the male equivalent. By these
acts, we exteriorize something much more profound.
Manners are, therefore, mere exterior manifestations for a set of val-
ues and principles inside the individual and society. In themselves, they
are sterile and artificial. If we reduce manners to fork positioning or so-
cial formulae, we reduce them to irrelevance. They become a kind of so-
cial reenactment without a real link to our modern-day world.
Chapter 6 41
Thus, if we are to reestablish manners and their proper role in educa-

tion, we must reconnect with the values and principles that gave rise to
them…and we must confront and disconnect with a culture that lives in
denial of these very principles.
Desire for Good Manners

No one will deny that manners have declined. News polls reflect the
opinion of most Americans that we have become ruder and more brutal
in our treatment of others. We do not need pollsters to tell us this; we
experience it in our daily lives.
However, it is not from a lack of desire on the part of Americans to
live in a more civil society. It often is not even from a lack of trying. Even
the best of parents experience almost insurmountable difficulties in im-
parting manners to children. Everyone would certainly like to see more
civility and manners.
No, we are uncivil because we are immersed in a culture that under-
mines those principles that give manners meaning. We are uncivil be-
cause in the sixties, we ourselves jettisoned what we considered the ex-
cess baggage of manners and civility so we could do our own thing.
Since then, we are engaged in what many have called a Cultural War –
a battle much more important than politics and economics in the history
of our nation. It is what Edmund Burke called that “most important of all
revolutions, a revolution in sentiments, manners and moral opinions.”
In this struggle for our nation’s future, manners thus have a very im-
portant role. Our education system must necessarily be involved.
However, manners will only come back when youth are aware of the
philosophical and metaphysical premises that support a civil society. To
that effect, three such premises might be mentioned.
Beyond Locke: Radical Individualism

The first is a rejection of the radical individualism of our culture. Man-
ners, like tradition, can only exist in a social context. We must direct
them toward someone else.
We Americans tend to be social contract individualists. We take pride

in our self-esteem and self-sufficiency. However, we are now seeing a rad-
ical individualism that goes beyond Hobbes or Locke.
From our earliest youth, we were taught that each one is the center of
the world. We do not think in social terms anymore. We do not think in
terms of generations. Rather, everything is oriented toward instant grat-
ification of our desires. The only important thing is each one’s comfort
and happiness. We simply do not care what other people think or do.
Sometimes we see people in the streets who present themselves with-
out any consideration of how they look or offend people. Bad manners
abound in the dirty ragged clothes, multiple piercings, and undisciplined
ways of speaking, or eating seen everywhere. Individuals are oblivious to
the existence of another. The message is: I do my own thing, and I simply
don’t care if others are repulsed or offended by what I say or do. I am a
world unto myself.
It must be admitted that the way our society is organized does not
help in our social relationships. Everything in our society is done to min-
imize human contact. We are taught to bypass people by visiting ATMs,
paying at the pump, and using the omnipresent self-service option. The
message is: I just take care of everything myself. I don’t need people. I
don’t need manners. I am sufficient unto myself.
The result of this radical individualism is that we lose notions of char-
ity toward others. We are reduced to the smallness of our own existence.
It is an attitude that condemns the individual to a regime of self-im-
posed mediocrity.
Individuality Not Individualism

Man was made to live, talk, and act in society. By living in society, he en-
larges his horizons and develops his individuality to its fullest.
Manners are enhanced by individuality, the development of a person’s
full potential in society. However, manners are destroyed by individual-
ism, whereby a person enthrones himself as the standard of all things.
Thus, education should open the eyes of youth to think beyond them-
selves. They should be taught that greatness exists in sacrifice and con-
sideration for others. Education should propose to students the heroes
and archetypes that embody these ideas. They should also be taught
Chapter 6 43
sound philosophical social principles about the nature of society, the

common good, and our role inside society.
Much to the secularists’ chagrin, that is why Christian education is es-
pecially suited to this purpose since Christian charity teaches us to over-
come our natural self-centeredness and practice the love of neighbor for
the love of God.
In a culture like this, manners spring up naturally and almost spon-
taneously. It is not something forced. Manners are a consequence of
this education. It is a logical behavior that comes from reaching out be-
yond ourselves.
The Rejection of Crass Egalitarianism

The second premise that supports a civil society is a rejection of crass
egalitarianism.
While all men are equal in their essence and entitled to certain fun-
damental rights, among them the right to life, men are unequal in their
accidents and naturally tend to develop different forms of treatment and
consideration.
That is why it is an oxymoron to speak of socialist or communist man-
ners. Where all men or comrades are the same, there is no reason to treat
others differently. Where no one should excel, excellence is not rewarded
or given special consideration.
Manners can only survive again in a social context and in an atmo-
sphere where distinctions are made, where excellence is rewarded, and
differences are noted and even enjoyed.
One reason why we have an uncivil society is because it is a society
of cultural egalitarianism. We are asked not to make distinctions. One
of the things that makes political correctness almost tragically comical
is that it destroys distinctions. It is a kind of egalitarian tyranny where
nobody can acknowledge problems or inferiority anymore. Failure is
now called “deferred success.” Everyone is somehow “challenged” and
woe to the well-mannered person who tries to show compassion or
condescendence.
We are asked not to recognize superiority. So often, our situation
comedies portray characters that glory in the fact that they ridicule or
humiliate others. We see the Bart Simpson syndrome where parents are
made to look like fools in the eyes of their children. All authority is seen
as clownish and not worthy of respect.
Manners are the habit of thinking about others; the act of adapting
oneself to the individual person. They are naturally opposed to crass
egalitarianism. They presuppose distinctions. They call upon us to hon-
or those who are superior and excellent with special treatment. At the
same time, we show compassion and consideration for that which is in-
ferior or weak.
In this context, education must play a key role. Education has always
recognized excellence. It has always reprimanded mediocrity. It is an-
ti-egalitarian. And so if we instill honor and respect for different people
in different circumstances in the child, he will naturally become, to bor-
row from the Spanish, “educado.” He will naturally adopt manners.
Instilling a Clear Idea of Purpose

Finally, the third premise for a return to civil society is that youth must be
instilled with the clear idea of purpose to their lives. They must be given
ideals greater than themselves.
There is nothing more terrifying to the soul of a youth than the conclu-
sion that life has no purpose.
And yet so often, youth have been betrayed and given exactly this mes-
sage by a secularist establishment. Anything that smacks of metaphysics
or transcendence is labeled “religious” and therefore put on the index of
forbidden subjects.
Many have disparaged intelligent design as creationism lite. But what
is the philosophy of neo-Darwinism but existentialism heavy?
So many youths are taught that their lives are the mere result of ran-
domness, mutation, and adaptation without a clear purpose for life. Our
culture teaches that life is a party, a beach – a mere succession of experi-
ences without a real essence of its own.
The passion of youth is made for great causes; youth need a clear pur-
pose. To quote the French writer Paul Claudel, “Youth was not made for
pleasure, but for heroism.”
Chapter 6 45
In the past, education instilled a clear idea about life and its purpose.
Indeed, Great Books programs have this in mind by calling to mind the
great ideas and purposes of times past.
Youth have always hungered for great ideals. It is not something from
Mars. It is as true today as in the times of Plato.
An example that comes to mind is our military. Inflamed with the ide-
als of “honor, courage, and commitment,” young people in our military
find purpose in their lives and develop corresponding manners that belie
their interior convictions almost as a secondary consideration.
This can be seen in many traditional colleges dedicated to the great
idea that truth exists that have sprung up over the last decades. They
manage to instill this sense of purpose in their students. It is always ac-
companied by an accentuated sense of manners and civility.
Part of the Cultural War

Thus, we must teach manners with principles. Manners and education
are inextricably linked. Our problem is not to separate the two but to
unite them once again by reconnecting with the values and princi-
ples long lost.
Indeed, this matter of manners is catapulted beyond the mere rees-
tablishment of manners and civility. It is part of Burke’s “most important
of all revolutions” – that of sentiments, manners, and moral opinions. It
enters into the question of the cultural war that so polarizes our society.
These are the themes that are deciding the future of our country today.
Americans have a hunger for such topics and part of the conservative re-
action today is because so many have been mugged by the terrible reality
of a society that lives in denial of these principles and values. They have
crystallized into a reaction because of things like manners and education.
Other topics like Supreme Court justices and Social Security are in-
deed important. However, culture is where policy and reality meet in the
daily lives of our citizens. This is where the real battle is taking place and
we ignore these themes to our own peril.
*The above essay is based on a talk given at the Foundations of Education Confer-
ence at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, on November 4, 2005.
Chapter 7
The Conversion of
Alphonse Ratisbonne
By: Armando Santos
B orn in 1814, Alphonse Ratisbonne was from a family of wealthy, well-

known Jewish bankers in Strasbourg, France. In 1827, Alphonse’s old-
er brother, Thèodore, converted to Catholicism and entered the priest-
hood, thus breaking with his anti-Catholic family whose hopes now lay in
the young Alphonse. At twenty-seven, Alphonse was intelligent and well
mannered. He had already finished his law degree, and decided to travel
to Italy before marrying and assuming his responsibilities in the family
business. However, God had other plans for him.
While in Rome, Alphonse visited works of art, and strictly out of cul-
tural curiosity, a few Catholic churches. These visits hardened his an-
ti-Catholic stance, and nourished his profound hatred for the Church. He
also called on an old schoolmate and close friend, Gustave de Bussières.
Gustave was a Protestant and several times had tried, in vain, to win
Chapter 7 47
Alphonse over to his religious convictions. Alphonse was introduced to

Gustave’s brother, Baron de Bussières, who had recently converted to Ca-
tholicism and become a close friend of Father Thèodore Ratisbonne. Be-
cause of the Baron’s Catholicism and closeness with his turncoat brother,
Alphonse greatly disliked him.
On the eve of his departure, Alphonse
reluctantly fulfilled his social obligation to
leave his calling card at the Baron’s house
as a farewell gesture. Hoping to avoid a
meeting, Alphonse intended to leave his
card discreetly and depart straight away,
but was instead shown into the house.
The Baron greeted the young Jew
warmly and, before long, had persuaded
him to remain a few more days in Rome.
Inspired by grace, the Baron insisted Al-
Alphonse Ratisbonne’s phonse accept a Miraculous Medal and
conversion began with the copy down a beautiful prayer: the Mem-
gift of a Miraculous Medal. orare. Alphonse could hardly contain his
anger at his host’s boldness of proposing
these things to him, but decided to take everything good-heartedly, plan-
ning to later describe the Baron as an eccentric.
During Alphonse’s stay, the Baron’s close friend, Count de La Fer-
ronays, former French ambassador to the Holy See and a man of great
virtue and piety, died quite suddenly. On the eve of his death, the Baron
had asked the Count to pray the Memorare one hundred times for Al-
phonse’s conversion. It is possible that he offered his life to God for the
conversion of the young Jewish banker.
A few days later, the Baron went to the church of Sant’Andrea delle
Fratte to arrange for his friend’s funeral. Alphonse reluctantly went with
him, all the while making violent criticisms of the Church and mocking
Catholic practices. When they arrived, the Baron entered the sacristy to
arrange the funeral while Alphonse remained in the church.
When the Baron returned just a few minutes later, the young man
was gone. He searched the church, and soon discovered his young
friend kneeling close to an altar, weeping. Alphonse himself tells us what
happened in those few minutes he

waited for the Baron: “I had only been
in the church a short while when, all
of a sudden, I felt totally uneasy for
no apparent reason. I raised my eyes
and saw that the whole building had
disappeared. Only one side chapel
had, so to say, gathered all the light.
In the midst of this splendor, the Vir-
gin Mary appeared standing on the
altar. She was grandiose, brilliant,
full of majesty and sweetness, just as
she is in the Miraculous Medal. An
irresistible force attracted me to her.
The Virgin made a gesture with her
hand indicating I was to kneel.”
The side altar of the church of When de Bussières talked to Al-
Sant’Andrea delle Fratte. To the left a phonse, he no longer found a Jew, but
small plaque reads, “Alphonse Ratis- a convert who ardently desired bap-
bonne of Strasbourg, an obstinate Jew, tism. The news of such an unexpected
came here. This Virgin appeared to him conversion immediately spread and
as you see her; falling on his knees a caused a great commotion through-
Jew, he rose a Christian.”
out Europe, and Pope Gregory XVI re-
ceived the young convert, paternally. He ordered a detailed investigation with
the rigor required by canon law, and concluded that the occurrence was a truly
authentic miracle.
Alphonse took the name Maria Alphonse at baptism, and, wishing to
become a priest, was ordained a Jesuit in 1847. After some time, and at
the suggestion of Pope Pius IX, he left the Jesuits and joined his brother
Thèodore in founding the Congregation of Our Lady of Sion, dedicated
to the conversion of the Jews. Father Thèodore spread his congregation
throughout France and England, while Father Maria Alphonse went to
the Holy Land. In Jerusalem, he established a house of the congregation
on the plot of land where the praetorium of Pilate had formerly stood.
The two brothers died in 1884, both famed and well loved for their ex-
ceptional virtues.
Chapter 8 49
Chapter 8
How to Develop a Lively Devotion
to the Blessed Mother
By: Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira
W e rightly honor Our Lady under the title of Help of Christians. Our
Lady helps Christians in so many ways that we could make an en-
cyclopedia on this topic. One aspect of this help comes from having a
lively devotion to Our Lady.
A lively devotion to Our Lady generally begins with some help from her
that triggers a dawn of confidence to rise in the soul. True devotion to Our
Lady usually begins with Our Lady extending her good offices to a person.
How a Lively Devotion Develops

A man gets into trouble. It can be a spiritual crisis, an economic need or
anything. He asks Our Lady to save him. While saving him from those dif-
ficulties, Our Lady also works inside his soul through imponderables and
grace, whereby he acquires a taste of her maternal, smiling, affable, and
kind goodness. With this sample of her kindness, he gains a lively hope
that she will heed him again in other difficult circumstances.
This experience leads to his insistent pleading for all kinds of graces. He
should, above all, ask her for love of God. This habit of asking results in a
crescendo of devotion to Our Lady. She becomes ever more maternal and
inclined to favor him. Her assistance is more meticulous, which prompts the
person to grow in this acquired taste for her affable and smiling providence.
At times, he asks Our Lady for real trifles. She grants these little insig-
nificant things, like a mother who wants to give her child things great and
small. Indeed, she smiles with special affection when asked for small things.
An Aurora of Confidence
When this bond happens, the person experiences a kind of aurora of con-
fidence. It is a dawn of true understanding that defines his relationship
with Our Lady. Even if the soul goes through very long and tough trials
and periods of aridity and difficulties, something of this lively confidence
remains. It is a light that accompanies the person throughout his life,
including the bitterest throes of death.
It is highly recommendable to ask Our Lady for the grace of placing
ourselves on this special, tender, loving path of making these small re-
quests, since asking for these small favors forms an intimacy with her.
Sometimes she will even go beyond the favor we ask her. This happens
when we ask her for something, which is not in her designs to grant. She
desires that we pass through a trial to help our spiritual life. Thus, Our
Lady does not give us what we ask but provides us with the strength to
endure what is coming, which turns out to be a much bigger favor. She
ends up giving something better than the original favor.
Medieval Legends Present True Aspects of Our Lady

Medieval devotional books and legends about devotion to Our Lady
present real and imagined stories that demonstrate the grace and kind-
ness of Mary Most Holy in dealing with souls. They tell their stories in a
magnificently amenable and interesting way.
Whether the story is true is not important, especially concerning the ac-
tions of its human characters. However, the stories are all truly characteristic
Chapter 8 51
We should, above all, ask the Blessed Mother for love of God. This habit of
asking, for all kinds of graces, results in a crescendo of devotion to Our Lady.
She becomes ever more maternal and inclined to favor us. Her assistance is more
meticulous, which prompts us to grow in this acquired taste for her affable and
smiling providence.
Statue of Our Lady, Help of Christians at the TFP National Headquarters
of Our Lady’s manner of acting. She really acts in this way portrayed in these
stories. Although these are legends, they are theologically correct Marian
legends that give us a precise idea and feeling of what Our Lady is like.
An example of this is an episode found in the writings of Saint Alphon-
sus Liguori in his book, The Glories of Mary, which we reproduce here:
“Father Silvanus Razzi relates that a devout ecclesiastic

who had a tender love for our Queen Mary, had heard her
beauty so much extolled that he ardently desired once to
see his Lady, and with humble prayers asked this favor. The
kind mother sent an angel to tell him that she would gratify
him by allowing him to see her, but on this condition,
namely, that after seeing her, he should become blind. He

accepted the condition.
“On a certain day, behold the Blessed Virgin appeared to
him, and that he might not become wholly blind, he at first
wished to look at her with one eye only but afterward be-
coming enamored of the great beauty of Mary, he wished
to contemplate her with both, and then the mother of God
disappeared. Deeply grieved at having lost the presence of
his queen, he could not cease weeping, not indeed for his
lost eye, but that he had not seen her with both. Then he
began to supplicate her anew, that she would again appear
to him, and he would be willing to lose the other eye and
become entirely blind. ‘Happy and satisfied, O my Lady,’
he said, ‘I will remain if I become wholly blind for so good a
cause, which will leave me more enamored of thee, and of
thy beauty.’
“Again Mary was willing to satisfy him, and again she con-
soled him with her presence; but because this loving queen
can never injure anyone, when she appeared to him the
second time, not only she did not take from him the other
eye, but she even restored to him the one he had lost.”
Whether this episode really happened is not important, because we

know that this is how Our Lady actually is! She can have us go through
dire straits to prove our love, take away one of our eyes, or make us go
through some anguish. However, she ends up rewarding us with a smile.
Though we must pass through the necessary trials, everything ends
with her smile.
Chapter 8 53
Another better-known legend is the famous juggler of Our Lady. It

tells the story of a monk who could not sing or pray well but knew the
art of juggling, which he learned before entering the monastery. Wishing
to please Our Lady, he went to a church late at night when no one was
there and presented his juggling act to her. Our Lady appeared to him
and smiled to show how pleased she was by his small gift.
Filial Confidence in Our Lady

We should act in a similar way. When presenting our offerings to Our
Lady, however small they may be, we should be entirely confident that
she will be pleased.
Our devotion to her will never be perfectly true if we fail to act in this
way. We must have an attitude of unquestioning ease and intimacy to-
ward Our Lady. We must be like a son who, even when he saddens Our
Lady, presents himself before her completely confident of obtaining her
help and smile.
This attitude is the ineffably suave starting point of a lively devotion
to Our Lady.
That is not to say that this attitude is enough. To the degree that our
intellectual development allows, we should study the foundations of de-
votion to Our Lady. We need to have everything reasoned out well so that
we might form profound convictions based on dogma. However, intel-
lectual formation is one thing, and the life of devotion is another. Each
one complements the other. This magnificent union of doctrine and de-
votion explains precisely why such a great Doctor of the Church as Saint
Alphonsus Liguori wrote his book, The Glories of Mary, which illustrates
doctrinal theses with concrete devotional facts and stories.
Thus, we should pray to Our Lady, Help of Christians, to ask for the
grace of a special sweetness in our devotion.
The preceding article is taken from an informal lecture given by Professor Plinio
Corrêa de Oliveira on May 18, 1964. It has been translated and adapted for publica-
tion without his revision. –Ed.
Prayers
The Restoration Prayer
T here are moments, my Mother, in which my soul feels touched, in its
deepest recesses, by an ineffable yearning.
I long for the time in which I loved thee, and thou didst love me, in the
vernal atmosphere of my spiritual life.
I yearn for thee, my Lady, and for the paradise which was placed in
me, by the great communication that I had with thee. Dost thou not also,
my Lady, long for that time? Dost thou not long for the goodness which
existed in that son that I once was?
Come therefore, thou who art the best of all mothers, and for the love
of that which was blossoming in me, restore me. Recompose in me that
love for thee and make of me the complete realization of that son without
stain which I would have been if I had not been so miserable.
Give me, O my Mother, a repentant and humbled heart, and make
shine anew before my eyes that which by the splendor of thy grace, I had
once begun to love so very much.
Remember, O Lady, this David, and all of the sweetness thou didst
place in him.
So be it. Amen.
Prayers 55
Act of Reparation to
the Blessed Virgin Mary
O Blessed Virgin, Mother of God, look down in mercy from heaven,

where thou art enthroned as Queen, upon me, a miserable sinner,
thine unworthy servant.
Although I know full well my own unworthiness, yet in order to atone
for the offenses that are done to thee by impious and blasphemous
tongues, from the depths of my heart I praise and extol thee as the purest,
the fairest, the holiest creature of all God’s handiwork.
I bless thy holy name, I praise thine exalted privilege of being truly
Mother of God, ever virgin, conceived without stain of sin, co-redemptrix
of the human race.
I bless the Eternal Father who chose thee in an especial way for His
Daughter; I bless the Word Incarnate who took upon Himself our nature
in thy bosom and so made thee His Mother; I bless the Holy Spirit Who
took thee as His bride.
All honor, praise, and thanksgiving to the ever-blessed Trinity, Who
predestined thee and loved thee so exceedingly from all eternity as to
exalt thee above all creatures to the most sublime heights.
O Virgin, holy and merciful, obtain for all who offend thee the grace of
repentance, and graciously accept this poor act of homage from me thy
servant, obtaining likewise for me from thy divine Son the pardon and
remission of all my sins. Amen.
3 x Hail Mary....
Source: The Raccolta, 1950.

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Eight

—America Needs Fatima—

All rights reserved. This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a

Cover Design: Virgin and Child. Bartolomé Esteban Murillo.

Book Design: Jennifer Bohdal and Marianna Laczkoskie

By: America Needs Fatima

T he pope’s “infallibility will be declared a dogma of Faith by the same

Unbridled Passions and Sacrilege

Betrayal from Within

The Church Will Triumph

Impurity, Cowardice, Corruption

We Must Pray and Do Penance

C onsidering Our Lady’s action upon the three Fatima children in a

I firmly believe that we must ask Jacinta and

“You will not allow your holy one to see corruption”

T he Catholic Church is full of mystery and miracles; those supernat-

over time. Even millennia have

The Life of Saint

“I cannot promise you happiness in this life,

She lived in the convent for thir-

Doctor Declares: “Not a Natural Phenomenon”

“From this examination I conclude that the body of the

The doctor was amazed by the state of preservation of the liver:

“What struck me during this examination, of course, was

The final exhumation of Saint Bernadette in 1925

“I was nothing, and of this nothing God made

What Does the Catholic Church Say Regarding Prophecies?

Exercise Prudence in One’s Discernment

How Do They Measure Up?

Prophecies Regarding the “Latter Times”

The Three Days of Darkness

But the Lord said to Moses:

The prophet Isaiah also spoke of a day of darkness:

From the New Testament:

She foretold the first two world

The following is her revelation about three

Canori Mora’s cause for canoniza-

Some of her prophecies are as follows:

chastisement together with all who give themselves to debauchery and

Relevance in Our Days

Blessed Elizabeth Canori Mora’s vision of a great restoration which would

God Will Not Abandon the Faithful

“Finally, my Immaculate Heart will triumph!”

Francisco and Jacinta Marto are the youngest non-martyred children

She, in recollection, followed the solemn proceedings that raised her

The Youngest Non-Martyred

Francisco—An Innocent and Upright Soul,

very much on my nerves. If I ordered him to sit on a stone, he would

Apparitions Propel These Childish Souls toward Sanctity

Francisco—A Contemplative Soul, a “Consoler of God”

Blessed Francisco: Contemplator of the Universe

Small in Age but Great in the Spirit of Sacrifice

Francisco—Heroic Patience in Suffering

“‘Yes, I suffer. But I suffer everything

Reparatory Victim of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Devotion to the Heart of Mary Will Save the World

Lucia answers: “First, by means of a special grace that God wished to

Dona Estefania Hospital where Blessed Jacinta died.

A Profound and Serious Understanding of Eternity

Christ’s Passion in Our Days

time of her death, which came when

“Unless You Become

* — Quotations without references in the text are taken from